Organizing closets is either the project you’ve been dreading in this 31 day challenge, or the easiest to check off your list. If you have a small closet, and if organizing is easy for you, then stick to 30 minutes for the whole project.

If you have a large closet (or more than one), or if organizing isn’t your favorite thing to do, then just pick a portion of the closet. Choose ONE from these closet organizing choices, and stick to 30 minutes today:

• Just pick up clothes from the floor and hang or fold and put back on shelves.
• Just pair up shoes and line up the pairs so you can sort and purge through them.
• Just go through the shelves, touching everything while you are just sorting and purging.
• Tackle just half of the hanging clothes, touching each one as you go.
• Swap out all of those tangley hangers for a single type of hanger (Ultra Thin No Slip Velvet Suit Hangers like those above are my favorite for most clothes).
• Invite a trusted, non-judgemental friend to review your favorite outfits. She or he might help you see that those comfy clothes you love so much aren’t as flattering as you thought. I promise, you won’t go naked if you only keep the outfits that make you look great.
• Even if you are organized already, use this time to make your closet prettier, with vintage-inspired shelf labels, garment boxes with windows, shelf dividers, or better lighting.

By narrowing your focus, you can get through just a portion of the closet, but complete an entire “project”. Keep these organizing golden rules in mind:

• Sort like items together first. It’s hard to decide whether to keep just one thing, but it’s easy to let go when you see for yourself that you have 20 black t-shirts, and half of them are not in good condition.
• Purge. Don’t think about it too hard. If you can’t remember the last time you wore it, didn’t wear them in the last year, if they need mending (which you will never do), or if you never liked it to start with, then donate it.
• Donate everything you aren’t keeping. Don’t stress about whether it is “good enough” to donate. Clothes that are wearable are appreciated by your charity of choice. If most of what you have is in poor condition, then you can mark them in a bag as “recyclable” and send them off to a thrift store that recycles textiles.

The nice thing about organizing your closet is that it yields its own rewards. You “discover” outfits you didn’t remember you had. When you move things around, you often “see” new pairings. The donations you make to charity may yield a sizable tax deduction. Don’t forget about those swanky dresses or high end purses…they might be worth something online or via a local consignment shop. The best story, though, is when someone clears out their closet to make more room for something…or someone. The universe, which knows what is going on in your closet, has a way of knowing when you are ready for something new.

Need more time to get through your closet? You’re in luck. I’m going to feature more closet organizing tricks tomorrow.

Shout out in the comments: which closet are you tackling today?

This post is part of my 31 days of 30-minute Organizing Projects. Be sure to subscribe for daily emails with projects you can complete in just a few minutes to start your New Year off right.