Here’s some friendly advice: heed the old saying, “Less is more.” You’ll save an enormous amount of time, money and stress by thinning out your huge wardrobe.

1. Get the proper supplies

Buy a starter set of 30 hangers, or 60 if the closet is shared by two people. Go for the sturdy ones. They can be obtained at a houseware store or online. Buy all in one colour for uniformity [or if you’re sharing closet space with someone, get a different colour for yourself]. While you’re at the store, pick up a few sturdy skirt and pants hangers as well. Vertical skirt hangers with clips that hold 5 – 6 skirts on one hanger are a great choice. In addition, pick up an expandable shoe rack and a tie rack if you wear ties.

2. Start with a clean slate

Pull out everything [yes, everything] that’s currently in your closet. Keep in mind, as you’re doing so, that you probably only wear 20 per cent of your clothes on a regular basis; 10 per cent of them are for special occasions; and the other 70 per cent of them are probably never used at all.

Keep in mind, that you probably only wear 20 per cent of your clothes on a regular basis

3. Separate clothes into five piles

A  Piece of clothing that meets any of the following criteria:

• it is outdated
• it is ripped
• it is stained
• it doesn’t fit [if you’re not sure whether or not it fits, try it on now]
• you think it may come back in fashion someday
• you wouldn’t dream of ever wearing it again

B   Wire hanger pile. If you have any wire hangers in your closet, this is where they go. Here’s the problem with them: they’re weak, they stick up in the air, and they damage your clothing.

C   Clothes that need minor repairs such as sewing a hem or replacing a button. If it’s too much of a hassle to repair it, then don’t put it in this pile.

D  Clothes you love and wear at least once a month AND clothes you love and wear at least twice a year [special occasion wardrobe]. Your wardrobe should always make you feel good about yourself. If you don’t love it or wear it often, it doesn’t belong in this pile.

E  Any other items that don’t fit into Category A, B, C or D.

4. Category A or B

Dump it or donate it. Okay, now here’s the fun part. Grab a large garbage bag and dump everything [yes, everything] from your ‘A’ pile into it. Bring it to your local charity organisation first thing in the morning. If you’re still reading this in disbelief, take a deep breath to get over the initial shock, then resolve to toss it or donate it. You’ll feel better in the end. While you’re at it, take all those terrible, awful, lousy wire hangers in your ‘B’ pile and bring them to your dry cleaner’s for recycling, or dump them immediately. Are you still considering keeping something from pile ‘A’ or ‘B’? Please, dump it. It’s clutter. You’ll feel better about it later when your closet is organised, inviting and free of chaos.

5. Category C

Now that your ‘A’ and ‘B’ piles are donated or trashed [I hope], let’s move on to your ‘C’ pile. This pile should contain those articles of clothing that need minor repair. Get a basket or container; dump this entire pile in it. Now, carry that basket over to your clothing repair area. Give yourself a two-week deadline. If the repairs are not done in two weeks, dump or donate the entire basket. After all, if it’s not important enough for you to repair, it’s clutter. It’s easy for clutter to build up, and I want to help you eliminate any chance of it happening to you again.

6. Category D

Organise your keepers. Sort everything in your ‘D’ pile by category of clothing [blouses, skirts, pants, suits and so on]. When done sorting, start with one category. Take one article of clothing at a time, put it on a hanger [the colourful, sturdy kind] and hang it in the closet. [Important note: If you found something that didn’t belong in the closet in the first place, don’t put it there again.] Do this until you’ve managed to hang all of your categories of clothing, making sure that all clothing and hangers are facing the same direction. [By the way, if you share your closet with someone, don’t mix clothing together. Put each individual’s clothing on either side of the closet.]

7. Category E

Categorise and organise everything. Now is the time to categorise what is there in the ‘E’ pile. If these are items that have to be stored in your closet for lack of any other storage space, then start by sorting them. Then, get some inexpensive organising containers so that each category remains separated and place the containers on shelves in your closet.

8. Sort your shoes

Now is a good time to set up your brand new, sturdy, expandable shoe rack and neatly place your shoes on it.

Remember that a well-organised closet always has room to accommodate more clothes or accessories

9. Finishing touches

Now, you’re ready for some finishing touches. If you install a few hooks on an empty closet wall, you’ll be able to hang belts, umbrellas and handbags. If you’re lucky enough to have cubbies in your closet, purses and hats can be stored there; otherwise, put them on your closet shelves. You can even pick up a clear, over-the-door shoe bag for small accessories such as hosiery, scarves, jewellery and so on. Don’t put shoes in the shoe bag. It may sound funny, but these bags are too flimsy and awkward for the weight of most shoes, plus they collect dirt from shoe bottoms.

10. Final thoughts

Don’t overstuff. There should be plenty of room in your closet to get an item in or out. If there’s not, consider thinning out your wardrobe a little more. The goal here is quality, not quantity. Don’t buy another thing to wear without first determining if you really need it. Some people like to discard something they’re not really happy with anymore, for a new item.

Congratulations! You’re done. Don’t you feel great?! You deserve a special reward for your hard work. Treat yourself to dinner, or a double hot fudge sundae. Go for a massage. Rent and watch a favourite movie. Be happy. Your closet is!

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16 centuries later, I find wisdom in what Socrates said. His values are relevant even today, perhaps more than ever before. The more I think about the wisdom of Socrates, the more I am convinced about the pointlessness of our heavily consumption-oriented world. Ironically, we are consuming more and more and getting less and less satisfaction from it. Consumption has become a malaise, an epidemic gone unchecked that has led to a massive imbalance of resources and caused widespread discontent. Worse, it has made us a slave of the very things we seemingly own.

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There is a widespread conviction that we will be happier when we buy more stuff. When we buy into this belief, we fall into a vicious trap—in order to buy more stuff, we must make more money; in order to make more money we must work harder or longer; in order to work harder we must compromise on our priorities—round and round in circles we go, even life is reduced to hankering after stuff that we want, never really stopping to reflect if we really need it.

More stuff = less joy

I know from experience that stuff never brings happiness. Sure, it brings momentary pleasure but only to give way to a feeling of dissonance along with the desire to get the next item on the endless list that is freely fuelled by our consumer-oriented society. Desire, by its very nature, is insatiable. That means I am never satisfied with what I have—there’s always something better, bigger, more advanced and with more features out there that I must own… a more lavish apartment, a bigger car, a more hi-tech handset, more clothes, shoes, ties, belts and so on.

But do I really need them? This question brings me to the values of frugality that Socrates practised. In today’s context, we could call it minimalism: owning only those things which are absolutely essential to live comfortably.

What truly matters

To me, minimalism seems to be a sensible way of living. It leaves me with ample time and resources to explore the many dimensions of life that are veiled by my obsession with consumption. Because I don’t have to care for my possessions, I am left to care for myself and what I truly value—my loved ones, my health, my personal growth and this vast, beautiful, breathtaking world. What’s more, it frees me up from the stress of having to make more money to buy all those things that I probably don’t need. It also allows me to give away my stuff and my time freely, leaving me with a feeling of abundance.

How do I go about discerning my needs from my wants? By understanding myself. Socrates advocated that individuals should strive to know and understand themselves and unless they do so, their lives have no real meaning or value. Once I know and understand myself, I know what and how much I need. No unnecessary clutter, no wasteful expenditure, no stress, no dissonance. Only a life that is rich with love, joy and peace. Hence, the mantra for maximum living is “minimise your possessions”.

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A child’s room should be internally and externally aligned so that it is always filled with a healthy ambiance. Inculcating Feng shui to set up your child’s room helps to promote sound sleep and increase their overall health. As parents, you have to initiate measures to ensure positive Feng shui and teach your children how to maintain their rooms so that they can enjoy the benefits of perpetual good energy. Here, I share a few Feng shui fundamentals that can be easily applied to your child’s room.

Have a systematic layout

As per the first fundamental law of Feng shui, your child’s room should be vibrant with no clutter inside or outside. Use boxes, stylish bags and storage devices to keep the room orderly.

A person’s room is a reflection of their mindset; clutter causes lethargy and pessimistic thoughts. Therefore, you should ensure that the bed sheet, pillows, show pieces, books, shoes and other belongings are always in their respective and predetermined places. Remember, a systematic approach brings with it an orderly lifestyle; it encourages positive thinking and a creative mindset. A well-arranged room causes energy to flow. In addition, for practical reasons, if the room is systematically arranged, you save time locating objects, making life hassle-free. Encouraging your children to maintain an organised bedroom helps them to be organised in other aspects of their life.

Cleanliness is of the utmost importance

There should be no dust, waste-paper, cracked glasses, broken toys or food stuff in the room. Disarray generates chaotic energy and tends to make a room claustrophobic. Make it a point to keep the room dust-free, as dust creates sluggish energy. Rearrange things, wipe the floor, clean the bed, study table, chairs and other items to get energy free-flowing. If you can, create free space around the bed, chair, study-table and corner lamps to allow the energy to move around the room.

Face the north for a good career

As per Feng shui fundamentals, the north is the direction to enable good career prospects. Therefore, if possible, place your child’s study-table in such a way that he faces the north while studying. Facing north while making career decisions or when planning for the future increases the likelihood of making better career choices. At the same time, you should ensure that no ‘fire elements’ like red bulbs, candle-stands, gadgets and magazines are placed to the north of your child’s room or even in the north of other areas of your house, since this impedes career prospects.

Feng shui for the bed

Your child’s bed should be aligned so that his head points towards the west. If that is not possible, then the east is the second best option. There should be no open cabinets or cupboards in the room. Every storage unit should be shut and things should be properly placed in their storage space. The bed sheet should be in soothing colours like pink, purple, light orange, light blue and preferably with nursery prints. Avoid bed-sheets with prints like snakes and ladders, ludo and other games, jungle prints, horrifying designs and shades like black and dark brown. As children grow up, their choices will change too, but encourage them to use bed linen that has calming prints as this promotes good Feng shui and has a relaxing effect.

Promote proper air circulation

Fresh air in the room rejuvenates the life energy, called Yang-Chi in Feng shui. Opening all the doors and windows of the room is very good for circulating affirmative vibrations. If your apartment has a balcony, use it to place plants with aesthetically pleasing seasonal or perennial flowers. The blossoming flowers help to enliven your child’s frame of mind.

To reduce mustiness in the room and to enable your child to be mentally alert, use rose, lavender, sandalwood, jasmine, lemongrass or eucalyptus scented fresheners, because they boost mood and memory.

Outside the room

Besides the room, the passage should also be free from clutter. There should be no obstacles in the way from the room to the lobby. There should be pleasing sceneries on the walls, preferably those of smiling children, playgrounds, or eminent personalities. Having pictures of famous personalities near the entrance and on the adjoining walls always bodes well and they become role models for the child to emulate. Avoid the use of pictures that could have negative connotations, like wild animals, war scenes, weeping faces and abstract paintings in this area.

Colours play a significant role

Paint you child’s room in vibrant colours and as per his choice. If you notice that your child prefers very dull colours and is more inclined towards black, gently guide him to choose bright colours. Off-white brings calmness, blue increases career prospects, purple balances energy and green encourages positive thinking. Red, maroon and orange may make him excessively hot-tempered; so if he is very keen on any of these colours, use it only on the wall in the south direction. If you want to use colours to balance the entire room with positive Feng shui, then use red on the southern wall, green on the east, blue on the north and light grey or golden or silver on the western wall. The northern wall of the room should not be painted with red colour, as this increases the fire element.

Study table

A properly placed and organised study table boosts your child’s academic progress. As mentioned previously, the study table should be clutter-free. There shouldn’t be any broken pens, unsharpened pencils, unusable books, old magazines, used rough-papers, garments, utensils and unhealthy literature on the study table. If they are there, get rid of them and clean the table.

Once the table is clean, place books that are currently in use upon the table and inside the drawers. Keeping heaps of old literature, toys, pictures and video games tends to hinder the free flow of positive Feng shui in and around the study area, while a dormant space may bring stagnation in your child’s life. Placing a symbol of the ‘Education tower’ or a miniature crystal globe on the study table helps to increase your child’s focus and fills the room with calming vibrations.

At the outset, it is you as a parent who will have to kick-start the process of boosting Feng shui in your child’s room. But once he sees the effects that a positive environment brings, he will enjoy maintaining it himself.

This was first published in the December 2014 issue of Complete Wellbeing.

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