Kathi’s expert advice has been featured in national media outlets including Oprah Magazine, Martha Stewart Living and Better Homes and Gardens, Entrepreneur Magazine, and more. As the author of 2 books, Kathi has also developed several online courses to help clients get better organized and energized in all areas of their home, life, and business.
Check out all of the systems you can use here

Kathi’s expert advice has been featured in national media outlets including Oprah Magazine, Martha Stewart Living and Better Homes and Gardens, Entrepreneur Magazine, and more. 

As the author of 2 books, Kathi has also developed several online courses to help clients get better organized and energized in all areas of their home, life, and business.
Check out more systems you can use here

Kathi’s expert advice has been featured in national media outlets including Oprah Magazine, Martha Stewart Living and Better Homes and Gardens, Entrepreneur Magazine, and more. 

As the author of 2 books, Kathi has also developed several online courses to help clients get better organized and energized in all areas of their home, life, and business.
Check out all of the systems you can use here

Use a Hamper (or two)

The most important organizing tool you can have in your bedroom is a hamper. All clothes should be placed into your hamper when they are dirty. When selecting a hamper, purchase one that will fit into the space where you get dressed and undressed.

Hampers with lids can be a problem. I find that when a hamper has a lid, clothes end up outside and stacked on the lid because you cant get into the hamper because the clothes are stacked on top of the lid. See the problem? Keeping your hamper ‘open for business’ will keep your laundry challenges under control. If your hamper lives inside of your closet (which by the way is ideal) and has a lid, please get rid of it. This is one of the first things I do when I work with clients in their master bedroom.

You might be moaning at this point that you don’t want to see all of that dirty laundry and you need a lid. If you are one of the few that actually don’t pile clothes on top of your closed hamper, then feel free to keep it. BUT if you are one of the many who use the hamper as a secondary table, do yourself a favor and ditch the lid!

If you are fortunate enough to have a walk-in closet, get a hamper that fits inside your closet. Get dressed and undressed within the confines of your closet. This will eliminate the possibility that you will toss clothes onto the floor, spare chair or side table when you get undressed. It also keeps all clothing items sorted following the ‘like with like’ category!

Also, make a rule with yourself that no clean clothes can enter your bedroom unless they are put away where they belong. This means that you have to make this step a part of every laundry load. Actually getting dressed or choosing your clothes from a pile instead of from a neatly folded or hanging selection guarantees that you will have a day that begins with the stress of being disorganized. Will you really feel confident and in the mood to take on the world if you have to dig through piles in order to find 2 matching socks?

Tips for what you might consider the in-between clothes ~
You know the ones. These are clothes that you have worn once but aren't quite dirty and also not squeaky clean? Do yourself a favor and do not create a new zone like many of my clients have done in the past. This zone is always makeshift and quite often involves the end of the bed or the exercise equipment. Make a decision right when you get undressed. Are they too dirty to wear again? If the answer is yes, toss them into the dirty clothes. If the answer is no, go ahead and hang them back into your closet. Just like being pregnant, your clothes are either dirty or clean, there is no in-between!

If you wear a lot of clothes that are either gentle wash or dry clean, consider adding another hamper to keep items separated. If space is not an issue you can also the old school technique and divide by whites versus color.

Tonight before you go to bed, tackle the “chair of clothes” that you probably have waiting for you. Put them away and don’t let the clothes pile up ever again. The mound of clothes is horrible for your mental attitude. Just looking at it brings about guilt and a nagging feeling of inadequacy.

If you want to see how I organized a closet for FOX 5 News, click here.

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  1. Hi, Kathi

    I don’t know how this would work for your clients but it’s worked GREAT for me for a few years. I have a laundry room hamper that contains 4 different colored pillowcases (1 king-size, 3 regular-size). When I put dirty clothes/linens in the hamper, I put the linens in the king-size pillowcase, the white clothes in the white case, the light colored clothes in the beige case, and the dark clothes in the purple case. When I’m ready to wash a load, the laundry is already sorted by color! I just toss the contents of a case in the washer and proceed.

    I am a terminally disorganized person. I read this tip somewhere, and it is a terrific time saver and a big help to a disorganized person like me. Maybe some of your clients would benefit from using this system.

    Dale

    1. Hi Dale,

      I really appreciate your tip and am certain that there is someone out there who will benefit from your tried and true technique. Thanks so much for taking the time to submit this comment!

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