Goodwill Lifestyle Expert - Marques Clark

Goodwill Lifestyle Expert - Marques ClarkMarques Clark, author of The Goodwill Fashion Lookbook, lives in the Western suburbs of Illinois with his wife Kyndall, and son Micah. During his down time, Marques enjoys photography, traveling, reading, spending time with friends and family and binge-watching Shark-Tank. Marques' personal mission is to help individuals reach their fullest potential through creativity and innovation and wants to continue to serve as a resource for those interested in discovering their passion.

 


 

How to Organize Your Closet in 5 Steps

Posted by Marques Clark on Mar 22, 2017 4:45:44 PM

SPACE methodBefore you go on your Goodwill shopping trip it’s important to first have a plan in place. Organizing your closet is one of the easiest things you can do to improve your shopping skills and have a successful trip at Goodwill. It helps you figure out what items you already have, what items you can add to your wish list and what items you need. And by “need”, I mean something you absolutely cannot live without. It also saves you the headache of going through your closet and spending so much time trying to find the right outfit. Start by looking at each item in your closet and ask yourself these questions:

“Why am I keeping this item?”

“Can I use this as part of an outfit?”

“Do I have anything else like it?”

“When was the last time I wore this?”

Auditing your wardrobe eliminates impulse shopping that might result in you buying items you already have or items you don’t need. Trimming the wardrobe fat in your closet allows you to quickly view the clothes you have, so you can mix and match items when it’s time to piece an outfit together.

Force yourself to eliminate clothes. Yes, I know you have items you’ve spent your hard-earned money on, and you’re probably cringing at the thought of getting rid of them. It’s okay! You’re making room in your closet for more flattering, eye-catching, and vibrant items. And, don’t forget, when you get rid of items, you get to shop for new ones. How fun is that?

SPACE method is a perfect way to get organized. S = sort, P = purge, A = assign, C = containerize, E = equalize.

Sort

  1. Sort - Start by sorting your items into categories. You can do this however you like. I like to group items by color. Blues on this side, reds over here, greens at the end. Maybe you want to sort your long-sleeved tops and short-sleeved tops, while having bottoms as a separate category. Go with what makes you comfortable, and do the same thing with your drawers and racks.

    Purge

  2. Purge - Here’s the tricky part. Decision-making time. Go through everything you’ve just sorted, and make a decision on whether you need it or not. Remember our definition of need? If you cannot decide whether to toss it or keep it, try it on before making a decision. Maybe you have items you haven’t worn in almost a year, and you can’t remember why you purchased them in the first place. Or maybe you have items you haven’t worn in a year or more. Do they still fit? Can you incorporate them into a new outfit? Would you wear them with the right pants, skirt, or top?

    Ask yourself these questions: Do I love it? Do I need it? Do I use it? If you cannot answer yes to all of these questions, put the item in a separate pile. Have a “keep” pile for items you use regularly, a “donate” pile for items you really don’t use often or have duplicates of so that you can donate them to Goodwill, and a “toss” pile for items that are worn out and need to be discarded. You can also have a “fix” pile for items you haven’t worn because they’re missing a piece, such as a button or zipper. It is up to you to determine whether or not the item is worth fixing, though. Would it cost more to fix the item versus replacing it altogether?

    Assign

  3. Assign - Now it’s time to evaluate the clothing items you have left and assign a home for them. Think about how much storage and the amount of space you are able to use. What do you plan to put in your closet? What items are going in the drawers.

    Containerize

  4. Containerize - Once you have an idea of your space limitations and where your items are going to be housed, you can start organizing them for storage purposes. You can containerize by season, color, material, or style. Work on each category, one by one, until everything is containerized and store your containers in a place where you won’t forget about them.

    Equalize
  5. Equalize - This is another word for maintaining or keeping your items in order. Equalizing will be an on-going process because you will always be looking for ways to use your space efficiently. As you accumulate more clothes, you may need to find better ways to organize them.

    Successfully organizing your closet puts you one step closer toward being a strategic Goodwill shopper. You now have a system for categorizing your clothes, which makes selecting an outfit so much easier. Soon, you will be able to go into Goodwill and identify items that are missing from your closet, making your shopping experience much more efficient and fun! Use the Goodwill Shopping Checklist when you are ready to make your next shopping trip!

Topics: Goodwill shopping, Marques Clark, Goodwill shopping tips, closet organizing, SPACE method