A Teenagers Closet - What clothes do I keep?

A Teenagers Closet - What clothes do I keep?
By: Merle E. Givens - Meg Simplifies Teens

Do you look at your clothes and ask this? I wonder which clothes I should keep.  There are too many for me to choose.  Do you hesitate to get rid of clothes because you might want them later? Many teens find they have an abundance of clothes.  Does this sound like you? Then, you need a path to progress and a step-by-step method that works.  Let’s begin, so soon you can say, I know what to wear and I can find it.  


Sorting Clothes


How much clothes should you have?  Well, that depends upon the size of your space and if you plan to actually wear all of your clothes.  If you do not have the space, you most likely will begin to get messy again and you are back to asking yourself, wear did I put that.  Your goal is to keep only what you actually wear and use the most or for special occasions.


Make sure to set a weekend or specific day to sort your clothes closet and drawers. 


Your plan should be to only store or hang enough clothes to fit 80% or less of your closet.  This gives you added space for empty hangers and makes your closet look nicer and easier for you to slide clothes over when looking for a particular item.  No more excuses overstuffing your closet or drawers.  Your plan helps make clothes easier to see and easier to keep up with when you start your day.  


Here is the plan. Sort your clothes by categories. Take out all your shirts first; ask yourself, which ones you wear the most through out the month.  Keep these in a keep pile on your bed. Next, what shirts do you wear for special days of the year?  If you wear them more than once or twice, decide now if it is worn this year or not.  Either keep or put in a give away/sell/trade pile.  Ask and see if a friend wants these first, then get rid of the rest.


On some clothes, you may feel that if you give them away you might regret it.  Ask yourself, why do I feel this way?  Is it because you just need something to wear with it?  Does it need mending?  Are you going to buy something to make it worth wearing or actually mend it within the month?  Does it fit you now?  If, not then remove it unless you are already on your way to getting into it. If you truly want to wear something, you make it happen by doing something to make it so. If your answer is no, then get rid of it and quit fretting over it.  


Keep going through the above process with your other clothes each category at a time until you finish sorting.


Organize your clothes and accessories comes next. You are now ready for the next step that of putting your clothes in order for storage in your closet or drawers.


Go to next article entitled 'A Teenagers Closet - How to Organize' and begin: http://megsimplifies.blogspot.com/2011/06/teenagers-closet-how-to-organize.html


Photo found at http://office.microsoft.com

A Teenagers Closet – How to Organize

A Teenagers Closet – How to Organize - Part Two
By: Merle E. Givens – Meg Simplifies Teens

You finished sorting.  Let’s put those clothes in order in your closet and drawers now.  If you haven't sorted go to article: A Teenagers Closet - What do I Keep? on this site.


Take all hangers out of closet if not done so.  Remove wire hangers and use plastic ones if you can.  These hangers do better for your clothes.  They keep creases out of your sweaters shoulders and keep creases out of jeans when folded over the hanger.  Also, find the kind with grooves at the top for any spaghetti strapped tops and sleeveless shirts.  Or you can use the plastic shirt and metal clipped hangers the kind they use in retail stores.  The metal clips do not slide as easy.  This makes keeping skirts from bunching up and wrinkling. 


Take each category, such as all shirts, then begin putting on hangers, and hang in closet by colors of each group. Go lightest to darkest in each color group.


Either put all t-shirts in one color group each or you can put all short sleeve type shirts and longs sleeves next to each other in their color group.  Use whatever method works best for your needs.


Keep up this process until all clothes are hanged or folded and put up in closet or drawers.  Do you still need space? If you have your 80% of space used, then you can go to 90% and prune down.  Or use another closet in a nearby room or use a metal clothes rack on wheels for some excess.  


If you only have a very small closet then you need to add a rack in your closet or buy the metal clothes rack as mentioned in the above paragraph. You can also use plastic rolling drawer bins.  These work great for casual shirts and pants. 


Shoes and accessories


For your boots, store in boxes they came in when you bought them.  Stack at top of closet on a shelf.  Or use clear plastic bins.  For seasonal shoes, store in bins that roll under you bed.  Use shoe hangers that go over a door or that hang in closet.  There are also cubby bins or shelves you can place at bottom of closet to use for your shoes.


Belts and purses hang on hooks on back of closet door or bedroom door.  Or use hooks or a nail to hang belts and purses inside your closet space.


When you are finished organizing, take some time to sit back and treat yourself for all your hard work.  Enjoy your new closet and easy to find clothes.


For more information on organizing your closet go to Meg Simplifies Life.
Find out how to sort clothes first for organizing in the article: A Teenagers Closet - What clothes to I keep?


For all you teen girls use the sites on the side bar about Gena, a teenager herself.  On her site she shows you her personal journey of organizing her own closet and videos are found on Youtube about her too. There are some videos on side bar that highlight her on this site. Meg Simplifies Teens 


Photo by: Microsoft

What Can My Teen Do During the Summer?

The lament of a teen - What can I do for the summer?
By: Merle E. Givens – Meg Simplifies Life

What to do for a bored teens summer?

As the summer months soon arrive, many teens get the boredom blues of summer. When school lets out for these months, teens need ideas of things to do for summer months. What are some summer time things a teen can do? Keeping it interesting too can be puzzling.  Try these simple ideas to help your teen enjoy their summer.

Teens can become bored with a mundane routine, so making summertime fun is the first key to succeed. Let us begin by asking your teens what their interests are. Do they happen to find a particular subject of interest in school? What subject did they enjoy during the school year the most? Was it music, science, P.E., English, art classes or home economics? Finding out what a teen likes in school can be a leading factor to enhance and build skills for the future and enjoy their summer.

This helps tremendously when a teen is beginning high school. They can choose classes to build onto a hobby or skill they want to enhance.

Ask your local school district if there are any summer classes your teen could take in a favorite subject.

Does a teen like to make people laugh or entertain others? They may enjoy taking a drama class program for the summer.

Music lover - They may enjoy learning an instrument, such as a guitar or taking a singing class.

Do they love animals? Try volunteering at a local animal shelter. Or pet sit for the summer months for some extra spending money.

Reading or writing - Try volunteering at a local library part-time. Make a book of poetry or write about your interest. Can they compose music? Have them make a video about it.

Science – find a summer class to learn about the subject of their choice or go on field trips to science museum. Or take a summer trip to an archeology dig, and learn from experienced experts and have fun at the same time.

For the green tree hugger type, they could volunteer to help a recycling event. Or create something at home that helps the environment in their home.

Computer skills – Mentor a person at your local library. Help a beginner learn skills you already now. Some give computer classes and you can volunteer to assist the person teaching this class. Read up on subjects you want to enhance upon in the technical field.

Sports – find a local place were your teen could meet others that love the same sport.

Arts – learn how to paint, sketch, or do photography by watching videos on relevant websites or find a summer program.

Use a weekend to take a family day trip to a place of interest they might like.

Or, to make extra summer money, find a summer job.

Some links to use found on Teen Sites.

Image found at Microsoft.com