Getting my hands dirty isn’t something I do often, in blogging, or in life at all. Usually I’m hyper-conscious of sweating, or staining my clothes.
Emily’s closet, post purge
Emily Kapes, a longtime volunteer with the Gasparilla Art Festival, asked me about the “closet clutter control” I have listed on my website. I included it as part of the Remarqed Services with the logic that if I enjoy purging my own closet, why not help others do the same?
Three weeks later, as my first client for such expertise, we met early on a Saturday morning to address her wardrobe situation.
In Emily’s historic St. Pete bungalow, her bedroom closet is relatively compact, similar to what we had in the 1920s house I grew up in. Traditionally, older homes have little storage, period.
Over five years, through marriage and the birth of her 3-year old twins, Emily had accumulated quite a few items for a variety of functions: work (at a local financial firm), weekend/casual, special occasions/evening, and exercise (mostly running).
She also presented me with some caveats: she’s inconsistent at dry cleaning, hates folding and ironing, and tends to drop stuff on the floor after wearing (who doesn’t?).
The results of the closet control process by Remarqed Services
To first make room to organize, we went piece by piece through her accessories, bags, shoes, and all hanging clothes. This process, at times painful for both of us, netted three large bins and two trash bags full of items for consignment or donation, depending on their condition.
From the three hours we spent together, I peeked into Emily’s perspective on dressing. Whereas I labor over my closet, curating and thinking far too much about my clothing, shoes, and accessories…she is a time-starved working mom.
Like so many of her peers, the top ranking of necessities for her focus does not typically include shopping, browsing online, or properly laundering her clothes.
As a final touch, I replaced what was left back into Emily’s closet all facing toward the door, for easy access. I also separated them by function, so instead of digging through cocktail dresses to find sweaters, she’d know which section to thumb through for work, casual, or evening/special. Since it’s getting cooler here, jackets and sweaters were all given front priority.
A debrief quote from Emily: “Thank you for the help! It was great to have an unbiased and fashion-conscience opinion. I had been holding on to things for way too long. Getting rid of so much was not exactly easy, but I had mentally prepared for your visit. It feels really freeing to have less stuff and more space. Thank you for the organization ideas too.”
Closet Clutter Control is available for an hourly rate by Remarqed Services (me). Get in touch to discuss.
