Closets are part of what we call “common areas” in that they are common to many rooms in our homes. They quickly and easily become dumping grounds for anything we want to hide. They are also places that we often forget to clean and purge.
If you feel overwhelmed when you look in your closet, this article is for you. Let’s walk through the steps of a proper @gocleanco style closet clean and purge.
1. Take it all out
Yes, all of it. You don’t have to do this every time you clean a closet, but it does need to be done once in a while for a proper purge and clean. Don’t attempt to do all of your closets in one day. For today, pick one closet. Empty it and put everything into a pile.
Pro Tip: Do yourself a favor and put the pile on your bed (or any other clean, elevated surface). You’re going to have to go through each item individually, and this will save your back and knees.
2. Clean the closet
Now that everything is out of your closet, this is the perfect time to clean it. You can finally see the floors and walls that haven’t seen the light of day in months or years. And you will probably see a lot of dirt, dust and fingerprints.
- Grab your vacuum and vacuum every shelf and ledge. We work from top to bottom so that any dust disturbed on the top shelf will get sucked up when we get to the floor. Don’t forget the tops of door ledges, window sills, etc. You’ll also want to hit the top corners where the walls meet the ceiling. It’s easy for cobwebs and strands of dust to form here. Vacuum the floor last.
- Next, we will wipe down the walls and shelves. (It’s amazing how many scuffs and marks are hiding behind shelves and clothing bars.) We recommend using our Water, Bleach and Tide recipe. In a bucket, mix ⅓ cup bleach*, 1tsp Powdered Tide, and about a gallon of HOT water. Again, work from the top down, left to right, and wipe down all the walls and shelves. (*Omit the bleach if your closet has carpet to avoid accidental stains!)
- The last cleaning step is to deep clean your floors.
- If they are laminate, hardwood, tile or linoleum, you can use a fresh batch of your water, bleach and tide mixture and a spin mop to mop the floors. (Omit the bleach if your floor is marble.) Let the floor dry and follow up with a quick vacuum to get any remaining dust or hairs that were missed.
- If your floors are carpeted, a good, slow vacuuming should suffice, and spot treat any stains using a pinch of powdered tide and some hot water.
3. Purge
The next and possibly most important step is to purge your closet. Pick up each item and decide if you want to keep, donate, or toss it. If you haven’t used it or worn it in 6 months or your kid has outgrown it, you should likely donate it. If it’s wrecked, throw it out.
Group the items you want to keep into piles to make them easier to organize going back into your closet. I like to try most clothes on again to see if they still fit. Usually, I rediscover some long-lost favorites!
4. Put it back
It’s time to start putting your closet back together. Have a look and think about how you can best utilize your space. Of course, there’s always the option to have a total closet redesign and get custom organizers installed, but there’s a lot you can do to organize on a budget using a few clever items.
Off-season or less frequently used items can be kept on higher shelves in bins or baskets. You can utilize acrylic shelf dividers to keep your folded or rolled items organized and in neat stacks –measure your shelf first, please!
Have a lot of hanging space? Use velvet hangers to keep your clothes hanging nicely and save space. Shoe overload? Consider adding a shoe shelf to keep them contained.
Pro Tip: Put your hangers backwards as you organize your closet, and then after you wear something, put the hanger the proper way when you put it back. That way, when you go to organize your closet next time, you know what you’ve worn since the last time you purged.
Now the most challenging part is to stay organized. Don’t let all your hard work go to waste by treating your closets like a dumping ground. Won’t it feel nice to be proud instead of Monica’s closet of shame on Friends?
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Grab The Cleaning Army Handbook
If you’re interested in cleaning your closets, it means you’re serious about keeping an organized home. (I mean, most people just cram stuff into their closets, close the door, and smile like everything’s okay. So, kudos for caring about the details.)
Want to discover more cleaning techniques, processes and recipes? Grab a version of The Cleaning Army Handbook and get to work!
- Closet storage baskets, fabric (Canada) (USA)
- Grey plastic storage baskets (Canada) (USA)
- Acrylic shelf dividers (Canada) (USA)
- 7 tier wooden shoe rack (Canada) (USA)
- Cube storage bins w/window (Canada) (USA)
- Velvet hangers (50pk) (Canada) (USA)
- Wire storage baskets (Canada) (USA)
For a list of our favorite products, click here.
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gocleanco
Dec 3
My little sister’s surprise bedroom makeover. SPOILER ALERT: She loved it. She texted me that she thought she was in the wrong house 😎 Big thanks to @bollandbranch who gifted her the bedding she has been begging me for 4 years! #merrychristmashappybirthday
gocleanco
Nov 25
Wish y’all coulda been in the car for the debrief on the way home. 🫠🫠🫠 Reminder that the machines that you lean on to “clean” the things in your home also need to be cleaned and maintained. Top 2 dirtiest things in peoples home? The dishwasher and the washing machine. Period.
gocleanco
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I circled rollerblades in the Sears Wish Book every year…and every year my mother would patiently explain that we lived on an acreage with gravel roads and rollerblades do not work on gravel…and every year I would be so disappointed when they didn’t show up under the tree. 🤣🤦🏼♀️ #nostalgia #christmastime
gocleanco
Nov 15
PSA: A lot of people don’t know you can do this when you order a gift off of Amazon. At check out, you can select that the item is a gift and then choose the option to add a gift bag and a custom message and this is how it is delivered! You don’t have to worry about the surprise being ruined if they open the box because it’s already wrapped and they can plunk it under the tree. Perfect if you have family far away that you won’t be seeing this holiday season. Saves ya time and energy in the chaos of the season. 🎁🎄🎅🏻🕰️🕰️🕰️ #christmastime
gocleanco
Nov 13
Nostalgic Christmas!!!! Bring on the tinsel and the garland. I can handle it. 🤭We have some fun things planned to take you back to the days when we made ornaments outta fishhooks, so STAY TUNED ya filthy animals! 🎄🎁 ⛄️ 🎅🏻 🤶🏻❄️ ☕️
gocleanco
Nov 12
Best part of getting my hair done is hanging with sister @hellohairhouse the results aren’t too shabby either
gocleanco
Nov 9
Just out here doing the lords work. meganrreed_
gocleanco
Nov 4
Okay my DM’s are full of people asking for this to live on the feed. Brew a cup of coffee. I use a @nespresso pod but any regular cup java will do. Add in one scoop of your fav protein powder (or do half if you find this too sweet). This-is-a-wing-it-to-how-you-like-it-recipe as most cups of coffee are. I used vanilla protein powder here with a sprinkle of cinnamon, tastes a Christmasy! My go to is usually chocolate protein because it tastes like a mocha. Froth it with frother and drink it hot or over ice. This gets me 26 grams of protein right in the morning which helps cause I’m not a breakfast person. I’m trying y’all. 💪🏻 🍑
gocleanco
Nov 1
You asked and I delivered! You have been requesting I test the viral Tineco floor washers forever so here they are! Full break down of the S5 and S3 model in my stories plus they are both on sale at Canadian Tire and Amazon! @tinecoglobal #sponsored #floorcare #evolutionofclean
gocleanco
Oct 28
Best one yet. 🤣😂🤣🤣 I told you guys he looks like @mrclean
gocleanco
Oct 25
I have shared my new BLANCO sink and faucet but let’s talk about accessories, did you know BLANCO also has under sink organization systems? I completed my BLANCO UNIT with the BOTTON II, it tidies up the mess under your kitchen sink and it pulls out like a drawer; you can store your cleaning supplies in it and also has a handy dandy little handle so you can take your supplies with you around the house. I have a post up on their blog that goes into depth about BLANCO maintenance and care, and more tips in my stories so make sure you check them out. You folks had lots of questions about BLANCO last round and I am happy to help. Plus BLANCO customer service can answer any maintenance questions you might have. #sponsored @blancoamerica1
gocleanco
Oct 22
You can’t win them all. 🐷🩰
gocleanco
Oct 20
Ghosts have chores too! #happyhalloween
gocleanco
Oct 13
It’s a blessing and a curse, really. #housework
gocleanco
Oct 11
Me for the last 24 hours straight 🥴😵💫 What didn’t you snag that you had on your heart set on for Prime Big Deals Days? Drop ONE THING you didn’t nab in the comments below and maybe we will do some surprise Amazon deliveries! 🥰 The only thing I have had time to buy for myself is a Home Alone Pillow with Kevin’s face on it and some Tide Rescue 😂 Swipe to see ➡️➡️➡️
gocleanco
Oct 9
It is the final week of the Fall Cleaning Challenge which means we are cleaning the Common Area’s in our homes (that’s hallways, closets, mudrooms, porches and laundry rooms) we are ALSO taking our buckets, Aquablades, power washers and shop vacuums outside to clean up our outdoor spaces before the ❄️ hits. This is a big week. What’s the biggest disaster area that you need to tackle this week? I’ll go first. It’s my scary linen closet which currently it has a sign on on it that says CAUTION ⚠️ 😂 I also got a new leaf blower that I am very excited to blast some dirt and 🍂 with. Pace yourselves, WE GOT THIS! 👊🏻 #cleaningtips
gocleanco
Oct 8
If you are sick of doing dishes, we got this off Amazon for Stella’s apartment cause she didn’t have a dishwasher and she would not stop complaining about it. The little window is so cute, you can watch everything that happening in it, it’s almost as dramatic as and episode of Love is Blind. 5 stars ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️ from Stella! #amazonfinds
gocleanco
Oct 7
Hiiiii 👋🏼 Sarah here. I’m the one behind the cleaning hacks, motivation, business tips, home design, decor and sometimes fashion advice and sassy commentary. Oh and I wrote some books in the early days too 🤓 How long have long have you been following along for the ride? Thanks for sticking with me 💕💕💕
gocleanco
Oct 6
Takes me just as long to pick a blanket as it does a pillowcase. 🫠🤣 Everything is linked up in my Amazon Store front! Link is in my bio. Reminder it’s Prime Deals Days next week so expecting lots of stuff to be on sale next week! My rug is from @ruggable and is 9x12 and called the Kamran Hazel. #falldecor
gocleanco
Oct 4
Entering spooky season but it’s just a regular Wednesday for us. Today I learned not everyone pronounces it 👻—GUR 🤣🤣🤣 #happyhalloween