Dear KK,
Fall is my favorite season! But the thought of dealing day in and day out with the sweater shelf in my closet leaves me wishing I could just spring forward to spring. Do you have any advice on how to avoid an avalanche every time I attempt to grab a sweater off the top shelf?
-Sweating the Sweater Season
Dear Triple S,
I find that sweaters are one of the "hard to let go" items in a woman's closets. First of all, they are nostalgic. The cardigan you wore when you met "Carl" reminds you of your first kiss. The ten turtlenecks sitting on your top shelf make you feel fuzzy at first glance. And then there is the word "sweater". It is such a broad term. Now a days a sweater could be considered a zippy, a hoodie, a pull over,a jersey and even a turtle neck!
Finally, sweaters are seasonal and they tend to be bulky...which means they find an inconvenient home on your top shelf. There they sit, staring at you all spring. And 70% of them just end up collecting dust . Suddenly, that cozy cardigan has just turned into a closet catastrophe.
So what to do? Well, first of all, you need to change your attitude towards your apparel. Think of each article of clothing as an emotion. Remember your wardrobe represents who you are...so you need to take an inventory of what is going on with you. Take time to sift through each sweater. How does it make you feel? Are you happy? Are you excited to wear it? Does it make you feel secure? If you find you have no positive emotion associated with an item... it needs to go. Now let's say you find sweaters that make you feel safe and secure? ... well, then treat them as such... throwing your security on the top shelf where you can never reach it is like purposely losing your house keys. You need to find a place in your closet that is accessible for your sweaters. This will take a little work
and you will have to rethink your closet arrangement every fall. Try putting items you won't wear until spring into bins. Then place those bins on your top shelf making space to hang sweaters in
your closet. I know hanging sweaters can be tricky but there are lots of affordable and fun ways to do it. As you know, I am a big fan of Joy Mangano's options, her sweater hangers actual work. They don't bend or crease the sweater. She also has several great cubbies that you can use to hang in your closet.
Also look for liquidation sales at organizational stores if you surf the internet you can find lots of great deals on discounted items for your closet.
Have fun with the process and don't be afraid to 'keep things hanging'!
-KK
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