More often than not, when I tell someone I am an organizer, they will ask me, “Alaia, what does YOUR closet look like? You must be super organized.” And I tell them the truth. It’s not what you’d expect.
My place doesn’t look like the cover of Real Simple Magazine. I don’t want it to. It’s a personal preference. My clothes are very loosely organized. One small closet (smaller than a hall closet) holds dresses and long coats. The other closet I have doesn’t go from floor to ceiling, so I hang all shorter items there. I have jackets on one end, and all other clothes taking up the rest of the rod. They aren’t sorted by type or color – because that’s not what matters to me. What matters to me is that my clothes are in the closet, hung and wrinkle free, ready to wear. I do make sure to sort what’s in my drawers, because I tend to wear what’s in my drawers more often than what’s hanging in the closet.
I have a pretty active schedule. So I have to figure out what my priorities are. I feel my time is better spent making sure papers are in order for my projects and businesses than making sure my clothes are sorted by size and shade. If all my clothes are on hangers, and the doors are closed, I personally don’t have much more to be concerned about. I also don’t want to let myself down when I don’t have the energy to maintain that system. I make it a point to not set up a system that I know I won’t want to maintain. I encourage my clients to do the same. I know I would personally feel a little defeated if I invested time in something I couldn’t maintain.
So, when doing your own organizing – in your closet or elsewhere – try not to feel pressured to make things more complicated and keep your focus on what’s important to you.
