Italians don’t have closets

They have armoires – floor to ceiling, maximizing every inch of space. The key to healthy clothes-closet organization is il cambio di stagione, changing seasons. Winter clothes need to hibernate in summer and vice versa. I recommend a dedicated space in your storage closet, preferably in a freestanding closet. Keep clothes protected from sunlight and dust, but don’t wrap/suffocate them individually. Avoid plastic. Tips for fare il cambio:

• Pick a day or evening shortly into the season, once the thermometer has made up its mind, and allow a couple of hours to get the job done in one session
• Clear out the past season’s clothes and divide into: (1) give away; (2) launder; (3) dry clean; (4) return to rightful owner; (5) mend or tailor
• Start your laundry rounds while you spruce up the closet with a micro-fiber cloth wipe-down, clearing out any junk and tidying hangers and bins
• Place in-season clothes into your fresh-and-clean closet
• Make the rounds to thrift store, dry cleaner’s, to your sister’s with her long-forgotten sweater, and to your tailor (Do it now. Do not pass go do not collect $200)

Check out these reach-in closet images. Even small apartment closets have at least one blank wall. Next post we’ll talk about revamping your armoire architecture to let clothes breathe and to save headache and hassle in the morning.

Emilia :)

photo credit: <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/26098878@N06/24695767941″>2016 collection MAZZALI GRANDI ARMADI</a> via <a href=”http://photopin.com”>photopin</a&gt; <a href=”https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/”>(license)</a&gt;