Publication date: 01/26/2008

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Clean closets can give you a good mid-winter boost

The holidays are over. You've trained yourself to write 2008 on your checks. It's cold outside. The walls are closing in on you. Unless you are a skier, there's no hope. You have to live through all of February before you can even hope to go outside and breathe.

I cannot send you to Hawaii, but I can give you a tip that will make you feel a whole lot better.

Organize your closet. This will help you work off nervous energy, give you a feeling of accomplishment, and enable you to start every day organized and in control.

Cleaning out your closet

1. Take everything out of the closet and pile it on the bed or floor.

2. Find a new home for everything that should not be in the closet. The vacuum cleaner, suitcases from last vacation, etc., will have to live someplace else.

3. Sweep out the closet.

4. Put down a drop cloth and wash the walls and ceiling. Use 3 ounces dry measure of TSP to a gallon of warm water, and a sponge. Wear goggles and rubber gloves. You'll probably need a two-step ladder. Get into every nook and cranny. Rinse with cold water and a different sponge. You will be surprised at how dirty the rinse water gets. If you don't want to use TSP, you can use 3 ounces Simple Green in a gallon of cold water.

5. Pick up the drop cloth and mop the floor. If you have hardwood flooring, use Boen Hardwood Floor Cleaner or Total Care by Hartco. If you have vinyl flooring, Once 'n Done by Armstrong is good. If the vinyl is in really bad condition, clean it with New Beginning Floor Stripper and Cleaner.

6. Take down and clean the light fixture. Upgrade to a full-spectrum light bulb.

7. Sort the clothes on your bed. Put all out-of-season or seldom-used clothing in storage. Things that you haven't worn in the last year, are the wrong size or that you will never wear belong in a Salvation Army or St. Vincent de Paul bag. Give until it hurts. They need the stuff. You need the room. Temporarily move this season's wardrobe to another room so you can sleep tonight.

8. The closet is now clean and empty. Inspect it carefully. Is it time to repaint? Is the floor in terrible condition and in need of some TLC? Is the lighting sufficient for your needs? How about hanging and stacking space? Do you need more shelving? Is there enough room to install another rod at waist level for skirts and slacks?

9. Repair and paint the walls if necessary. Now is the perfect time to paint. The walls are very dry and will soak up the paint beautifully. If you paint, apply a water-base stain kill, then one coat of a very good eggshell or flat latex paint. Off-white, light gray or light beige is very good.

10. Plan. You can spend thousands of dollars organizing your closet or you can do it yourself for less than $200. Get a couple of additional shelving units, shelf dividers, a second hanger rod, some hooks, battery operated lighting and maybe a mirror that can hang from the closet door.

11. Install any new shelving, closet rods, mirrors or lighting.

12. Carefully put back your clothing. If you installed a second rod try to hang outfits one above the other. Shirts and tops on top. Matching slacks and skirts on the bottom. Shoes are placed neatly on the floor or in shoe hangers.

Come see me

I will be giving talks on green remodeling and answering questions this weekend at the Novi Home Improvement Show at the Rock Financial Showplace in Novi. Call (248) 737-4477 for more information.

Places to find shelving

Take a drive to your local hardware store and home center. They all have shelving and organizing departments. On the Web, www.solutions.com and www.space

savers.com have great selections. Solutions even has a well-written article on closet organization.

I especially liked Solutions' $49.95 Space-saving mirror that hangs over the door and Space Savers' $19.99 Wireless LED Strip Light. The LED strip light has four swiveling lights and runs on three AAA batteries. You can get "tap it" lights that will also do a nice job, but are very inexpensive.

If you want a more tailored approach, John's Lumber and many Ace and True Value hardware stores carry Easy Track Closet Organizer kits. They look great, are very strong, easy to install and made in Michigan.

From now on, clothing confusion will be a thing of the past.

Note: This article was accurate at the date of publication. However, information contained in it may have changed. If you plan to use the information contained herein for any purpose, verification of its continued accuracy is your responsibility.

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