Simplified Walk In Closet

I don't know why, but I am in the mood to simplify. I was so tired of having a closet full of shoes and clothes and still having nothing to wear. So I tried on every piece in my closet . . . every single piece. It took the entire afternoon, thank goodness for my sister and her insanely brutal opinions. Lee is good at many things but telling me I don't look good in something isn't one of them, my sister on the other hand should consider it a career because she is very good at it!! ;)

I was able to purge 35 pairs of shoes, 5 skirts, 7 pairs of pants, 14 shirts, 3 purses, some belts, some shorts, some tank tops and other random bits and pieces.

Because I was able to donate so much stuff (including 1 skirt that friends and family kindly refer to as "The Belt" because it's closer to the size of a belt than the size of a skirt) I had way more room in my closet.
I was able to re-organize it so that everything fit easily in our Custom Closet Design. There's room for shoes, and long dresses now!!

p.s. taking photos in a closet with NO natural light is not easy

The left side of the closet holds shoes (a collection that is down 35 pairs), and my slightly fancy tops.

The right side holds my pants and skirts on the bottom, and my sweaters on the top!

The middle holds two green bins at the top, they contain my purses, and my tall boots. The two drawers hold my t-shirts and unmentionables! ;o

Lastly the two bins at the bottom hold my gym stuff, I have an ankle brace and a knee brace, as well as gym shoes and an assortment of yoga pants, shorts, tops and sports bras . . . some of which I need more than others (I'm talking about you sports bra ;).

I think the key to personal storage is just creating zones. For example when I'm changing for the gym I have one area where all my gym stuff is located. When I'm getting dressed in the morning all of my clothes are on the right side of the closet. If I'm headed out somewhere fancy, which these days can mean Target (oh I am so glamorous) I know that all my fancy clothes are hanging on the left side of the closet.

And a chandelier doesn't hurt either!! ;)

While I love the idea of simplifying my closet and thereby simplifying my wardrobe . . . I do still realize this is A LOT of clothing. I am definitely NOT a minimalist! My idea of simplifying is pairing something down so it works for you (me). I know some people might love that they only have 30 things in their closet, but for me only having 30 options would stress me out, and getting stressed isn't what simplifying is trying to accomplish. Maybe one day I'll get to that point but for right now 30 pairs of shoes is my idea of simple. To me a place for everything and everything in it's place is simplified perfection!

Make sure to pop back later today to find out the winner of our Charles Emerson Giveaway! As well as a 20% off coupon code for ALL of our readers!!!!