The 1st thing to do is - open the closet, stand tall, and stare at it up and down (show NO FEAR!) then slowly stare from left to right. This will help you avoid an attack from your closet (since you are looking around for loose items in your closet that may fall on you). After the showdown is over, you wrestle using the 3 C techniques that I teach all my clients that hire me to help them get organized:

1. COMMIT:
Commit yourself to a reasonable time frame & stick to it. Make it fun by challenging yourself to accomplishing a task by a particular time frame - no coffee break, no pee pee break. For example say I WILL remove all the items from my closet within hour, I WILL not have the chocolate covered donut in the kitchen until I finish removing the clothes.

2. COLLECT:
Quickly collect & sort all the items from your closet into a large bag or container or area (bag/container will keep the items from overflowing your room & make it transportable). Place all similar items together (i.e.: all shoes in one bag, all purses/handbags in another, all clothes in bed). DO NOT analyze the items (for this will make the process
longer) - the technique of collecting grabs your wrestling opponent to tame “it” before the conquest.

3. CONQUER:
On 3 white pieces of paper write KEEP, DONATE, & TRASH and tape them on a designated space on your floor. Then chose what you want to tackle 1st (ie: shoes, clothes, etc.) and determine what you NEED to place back in the closet. Be realistic if you havent used an items in more than a year, chances are that you will NOT use it; therefore, get rid of it so you can have MORE SPACE for items that you truly love & will wear & use.

Many times clients find items that they thought they lost or forgot they had. I would love to hear YOUR DISCOVERIES. In next issue I will share how to become friends with your opponent - how to best place your favorite items in your closet.

Ada Gonzalez is an interior decorator who designs solutions that provide comfort & function with a BIG SPLASH of style without having to spend hi-end prices on furniture & furnishings. Her designs have been featured in the Life & Style section of The Journal News, Sound Shore Express newspaper, and the Lohub Blog of Westchester County. In April 2007 she won a design competition called “Interior Motives”. She was honored as an Interior Decorating Subject Specialist March and April of 2007 for DETC (Distant Education Training Council) helping perfect learning materials for interior decorating students. Her ezine called Smart Decorating!, which offers FREE DECORATING TIPS, is her way of helping people across the United States learn to comfortably live in and love their homes to get more information on her ezine go to http://www.adasdecoratingsolutions.com

Web: http://www.adasdesigninc.com
Ezine: http://www.adasdecoratingsolutions.com