What's behind your closet door? Orderly rows of shoes, neat stacks of folded T-shirts and clothes arranged by color and season? Or could your closet be declared a national disaster?

If it's the latter, you could ask the president for federal disaster relief funds. But, knowing that you would most likely feel guilty taking funds from hurricane victims, here are simple steps to find calm in all that chaos. By the way, you can apply these tips to linen and utility closets, too.

STEP ONE: Remove everything. This lets you see exactly how much space you have to work with. Prepare to be shocked by the amount 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 get rid of everything you do not wear or use. But there's no way you can get all of this back into the closet, so let's buck up and get the job done. Label three containers:

—Keep: Only put items that you have worn or used at least twice in the past year into this bin. Be brutally harsh. If it doesn't fit today, it's not likely to fit any time soon. Get rid of it. If you're in doubt, do not put the item 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 can still be useful for someone else should go into this bin. What you consider ugly may be perfectly acceptable to someone else. Take this bin to a consignment store or hold a yard sale. Consider donating the items to The Salvation Army or Goodwill. You may get a tax break, but more importantly you will feel good. You can store all of these items in the garage or in the trunk 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 items you're going to keep by season, clothing article and use. If possible, store out-of-season items in another place in your home. Next, separate your professional clothes from your casual attire. Divide each pile further into items you wear frequently and infrequently, putting the items you wear most often on the top.

STEP FIVE: Use closet organizers (found on my website). You need, at the minimum, a sturdy shoe rack, good hangers and shelves and a standard hanging rod. Investing in a few good-quality organizational pieces will make organizing your closet —and keeping it that way — a snap!

And now it is time for me, your humble columnist, to step into the confessional booth.

For the past few weeks I have been dealing with the heartbreak of a completely unorganized and disheveled mess of a closet. Make that nine months, since the day we moved into our new home in Colorado. When we moved in, I did the dump-and-run move with my closet. About three weeks ago I came to the end of my mental rope. Enough. This has to change.

For those of you thinking that these five steps sound good but are totally unrealistic: trust me, I'm living them. Right now. And they're working.

I'll be posting pictures and going into more detail in a coming issue of my Debt-Proof Living Weekly Newsletter. That's one more reason to become a DPL member.

Mary invites questions, comments and tips at [email protected], or c/o Everyday Cheapskate, 12340 Seal Beach Blvd., Suite B-416, Seal Beach, CA 90740. This column will answer questions of general interest, but letters cannot be answered individually. Mary Hunt is the founder of www.DebtProofLiving.com, a personal finance member website and the author of "Debt-Proof Living," released in 2014. To find out more about Mary and read her past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

Photo credit: Emily May