i have a confession to make.  i’m sure this may come as a surprise to some of you, who may picture me as being some sort of domestic goddess (kidding), but i’m a clothes hoarder. it’s true.  my closet is the final frontier in my house. there, i’ve said it.  isn’t that the first step?  my (nicely appointed) closet is bursting with clothes that i don’t wear: either because they don’t fit me (too big or too small) or because they don’t fit my lifestyle, or because i no longer like them.   but, i continue to keep them in my closet.  why? because i may fit them someday, or because some occasion may present itself, or because i liked them at some point and spent money on them and could grow to like them again.

in the meantime, i can’t find the stuff that i do like, because everything is crammed together.  also, because there’s no space, i’ve spilled over into an alcove outside of my closet, where i’ve loaded things onto a rolling rack.  i’ve also borrowed a little space from my hubby’s closet AND i’ve amassed a 3 foot pile on the island in my own closet. that’s not to mention the boxes in the garage that have yet to be sorted from our move 21 months ago. i never meant for it to get this way!

my (super-organized) hubby, who claims to have received an s.o.s from my closet (cute), has been encouraging me to evacuate his closet and clear out of our shared area (i’m pretty sure he has given up on the boxes in the garage).  at first, i was just trying to cram everything into my own closet, to pipe him down.  but, i realized it’s just going to revert back if i don’t address the real issues and get the stuff out of there that isn’t likely to be worn in this current time frame.  i know the island mess reoccurs every time i have to get dressed,  because my closet isn’t edited. i go through several options looking for the right thing to wear and the rejects end up on the island.  then, because i am now running late, i say i’ll just have to sort it later.  the borrowing of my hubby’s closet occurs every time things return from the dry cleaner…oh, just leave it there, i tell him, i’ll sort it later.  the problem is, in both cases, later never comes!

so what’s a girl with a generous mall gift certificate, courtesy of her hubby, to do? i could just go to the mall and raid some fave stores, further compounding my already out-of-control issue.  or, i could tackle my issues first and then reward myself with a few new goodies.  i’ve chosen the latter and today i am cleaning out my closet.  just in time for the new year, each item will be assessed: have i worn this in the past year? do i even like this? does this fit me TODAY? if the answer is no to any of these questions, it’s coming out of my closet.

of course, in true hoarder fashion, i can’t say i’m totally getting rid of everything that comes out…you just never know, right?  but i am going to sort it into piles: good will, attic (for nostalgia sake), or consignment and i’ll deal with it…eventually

click here for some to-die-for celeb closet inspiration!