My husband is an engineering whiz. He holds a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering, and his area of expertise is aerospace propulsion—it really is “rocket science” when it comes to this guy!—and my relationship with him is the reason I am familiar with the Second Law of Thermodynamics:  

In all energy exchanges, if no energy enters or leaves the system, 
the potential energy of the state will always be less than that of the initial state.

This is also commonly referred to as entropy. 

I may not have the mathematical genius to calculate the effect of aerodynamic drag on fuel consumption, but I absolutely know all about “Closet Entropy.” I know full well that if no energy enters that closet, it will spiral downward very quickly to disorder, with utter chaos soon to follow.

This particular law of Thermodynamics applies to ALL closets—whether they belong to grandmas, teenagers, or babies, and whether they store clothing, games, or toys.  

If you’re a mom who thrives on order, you most likely ward off the entropy frequently. Others of us wait until full-blown chaos has erupted before launching the clean-up. (Hint: if closets have spilled over to usurp part of the bedroom, you are officially in chaos!) 

When our children are babies, of course, closet clutter control falls on us. But if you are still managing the chaos for a 5, 8, 12, or even 16-year-old, I want to challenge you to STOP. It may seem the simpler, less-painful path in the short term, but in truth, you’re just deferring the problem.

Do your job, Mom!

Train up your children to deal with their own possessions—and start young, when good habits are easier to establish. Consider it part of life-skills training to prepare them for adulthood. Managing stuff is just as important as managing money…and if your child is old enough to make decisions about spending even small amounts of money, you already know stuff is where a lot of their money goes anyway!

Closet clean-out with the kids brings some advantages you may not have considered: 

1. As mentioned above, you instill an important life skill on managing space. 
2. Children learn to be better stewards of their possessions. 
3. They are less likely to stuff and cram during routine “picking up” if they are truly responsible for the space. 
4. They’re reminded of toys, clothes, games, etc., that have been overlooked and may be more likely to use, play with, and/or wear. 
5. Later on, they can answer their own questions that would otherwise begin, “Mom, have you seen my _____?”
   

Collaborating with your children to steward their space not only trains them for adult life, but also forces you to respect their autonomy. The clothing, games, and toys that you would choose to give away may be the ones they prefer to hold onto—and because these are their possessions, keeping or releasing items should (at least partly) be their decision. 

Are you convinced? Let’s get started! 

Choose a day when you have several hours of uninterrupted time. If you opt for a weekday, plan for a light school day and consider putting soup in the slow cooker that morning so you don’t need to switch focus mid-way to make dinner. (You might consider one of our favorites found in our Soup’s On post.) 

If you have several children of closet-cleaning age, I recommend doing just one closet at a time. (For kids older than ten years, you can provide instructions, then oversee each step to ensure they’re followed diligently.)   

Here’s the plan: 

• Remove everything from the closet. Yes, everything. 
• Clean the closet space. Vacuum the floor, dust the shelves, clean the baseboards, and use a Magic Eraser to address any smudges on the walls.
• Separate all items into categories: clothes, toys, games, books, etc.
• Do an initial purge into bags or boxes designated:

Put Away: items that belong elsewhere in the house  
Throw Away: trash, broken items, clothing beyond repair, etc. 
Give Away: items no longer wanted or needed 

We credit Emilie Barnes, author of More Hours in My Day for these three categories. Her book has been updated since I first read it over 25 years ago, but those three catchy descriptions still stick with me.

• Examine the clothing pile more thoroughly: 

Move outgrown items to the Give Away box.
Set aside items that need to be repaired.
Assess if all items are needed—ask questions like these:

Is 15 t-shirts too many? 
Do you need three pairs of black slacks in the same size? 
Are there pieces you just don’t like or never wear? 

Once you’ve culled additional items, move them to the Give Away box, and neatly hang clothing you’re keeping. Save time dressing each day by grouping similar items together (especially helpful in your children’s closets, but a good idea for adults, too).  

• Evaluate toys, games, puzzles, books:
  

Move items no longer desired or outgrown to the Give Away box.
Mend any game boxes with heavy tape (like duct or packing tape).
Check games and puzzles for missing pieces. 

• Encourage the children to give some items to the church nursery, Salvation Army, or other local ministry. Then, consider selling gently-used items on Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, or eBay, or evaluate the benefit of a family garage sale. 
• Collaborate to form a storage plan:

Would boxes or bins work best on shelves, to corral smaller items? 
For storing games or puzzles, consider replacing boxes with plastic storage bags to save space.
Look at Pinterest together to glean some new ideas for your space.
Visit the dollar store and brainstorm about creative ways to use inexpensive resources for storage.

• Replace the toys, games, puzzles, and other items you’ve decided to keep in the appropriate closets. 
• Deal with the Put Away, Throw Away, and Give Away boxes immediately.  

Move the Put Away items to the appropriate space. Don’t put it down (thinking you’ll deal with it later). Put it away now.
Place the Throw Away items in the trash.
Carry the Give Away items to the car to be dropped off on your next errand day. 

• Celebrate! Give praise for a job well done … and take a pic to remember what it looks like! Then take Dad on a closet tour when he gets home to see the work completed! 

To give you a leg up on this project—and to encourage ongoing Put Away, Throw Away, Give Away routines at home—we’ve created sets of downloadable tags in a variety of colors and sizes that you can print and affix to your own boxes, bins, or baskets to help you keep organized on Purge the Closets Day and beyond! One set includes tags of various sizes, perfect for different containers you might use while organizing, and the second set includes large rectangular tags (great for boxes and storage bins).

Consider keeping a labeled Give Away box in a central location in your house, and be sure you donate items monthly. This helps ingrain the good habit of letting go of unwanted toys, outgrown clothing, and other items that would otherwise clutter up your family’s space.

Cleaning closets is the monthly task on our October ‘Do It’ List … will you be undertaking the project this month? We would LOVE to hear about your experience. Leave a comment telling us how it went, the most unusual thing you discovered in the process, or what your kids chose to toss or give away. Better still—a picture is worth a thousand words, so post a snapshot on our Facebook page!  

Happy Purging!  

 

Download your FREE printable labels today
& get started on your family’s closet organization project!

Home Organization Labels #1 - Assorted Sizes & Colors

Home Organization Labels #2 - Large Size for Boxes & Bins