The big excitement of last week was the ol’ closet switcheroo that I typically do twice a year. It’s not quite a full wardrobe rotation; mostly, the focus is on my footwear and making the seasonally appropriate options easier to reach due to limitations of space. Such excitement, I can hardly stand it.
Perhaps you also do a semi-annual closet switcheroo as the calendar ticks over from Winter to Spring or from Summer to Fall especially if the weather in your area vastly differs from season to season. There’s less than a 30° range in the average temperatures between Summer and Winter where I live so a lot of my wardrobe can be worn year-round with the exception of a few heavier jackets and sweaters. It’s mostly just with my footwear that I have a couple of “won’t wear this time of year” rules that I follow like no tall boots between April 1 and October 1.
As I noted in the introduction, my seasonal switcheroo is necessary because of closet space limitations. In our lives together, The Husband and I have owned four properties. It has always been my dream to have a walk-in closet as well as a spa-like bathtub within our main bedroom. I’ve never had both at the same time. With the first two homes, I had neither; however, with the property we owned prior to our current one, I finally got a walk-in closet. During the remodeling we’d done before moving into that place, we added a door through the back of the closet of the small bedroom which was adjacent to ours. This allowed for direct access to that room and it became my closet. It was glorious and I do so miss it.
When we bought our current home, the one space we waited on remodeling was our main bedroom which we thought we’d tackle within a year. It’s been nearly three years and I’m determined that we’ll finally get to it by the end of 2022. Although I finally now have a spa-like bathtub that I’ve been thoroughly enjoying, the closet set-up is not great. I have two 6′ reach-in closets that face each other and while one is about 36″ deep, the other is only 17″ deep which barely allows for standard-size hangers. In the larger closet, I have three spaces for my shoes; across the top shelf which I need a step ladder to reach, below my long-hanging items, and on the side shelves. There is a set of side shelves in the smaller closet as well.
Instead of a typical dresser, I’ve been using an Ikea shelf unit that has two drawers as a (temporary?) substitute, the top of which you can see in the photo on the right. I use the top and upper shelf along with the lower shelf for storing shoes as well. I’d already started to pull out my shoes when it occurred to me that I should take a set of before photos which is why there appear to be some empty spaces on my shelves. Rest assured, all spaces had been occupied.
I may have neglected to mention that the quantity of my footwear may also play a part in my closet space limitations problem. In doing my Summer-to-Fall closet switcheroo six months ago, I decided to take inventory so that I could better assess the closet space I need and should plan for in our bedroom remodel. If I recall correctly, the count at that time was 108 and that didn’t include the 15+ pairs that I’d culled out to donate or sell. This time around, the total is 111 and that’s after I decided on another nine to donate or sell. I guess I’ve done a bit of shopping in the last six months.
When putting it all back, I usually start with the items that I absolutely won’t be wearing and place them on the higher shelves. For Spring/Summer, that means tall and other heavier-looking boots. I know, fashionistas all adore chunky boots with sundresses but that’s not my vibe. Then I move on to the footwear that I probably won’t wear, like ones for dressier occasions, filling in those harder-to-reach areas. I try to keep similar types of shoes grouped together as well like low-heeled casual shoes or higher-heeled sandals to make assessing my options a bit easier. Everything is now back in its new place.
Among the recently added items to my footwear collection are the wedge sandals I’m wearing in this post’s featured outfit photos. I’d come across the same ones in tan while shopping with my daughter a couple of weeks ago. Her comment to me when I showed them to her was “those look like you” which I didn’t know how to take at first. She assured me that she didn’t mean it as a criticism and that it was just an observation. I share this because it does bring to mind a topic worthy of discussion which is practicality versus style when it comes to footwear.
One of the pairs of shoes that I decided to donate/sell in this last go-around are the sandals I’m wearing in the photos below. While I still like the style and how they look on me, practically speaking I’ve mostly only worn them for photos. For me, they’re not comfortable for long-haul wear. Over time, I’ve come to terms with the fact that I no longer want to wear shoes that are uncomfortable, and as much as it pains me to do so, I should get rid of such offenders.
So that was Monday.
Tuesday
After my morning walk, breakfast, washing my hair (it’s a two-hour ordeal), and playing around with finding a new photo location for OOTDs, I dashed out to the market to get a couple of the fixings I needed for Tofu Taco Tuesday (that’s a thing, right?).
Wednesday
Guess where The Husband and I went this fine day? A couple hundred dollars later, we’re all stocked up for a few weeks and we picked up some new fluffy bath towels. Later in the evening, while out shopping on my own, I came upon this wall and I couldn’t pass it up with taking a selfie. And yes, I’m still wearing a mask in public indoor settings.
Rest Of The Week
We had a bit of a hot spell with temps getting up to the low 80s. I wore this outfit twice, both on Thursday when I went to Ulta to get some hair products and to The Container Store to browse for closet inspiration and then again on Saturday when we met up with friends for dinner.
I mentioned earlier about first finding my sandals in tan which I bought. A day or two later, I found online that the same style also comes in other colors and decided to buy a second pair in white. They are infinitely more comfortable to wear than the white sandals I decided to get rid of. The purse is a new-to-me thrift store find from a couple of months ago and the jacket was also a secondhand purchase. The dress has been around for a while and it was about a year ago that I first shared three styling ideas for it in Fresh Focus: Tie-Dye.
Let’s Wrap This Up
Now, onto the Fine-Whatever link-up. My featured blogger from last week’s link-up is Claire, the lifestyle, health, and wellness blogger you’ll find over at Claire Justine, and her cute pup, Murphy. In celebration of the UK’s National Take A Walk In The Park Day, the two of them were out and about enjoying a fine Spring day.
So it seems that my closet switcheroo has been both a literal one as well a figurative one. Not only rotating items as the seasons change but also making changes in my perspective regarding what I wear. Have you made any changes to your closet lately?
Stay well and let’s keep in touch! Subscribe, tweet, follow, friend, pin … all options are available. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
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Note: This is an unsponsored post; however, some or all of the links to clothing items are associated with an affiliate program where I earned a few cents for each click.
Photos: MMPerez
24 Comments
I am really lucky. The last two houses we’ve lived in had walk in closets. Our current house has two walk in closets in the master bedroom as well as a huge garden tub (I don’t take baths, but it’s there). We renovated the walk in closets here with IKEA Kallax units and Billy bookshelves. I haven’t had to switch out closets since moving to this house as almost everything fits in my primary closet. I do have two other closets for specialty things (and my daughter’s big fluffy wedding dress). You make me feel so much better about my shoes!!! And, yes, I agree, comfort over almost anything when it comes to footwear! I have a few pairs of sandals that are for short shopping trips. Gosh, I remember wearing a pair of sandals that were just two leather straps across my instep and around the heel and tied around my ankles with some cording…to have those feet again would be marvelous! Of course, that’s probably why I have these feet now!
Thanks for the link party, Rena!
https://marshainthemiddle.com/
Monumental! You inspire me to roll up my sleeves and be ruthless!
I need to show my husband the picture of all your shoes so he will stop griping about mine!
You and I think alike, Sparksfit! I just showed mine and his only comment was WOW!
I haven’t counted my shoes because I don’t want to know lol! But I did add 3 pairs in the last 10 days lol! But I also got rid of two I think, I do rotate some of my things and like you there are some shoes that are put away for part of the year.
http://www.chezmireillefashiontravelmom.com
You have quite the shoe collection! We have limited closet space in our home and turning one of the extra bedrooms into a closet room is on my project list. It must feel so great to have everything organized!
Jill – Doused in Pink
I’m right there with you on the comfy shoes. If they aren’t comfortable, I’m not wearing them. I love your thrifted purse. S fabulous pop of color against your lovely black and white outfit. Ha! I featured Claire Justine too.
Michelle
https://mybijoulifeonline.com
I would love to have a walk in closet! And I thought I was a shoe addict, lol. Comfortable shoes are more important to me now too, I find myself only looking for comfortable ones.
I do a twice yearly rotation for exactly the same reasons as you – not enough space. I’ll be packing away my boots and thick sweaters and coats until September. 111 pairs! I’m going to count mine but I think you will be the victor!
Feet are the bane of my life, so actually what I can wear becomes the priority now. So I buy comfort in multiples, but won’t be catching you up for a while. A walk in closet, my heavenly ideal!!
Pamela
http://www.style-yourself-confident.com
I love the bright bag with the black dress! I’m amazed with your shoe collection too – I’m definitely more a bag person than a shoe person, I spend most of my time in sneakers to support my knee injury anyway. Luckily when we built our house a wardrobe room was something I wanted and I was lucky to get it! My uncle helped install some ikea shelving in it for me, so I have space for all my wardrobe to stay out year-round.
Thanks for your link up! Hope you are having a good week. We are enjoying the Easter school holidays 🙂
My closet space is super limited but lucky for me, the weather here is pretty much hot all the darn time so most things can stay in place all year. Good thing since I literally have no place to store anything! I got rid of a ton of shoes a few years ago because so many were uncomfortable. Where I used to love finding fun, new shoes all the time my feet just can’t handle it. I just have so many foot issues!
xo,
Kellyann
Great outfits as always!
Love and Wellness
https://wellnessshopland.com
Oh my gosh, Rena, your shoe box mountain looks similar to mine! I am afraid to actually count mine though. First of all, it would require cleaning out my closet to find everything! I need to do that desperately though and posts like this are slowly getting me motivated to conquer my feelings of overwhelm! This was a fun read! And all of your outfits and shoes are super cute. I will not be baring my toes though for probably 2 more months!
Shelbee
Wow! That’s a lot of shoes. About a year ago I got rid of a bunch of shoes too because my son moved back home and I needed the closet space for him. I don’t miss the shoes at all. Love your outfit.
How lovely, I have a super room that I call my dressing room, still not enough for everything though! Thanks for hosting the linkup Jacqui x
Great party!! Thanks for hosting.
That is an impressive amount of shoes! I’ll admit I am jealous! I do have a walk-in closet, but the ceiling is low so I can’t really stack much. One day I’d love to renovate it and expand but we can always dream, right?
Now that ‘s a shoe collection! I’m looking to find a way to display my shoes better in my closet. Love all your looks!
https://www.kathrineeldridge.com
Oh my goodness me, Rena! I thought I had a lot of shoes lol!! What a collection! I guess we should start calling you Imelda!! LOL!! Only kidding. My wardrobe switch over is mostly swapping out my boots for my sandals, but I’m still not quite ready to do that yet. It’s been a little chilly lately and has been raining a fair bit. Perhaps in a couple of weeks!
Hugs
Suzy xx
You look stunning! Nice dress! I too have a lot of shoes! Wonderful Post! Have a great day!
Rampdiary | Fineartandyou | Beautyandfashionfreaks
Oh, my goodness! Soooo many shoes! You look great in the black/white midi dress with the white jacket and orange purse. Thanks for hosting the link-up!
Carol
http://www.scribblingboomer.com
Rena, thank you for hosting and sharing your closet switch with us. The problem with having 111 pairs of shoes (besides the lack of closet space!) is one that I learned the hard way a couple years ago (though I had only a fraction of that number). I discovered a couple of forgotten shoe boxes in the back with shoes I hadn’t worn in a long time but still liked and was eager to start wearing. On closer inspection, I saw some problem areas, so went to my local shoe repair man who informed me that he couldn’t help me. He told me that shoes need to be worn. When they are not, they deteriorate, as mine had. They were very expensive and it was a sad loss. So I went home determined to not let any more shoes go to ruin. First thing I did was get them out of their boxes. Then I lined them up, toes forward, in a steel “office” bookcase so I can see what I have. I rotate them now, so they all get worn regularly. Problem solved. Shelves can be spaced as needed, so there is no stacking. It was juggling those stacks of boxes that had resulted in some shoes not being worn.
Rena! Contact me! You won a scarf in my giveaway!
I’ve sent you a couple of emails about it. Crickets.