Let’s set the scene.

You are in front of your closet. You’ve found the energy and you’ve done it! You successfully finished your closet’s spring purge and refresh. Maybe you’ve even gotten adventurous and decided to tackle your kids’ closets, as well.

And now, sitting smack dab in front of you, there it is…the stuff.

So. Much. Stuff.

Piles or bags of clothing, shoes, belts, hats—the list goes on—you name it, it’s right in front of you. Now you need to decide what exactly to do with everything. Sometimes this can be the most daunting problem of all.

It’s one thing to purge and edit; it’s something else to know what to do with everything left over. We get many questions about what to do with the pieces once they are no longer wanted

As fun as it is to watch children open their gifts on Christmas morning, eventually all those toys and trinkets have to go somewhere. So to make room for the influx of new stuff and help you prepare for the holiday toy explosion beforehand we’ve put together a guide on how to start organizing:

Confession, I used to be a chronic overpacker. I was scared I wouldn’t have enough choices so I would throw everything and the kitchen sink into the largest piece of luggage I had.  I cannot tell you how many times I came home with over half of the items never worn, yet, they still had to be laundered because they were wrinkled and re-packed with dirty clothes. Then one fateful trip to Sweden I learned the error of my ways. After a cancelled flight, a missed connection, four layovers and 36 hours I arrived in Stockholm, but sadly my luggage did not.

Halloween is always a lot of fun. Little goblins, witches, unicorns, and superheroes run amuck in search of candy, pictures are taken, sugar comas ensue, and then it’s officially November and time to pack away those festive costumes and pumpkin pails that won’t be used again until next year.