Give Worn-Once Clothes a Home
Everyone has had a version of “the chair,” the convenient spot to make a mountain of not-quite-dirty clothes. While it’s an easy move, it makes a room look cluttered, and it completely robs the chair (or whatever other piece of furniture you designate for that use) of its original purpose. Refolding or hanging the garments doesn’t feel quite right, since they’ve already been worn — and it’s harder to keep track of what’s actually clean if everything is mixed together — but neither does tossing them in the hamper. The solution is an in-between bin.
If dirty laundry gets a hamper and clean laundry gets a drawer, the in-between category of worn-but-not-dirty clothes should get its own home, too. A bin that matches your hamper works well — you can toss a pair of jeans in there after one wear, pull them out to wear again, and then move them to the dirty laundry when they’re ready for a wash. If you don’t have many worn-once pieces piling up, you can opt for a smaller solution, like a storage basket. Tuck it in your closet if you have room, or park it next to your hamper so sorting takes no extra thought.
Another idea we love is to use a laundry hamper with multiple sections. Double laundry hampers are perfect for dirty and not-so-dirty clothes, and there are also options with three compartments: one for dirty clothes, one for worn clothes, and another for clean clothes that are still finding their way back into the closet. (Just be careful not to mix them up, lest you add a pair of mud-stained shorts to the clean bin and end up needing to rewash clothes that haven’t even been worn yet.)
If you don’t have floor space for another hamper, designate a section of hanging space in your closet to achieve the same decluttering effect. It clears the clutter just as well, while also keeping your once-worn clothes wrinkle-free (and still separate from both your dirty clothes and your fully clean clothes).
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