What's behind your closet door? Orderly rows of shoes, stacks of folded T-shirts, and hanging clothes arranged by color and season? Or do you have a situation that could be declared a national disaster? If it's the latter, you might ask the president for federal disaster relief funds -- or you could just get organized.

Here are simple steps to find calm in all that chaos. By the way, these same principles for organizing a clothes closet apply to linen or utility closets, too.

-- Step One: Remove everything. This lets you see exactly the space you have to work with. Prepare to be        shocked by the pile of stuff that comes out of that closet.

-- Step Two: Now that you can see the light of day, give that closet a good cleaning from top to bottom. Follow  with a fresh coat of white paint.

-- Step Three: Separate the items you removed. Most people hate this step because it means getting rid of        everything you do not use or wear. But there's no way you could get all of this back into the closet, so buck     up, and let's get this job done. Label three containers:

Keep: Put only items into this bin that you have worn or used at least twice in the past year. Be brutally harsh. If it doesn't fit today, it's not likely to fit anytime soon. Get rid of it. If in doubt, do not put it into this bin.

Sell or Donate: Clothes and other items that are not right for you (as evidenced by the fact that you never wear them) but still have a useful life for someone else should go into this bin. What you consider ugly may be perfect to someone else. Take them to a consignment store, or arrange soon to hold a yard sale. Consider donating your good used items to The Salvation Army or Goodwill. You may get a tax break, but more than that, you will feel good. Put all of these items in the garage or in the back of your car.

Throw Away: Clothes and shoes that are worn out, hopelessly stained, broken or in some other state of calamity go into this bin. Work quickly to ease the pain. Empty this bin often to keep the process moving.

-- Step Four: Divide the "Keep" bin by season, type and use. If possible, store out-of-season items in another place in your home. Next, separate your work or professional clothes from your casual attire. Now divide each pile into common-wear and infrequent-wear, arranging them so the items you wear most often are the handiest.

-- Step Five: Use closet organizers. At the minimum, you need a sturdy shoe rack, good hangers and shelves, in addition to your standard hanging rod. Investing in a few good organizational pieces will make organizing your closet -- and keeping it organized -- a snap!

Mary Hunt is the founder of DebtProofLiving.com and author of 17 books, including "Debt-Proof Living." You can e-mail her at mary@everydaycheapskate.com, or write to Everyday Cheapskate, P.O. Box 2135, Paramount, CA 90723. To find out more about Mary Hunt and read her past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.
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