The Closet Cure is Complete

CLICK HERE TO READ ASSIGNMENT # 10

Alright, this is the last one. Now that your closet is all nice and organized, clean and slimmed down it's time to prepare for the upkeep. This is easy, trust me. Once a month just briefly go through your closet and get rid of anything you've decided you don't like, doesn't fit, or got ripped or stained. I find myself doing this a lot. When I'm searching for an outfit sometimes ill come across something and say "I never wear you" or " you got with nothing." So it gets put into storage for donation/selling. Once the pile gets big enough I bring it to Plato's/Salvation Army.

this is not my closet, I just wish it was.

Overall, I greatly enjoyed this process. It's nice to have guidelines and goals to meet. For some (me) it can be hard to get rid of clothing (sad for the outfits that could have been), but this program made it much more easier and less overwhelming. I feel good now with a smaller (still big) wardrobe and a bunch of pieces I KNOW I will wear. Plus I made room for more! And I did go shopping on my birthday weekend and got a lot of new items that appeal to my ever changing style. 

If you haven't started The Closet Cure yet, it's never too late! Check out Apartment Therapy to sign up, or read all the assignments and do it on your own time. 

The Closet Cure Assignment # 9

CLICK HERE TO READ ASSIGNMENT # 9

Assignment # 9 is an easy one and can be pretty rewarding. Today we donate/sell our items from the "no" box. I stuffed all my items into a giant Costco tote and brought it to Plato's Closet. Plato's Closet is one of my favourite stores. They will buy your trendy clothes from you and then you can spend your cash on items other people have sold them (or keep it if you want, no pressure). If you plan to go to a store like this make sure to wash everything one last time and sort through your items again looking for any damage. Don't be sad or discouraged if they don't buy all your items, they rarely do. And don't expect to get full price.  They buy clothes for low cost so they can sell them at 75% less than current retailers. Sometimes you may only be getting $1 or $2 for a t-shirt. That means they will sell it for $5 and that means you can find bargains for $5. What goes around comes around. And hey, $2 is better than $0. 

I made $68.00 from my bag of stuff at Plato's Closet. They only purchased 1/2 -1/3 of it so I'll try to sell locally and if not I'll just donate it! I did some shopping while I was waiting and I found myself a gem (among other things).

Yep, it's a Celine knock off. Ever since I saw my first Celine bag (styled on a pinterest post) a few years ago I haven't been able to get them out of my head! This is the exact print I wanted too. Such structured perfection. Obv I couldn't afford a $2000+ bag so I got this one for $10. I literally died when I saw it on the rack, I can't believe it lasted long enough for me to find it. This is why I love Plato's Closet, people!

The Closet Cure Assignment # 7 & 8

Today's task is a simple and quick one. 

CLICK HERE TO READ ASSIGNMENT # 7 

I love how simple and obvious this part is. Anything you are not sure on, store in a box out of sight. If you EVER go back into that box to get an item - you keep it. If a few months go by and you completely forget about the box - you donate it.
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CLICK HERE TO READ ASSIGNMENT # 8

This week is all about organization.  If you've ever fantasized about one of those amazing Ikea closets, now is your chance!

A closet like this is something I would have loved before I moved my closet into the entire spare room. When we move out or need the spare room again I will probably set up something similar to this.

One thing I learned and love is rolling your shirts or garments to make more room in drawers. I was just saying how my undergarment drawer needed a revamp and some organization so this tip will surely help. It's also a great way to save space if you have a large t shirt collection, or for tanks. It's funny, whenever Anthony packs for anything he always rolls his clothes and I used to look at him like he was crazy, now I understand!

The Closet Cure Assignment # 6

Today we are sorting what I like to call the utilities (underwear, socks, bras and tights). I am excited for this one because this is a section of my "wardrobe" that needs a lot of help. I don't think I've gone through my utilities in a very long time. 

CLICK HERE TO READ ASSIGNMENT # 6

The best of this is throwing stuff away! Such a good feeling to get rid of clutter and unnecessary items. I just grabbed an old grocery bag and started tossing stuff. This is much easier because for me it's just a garbage bag, no maybe, no donate, no dry clean, just garbage. I have a lot of bra's that only have one metal hook and it's time to say goodbye! I also tossed out socks that have holes, or are really worn out and close to hole status (I need to teach Anthony that one). Say goodbye to tights will pulls. NTS: pick up new nude tights. I have also made an executive decision that I no longer like my patterned leggings so I will be donating those. Since assignment # 6 was called the final sort I am going to go through my bathing suit collection as well. I feel like it fits in this category and I am thinking there's no more sorting tasks left.

I have a lot more room in my utility drawers now. Thanks to good ole Pinterest I want to try organizing those drawers like this. Looks so fancy and organized and not chaotic like mine.

Closet Cure Assignment # 2

Assignment # 2 is here and I am nervous! 

CLICK HERE TO READ ASSIGNMENT # 2 

The sorting is starting with sweaters. Apartment Therapy provided this awesome reference chart to help you decide whether to keep or toss something.

I can tell this is going to be a very hard and sad process. The issue I had with this assignment was the fact that it was sweaters. It's not quiet fall yet and I was having a hard time deciding what's going to be in or out of style this season. I would hate to donate something that I'd want back in a month! 

tip: make sure all your laundry is done, and it helps to start with a tidy closet.

Starting Sweater Count: 23

End Sweater Count: 14

Let's just take a moment for all the outfits that could have been. 

It's not too late to join The Cure if you're still interested!

Closet Cure Assignment # 1

Today I received my first email assignment for The closet Cure. I was so excited when I saw it in my inbox. Let's do this!

CLICK HERE TO READ ASSIGNMENT # 1

I have chosen to use plastic grocery bags for my sorting. I don't have boxes handy and garbage bags are too large. I do very small sortings every couple of months and swap my clothes at Plato's Closet so I know personally my piles are not going to be that large(and if they are I'll just get more bags from the kitchen). OR perhaps I'm in denial.

So if you didn't read the article,  our first week assignment is to collect 9 bags, boxes, crates or whatever. One for each:

• a "maybe" bag/box
• a "dry cleaning" bag/box
• an "alterations/repairs" bag/box
• a "shoe repair" bag/box
• a "sell/swap" bag/box
• a "donate" bag/box 
• a laundry basket
• a trash bag

Pretty simple. I am going to tweak this a bit for myself. I will not be having repair bags because anything that's broken I'm just going to toss out. Also going to cut out the dry cleaning. I don't do dry cleaning (what? I know) I don't want to pay extra for someone else to clean my clothes, I don't have anything worth that much. If it's stained beyond repair it goes in the trash.

I love that the first assignment is a no-stress approach to purging the closet. It can be overwhelming for some and a little sad for people (like me). I am sad for the outfits that could have been, but I just keep thinking about the outfits that CAN be.

I can't wait for tomorrows assignment, who else is with me?

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DIY Projects

DIY Polaroid Clothesline

This project is my favourite and love that I can forever redesign it. I have chosen to display my #OOTD photos from Instagram on here but you can display whatever photos you like.  I just thumb-tacked some twine string in a straight line. TIP: make the string taut because once you add the clothespins it sags a lot, so any slack will make it sag too much. I bought a bag of basic wooden clothespins from the dollar store to attach the pictures. It's that simple! 

The website I used to create the polaroid effect is called Picmonkey. I just saved my already edited Instagram photos to my computer then uploaded them to this free online program. Once you upload your photo, choose the frame effect section. Then choose Polaroid Frame. It automatically fades the photo and rotates it. You can play with the level of fade and rotation if you like. I made all mine straight and lightened the fading a little bit. Once your done just save the image. Now, to print them the size of polaroids I resized my images to 2.4 inches width, and let the length adjust on its own. 

The clothes line is currently not full but as time goes on I will post more of my #OOTD on the line. 

DIY Shadowbox

This is a very simple project to do. I wasn't overly pleased with how it turned out and debated just tossing it. I got my inspiration from this Pinterest post (shocking). The only reason I don't like it is because my white glitter kinda glistens green. I have a lot of fake lashes hanging around and I don't use them so I decided to make this instead. All you need to do is glue a couple sets of lashes to a white piece of paper then insert it into a shadowbox. This one is from the dollar store, $2. I spray painted it black then sprinkled what was supposed to be white glitter on the wet paint.  Once it dries your good to go. I recommend testing out your glitter first so you don't get green like I did ! The one on Pinterest is much nicer, are we surprised?

DIY Wall Decor

I love these wall art pictures. It was obviously so simple and it's fun to choose quotes and pictures that fit your theme.  I chose my favourite fashion/beauty quotes and images to display. You can search for inspiration on Google or Pinterest just by searching "_____ quotes". I got these frames from the dollar store at $3 each. It's a bit expensive because it adds up, especially if you frame the entire room like I did. You can chose a much cheaper frame too but I like how large these ones were, and the picture is sunken back almost like a shadowbox and I really liked that style.

DIY Skirt Hangers

I ran into a dilemma when I was transferring all my clothes from drawers onto the rack. I didn't want to have to buy 20+ skirt/pant hangers because for some reason they were $3/each at the dollar store, or 3/$10 at Walmart. I'm trying to do this room on a budget! So I went to the dollar store to create my own. I was ecstatic when I found these girly plastic clothes pins. I was a bit worried they wouldn't be strong enough to hold up shorts especially denim. I bought them anyways and with two clothespin on each hanger the garments aren't going anywhere! Instead of having to pay $60+ for pant hangers I made my own with a $3 bag of clothespins!

Other Tricks

I got the hot pink flower for Christmas from Anthony's mom and it's a neat way to hang up your scarves. You just simply loop your scarves through the holes and voila. The black one is from the dollar store and it's designed to hang belts but I used it to hang up my basic tank tops and wife beaters.  It's a great space saver and also hanger saver. 

You can use bright printed and patterned boxes to store miscellaneous stuff to avoid clutter. I have a bunch of tights stored in this one. I just tucked it underneath one of the garment racks.