https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/oganizing-the-holding-zone Style Advice for Fashion Lovers en-US Sun, 19 Apr 2026 12:23:28 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 q https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/search.php https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/oganizing-the-holding-zone#post-1603697 Mon, 18 Jan 2016 11:32:29 +0000 gryffin 1603697@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Jaileen - my spice drawer is also alphabetized with a lower pantry area for bigger bottles based by size and type. &nbsp;Unfrumped - definitely organized the holding zone. &nbsp;Much for me is organization of duplicates, but more on that in your other post. &nbsp;Then beloveds being held as templates, not sures - waiting. &nbsp;I have all seasons in one closet except winter coats/accessories. &nbsp;I do think whatever system makes intuitive sense for you is the right one. &nbsp;See what feels organic and comfortable and go with it. &nbsp;We all have our short cuts/mnemonics - they wont be the same. &nbsp;I organize by type - lightest, shortest to heaviest. &nbsp;But since my color palate is so small that's viable. &nbsp;If I had more variety I'd need a different system. &nbsp;Sometimes the more you overthink this the worse it gets. &nbsp;Seems like you have a great handle on what speaks to you! &nbsp;Good luck!! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/oganizing-the-holding-zone#post-1603690 Mon, 18 Jan 2016 11:01:41 +0000 Staysfit 1603690@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Plenty of good advice here. What popped into my head has nothing to do with clothing - sorry. I am reminded of a dear nurse I worked with for 15 years. She managed the filing cabinets that we all relied on, but, and this is a very big one, she did not alphabetize anything. She filed using a system that worked using her own logic, which was unique, and certainly different from anyone else's way of thinking. We were always left guessing as to how she might have filed any given item we needed in order to locate it!! It was always a fun time when she was on vacation or took a sick day........... </p> <p>C if you ever read this, you know we all love you dearly despite the files!! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/oganizing-the-holding-zone#post-1603664 Mon, 18 Jan 2016 09:25:29 +0000 Style Fan 1603664@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I organize by frequency of use.&nbsp; Why would I organize by the alphabet?&nbsp; Okay that takes care of spices.<br />My "holding zone" is separated from my out of season clothes.&nbsp; I have clothes all over the house and in the loft over the garage.&nbsp; I store them in the big rubber bins.&nbsp; This is not an ideal system but our house was built without a lot of closets.&nbsp; I dream about a walk in closet.&nbsp; <br />I shudder to think about a filing system that is based on how I think.&nbsp; I don't want to even imagine what that would look like.&nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/oganizing-the-holding-zone#post-1603649 Mon, 18 Jan 2016 07:17:05 +0000 Sal 1603649@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Not an alphabetiser here! And my clothes hanging on the line are not organised by type or colour not with matching pegs.</p> <p>I have a holding zone in the 11 yr old's wardrobe. He has nothing to hang up! It has these categories:<br /> - out of season stuff - this is the biggest section. At the moment it has winter footwear, coars and puffers, a couple of knits and winter accessories.<br /> - things I won't wear now but could like again - not much here. One or two things.<br /> - things I like a lot but don't fit right. I have a couple of pieces of formal wear. I did retrieve a swimsuit from this category this year. Has to be special for me to keep. I do keep formal wear for the future generations.<br /> - dress ups. Old fur coats, crazy heels, wigs, schoo, formal gowns etc.. Gets raided regularly!</p> <p>It is a bit of a mess though as there are games, puzzles, Christmas decorations and the odd other random thing in there too! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/oganizing-the-holding-zone#post-1603565 Mon, 18 Jan 2016 00:05:33 +0000 Anonymous 1603565@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I get that. Exactly. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/oganizing-the-holding-zone#post-1603547 Sun, 17 Jan 2016 23:12:16 +0000 unfrumped 1603547@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>lisap, I will say that&nbsp; a definite benefit of holding zone, organized or not, is that things lose their appeal. Just in taking a tiny step toward organizing, I'm going, why did I save this? to some items, because mentally I can compare them to what I'm actually wearing and see that I'm not likely to go back to them. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/oganizing-the-holding-zone#post-1603542 Sun, 17 Jan 2016 22:52:55 +0000 Anonymous 1603542@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Oh Sterling - I had to laugh at the image of tumbling down the stairs with an armful of sweaters, being well into a bottle of wine. &nbsp;I can see myself in that position quite clearly Isn't it interesting how it sometimes &nbsp;takes a major move or renovation or redo in our house to force a good clean out. Right now my bed is piled HIGH with stuff - took everything out of the closet earlier today and am horrified to say the least. &nbsp;Why do I have all of this stuff? I can't possibly wear it all. &nbsp;And I don't even like half of it anymore. &nbsp;Sigh. &nbsp;Do I really need two almost identical navy blazers - hardly worn? &nbsp;Anyways, i haven't even tackled the holding zone, but when I do, I will be in no mood to be nice to that stuff, which is possibly the way to approach it. &nbsp;:) &nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/oganizing-the-holding-zone#post-1603539 Sun, 17 Jan 2016 22:22:10 +0000 unfrumped 1603539@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Great, Sterling!<br />You may have circled back to inspire me to re-inspire myself, or something. How's that, and haven't even popped the cork yet! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/oganizing-the-holding-zone#post-1603534 Sun, 17 Jan 2016 22:10:43 +0000 Alassë 1603534@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Best wishes, Sterling! It sounds like you're making lots of progress. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/oganizing-the-holding-zone#post-1603462 Sun, 17 Jan 2016 19:38:35 +0000 Anonymous 1603462@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I am getting new carpeting and I agreed to move all the lighter-weight items out of ALL the rooms. &nbsp;That means stuff in two walk-closets has to be moved to the attic. &nbsp;I started this weekend (yesterday, really). &nbsp;<u>My opinion of all this stuff is very different then it was last week</u>. &nbsp;</p> <p>I was wondering WHY I had this stuff in a "holding zone" in the first place (e.g., special event dresses; blazers; sizes that I "might" fit into later this day; seasonal stuff that I might or not might want to wear later this year). &nbsp;I made one trip to the Goodwill yesterday and started another box today. &nbsp;Let me add that after the carpeting is installed I will be carrying all this stuff back down again. &nbsp;I hope it will be easier going down than up. &nbsp;</p> <p>I am looking at everything in my life with a very critical eye (not just wardrobe). &nbsp;I'm even taking the time to go through the stuff in the attic to see what is up there, how long it has been up there, and why it was saved in the first place. &nbsp;It is like an archeological dig. &nbsp;Not unfun. &nbsp;I'll bet it would have been a lot easier if I had drank wine, but I would have fallen down the stairs......</p> <p>Enough of a break. &nbsp;Back to carrying stuff up into the attic. &nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/oganizing-the-holding-zone#post-1602714 Sat, 16 Jan 2016 00:51:00 +0000 Laura (rhubarbgirl) 1602714@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Huh. I organize my spices by frequency of use - that to me makes more sense than alphabetizing. No point in putting the pepper behind the fennel if you use the pepper constantly and the fennel twice a year. That's my principle for most categories of organizing - put it whatever way will be most efficient and also makes sense to your brain.</p> <p>I've got two types of clothing that might be characterized as in the holding zone - things that are out of season and things that don't fit right now. Unfortunately I've got a lot of the latter right now, and they're in the spare bedroom closet. If they don't fit in six months to a year, I will do another round of culling and get serious about whether I should keep them. The former goes in Rubbermaid bins on top of one of the wardrobes in my closet, so out of the way but not entirely inaccessible. Every month or two I make tweaks to what I have out based on what the weather has been doing. </p> <p>I don't keep 'meh' or not sure items anywhere special. Either they're in my working closet trying to get used, or they're in a bag waiting to be donated/consigned, I have, on occasion, kept some workhorse items that are on their last legs while I searched for a replacement, but the need for that replacement was written down on the need portion of my clothing wishlist/ budget tracking document. That way when I found a successful replacement I could pull the old one out and get rid of it. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/oganizing-the-holding-zone#post-1602691 Sat, 16 Jan 2016 00:05:51 +0000 Anonymous 1602691@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Uh, hello - i don't alphabetize ANYTHING or put anything in any order on the grocery checkout belt. &nbsp;I'm living proof that we do exist, although you'd wonder how, with the way I operate. &nbsp;Unfrumped, you have written straight out of my head. &nbsp;My clothes are all over the house and totally disorganized and I want to cry. My husband is horrified and thinks I may need psychological intervention. &nbsp;Perhaps he's onto something. &nbsp;Anyways , Caro's line "Having a vision of how I wanted to look &amp; then concentrating on putting together outfits I love &amp; want to wear made everything else fall into place in a way sorting through the "meh" stuff never did." was like a lightening bolt for me. &nbsp;I consider myself a decent culler of clutter, but I currently have too many pieces of clothing and it's because this vision of how i want to look has changed a bit, or at least crystallized.</p> <p>I need to do something about my holding zone , and you are my inspiration. I want to know what you do and how it worked, and if you had to drink wine while doing it . &nbsp;Gee thanks, now I know what i'm doing this weekend. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/oganizing-the-holding-zone#post-1602679 Fri, 15 Jan 2016 23:45:02 +0000 JAileen 1602679@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Why don't you get rid of the things you don't like? </p> <p>Avia, someone said I was AR because my spices are in alphabetical order. For those who don't alphabetize, I wonder how they find anything? </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/oganizing-the-holding-zone#post-1602675 Fri, 15 Jan 2016 23:18:07 +0000 AviaMariah 1602675@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>You mean there are people who wouldn't organize their holding zone? &nbsp;Ha! &nbsp;I organize everything without even thinking about it because this is how my brain works. &nbsp;I remember one time I was reading an article that said you could tell if you were AR (annal retentive) if you organized your groceries on the the checkout counter by item type etc. &nbsp;I was stunned to think that there were people who don't do this! &nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/oganizing-the-holding-zone#post-1602661 Fri, 15 Jan 2016 22:34:07 +0000 Peri 1602661@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I think you have to organize it, otherwise it is not a holding zone, it's a junk closet. I think the whole point of the holding zone is to analyze whether it is staying or going instead of making impulsive decisions. Sounds like you are on the right track completely.</p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/oganizing-the-holding-zone#post-1602648 Fri, 15 Jan 2016 22:16:09 +0000 shiny 1602648@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I agree with Caro.</p> <p>Another thought, though this would take some time and investment: catalog everything in a spreadsheet. Column A - top, column B - season, column C - brand, column D - comments (input "too small right now" or "felt meh in it"), and column E - box you stash it in.</p> <p>Then stash away.... clear your closet... clear your head... if you miss something or want to shop your stash, you can do so mentally by reviewing your spreadsheet first.&nbsp;</p> <p> </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/oganizing-the-holding-zone#post-1602645 Fri, 15 Jan 2016 22:11:12 +0000 Caro in Oz 1602645@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>It's always a good idea to organise imo. I have a radical suggestion though :)</p> <p>Just talking about the holding zone here. What about only keeping items you really want to wear in there? Pack away the "meh" items in one (or more) box(es) &amp; the clothes that don't fit in another.&nbsp;</p> <p>In my experience it is hard to gain clarity when you are trying to do lots of things at the same time. Having a vision of how I wanted to look &amp; then concentrating on putting together outfits I love &amp; want to wear made everything else fall into place in a way sorting through the "meh" stuff never did.</p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/oganizing-the-holding-zone#post-1602564 Fri, 15 Jan 2016 19:57:11 +0000 shiny 1602564@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>When we got the house ready to put it up for sale this past summer, my realtor told me for staging purposes to pack up 1/2 my closet so it'd look more spacious. My holding area was always a set of moving crates, not an extra closet. Over the years I'd reduced the amount in these moving crates so half of them were empty. So I tossed everything in the crates *and* in my closet on to my dining room table one weekend, and proceeded to Konmari them by category. </p> <p>I returned to my closet only the best of the best, which I could see myself wearing over the remaining months until our house sold and we moved. I then folded everything nice and neat, Konmari style, and packed them into the crates by category. I only allowed myself one box of tops, one box of bottoms, one box of sweaters, etc.&nbsp;</p> <p>It was a rewarding exercise as I wound up culling quite a lot! What's left in the boxes moved with us to our new home and is now in a storage closet. All the boxes are clearly marked "tops, bottoms, sweaters" etc, so it's not hard to locate what I want. They are further organized within each box roughly by season -- i.e., from light weight sweaters to bulkier ones. I did the vertical Konmari fold so they stand up and I can easily see and locate an item.&nbsp;</p> <p>My new closet is an angled-eave walk in, not huge but more space than my old one. I have not felt the need to retrieve anything from my Konmari boxes since we moved here in Thanksgiving. Because my new closet makes it much easier to see what I have, I am finding that I am wearing much more of my wardrobe -- getting creative and putting together new outfit combos. The new closet is organized by type of item - formal wear, then dresses, then blouses, then knit tops, with coats and toppers on a different wall. It's all mixed up seasonally as I find that makes me more apt to think outside of the box and layer/extend an item across multiple seasons. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/oganizing-the-holding-zone#post-1602557 Fri, 15 Jan 2016 19:43:34 +0000 Helena 1602557@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>What Elizabeth said!</p> <p>I find the seasonal thing hard ... with the exception of the most extreme seasonal items (flip flops and Sorels come to mind), the seasons just aren't as neat weather-wise as would help with the closet!</p> <p>I did the closet edit from Angie's blog, so now I have my keepers in the main closet area, my temporary keeps (i.e. they fill a need but could do with replacing when budget permits) on a shelf where they are visible, and my holding zone in a clear bin off to the side, the idea being that I have to go looking for a holding zone item to prove its worth, rather than having it in my face asking to be worn. This seems to be working, but I tend to reorder my clothing frequently; it's practically a hobby haha!</p> <p>So all that rambling to say, if it works for you, then it's the right way, and if it doesn't, no harm done, just try something different. I think the mindfulness is what will help you get a handle on the closet, and you'll achieve that whatever method you use </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/oganizing-the-holding-zone#post-1602556 Fri, 15 Jan 2016 19:37:54 +0000 rachylou 1602556@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Lol to opening line. I think organization like this would help me at least. My brain has a mind of its own. I will look at an item often enough and can't remember what was up with it. I've given away things not realizing doing so will orphan other things, etc. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/oganizing-the-holding-zone#post-1602554 Fri, 15 Jan 2016 19:35:30 +0000 unfrumped 1602554@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Elizabeth P, thanks for the unconditional support!</p> <p>I think the whole thing can be reduced to, "my spare closet is a mess and needs cleaning up!" </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/oganizing-the-holding-zone#post-1602551 Fri, 15 Jan 2016 19:24:22 +0000 Elizabeth P 1602551@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I had to laugh at your title/first sentence.&nbsp; First world problem, huh.</p> <p>I'm not sure I totally understand what you are going to do, but it doesn't really matter.&nbsp; I think that anything that gets you to think, look, try things on, all with the mindset to improve your wardrobe, is a good thing.&nbsp; Let us know how you do!</p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/oganizing-the-holding-zone#post-1602541 Fri, 15 Jan 2016 19:06:40 +0000 unfrumped 1602541@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>You know you may have a problem when you have to organize your "holding zone".<br /> Trying not to view it that way, though.</p> <p>When I realized that wearing things that didn't fit as well as I liked, and also "meh" outfits, created its own cycle of discontent that was making things worse, not better, I became more aggressive in moving things out of the main closet so I would not end up in said items.</p> <p>Along with that, as the seasons shifted,  I would move items out that were "done" for the season, mostly things not warm enough for what is now our coldest few months.<br /> So, my spare closet space has become a sort of archeological dig as I put things in available sections,  and some items are almost in goups of seasonal capsules but also there are meh items and drat-you-are-too-tight pants and so on, and since some of the fit/meh items are not clearly discards, I did not put them in a separate section that way.<br /> Also along with all of this I had contemplated the 4-season wardrobe plan and thought it might be okay to be moving a group of say, fall items--I'd just go there and say, hmm, what's here for fall. </p> <p>But, what I figured out is that  my brain organization for  my clothing is very item-oriented, and so my synapses are arranged by, hmm, top! and then color/fabric/store-brand.  Top !--" AT chambray shirt". Jacket --" RL gray silk blazer. "   I <u>understand</u> an item may have been purchased as  spring-ish or fall-ish, but that's not how I log them in mental inventory.<br /> So when I might want to go search or SYC or re-try on something, I currently can't find things because of these sections and layers by season or "state of mind"! And then of course, "seasons" is relative so at the same time I've learned it's  not going to be that helpful to have a "spring" section and fall and so on.<br /> Plus, it prevents me from seeing at a glance what item types are over-or underrepresented.</p> <p>So my current plan is to overhaul the holding zone by item type, and then taking a cue from my current wardrobe, I will attach a card to the item if there were fit/meh issues (that were not sufficient to qualify for   tossing).</p> <p>I think this will help me with both finding items, SYC when there is a brief weather shift (sudden warm spell, for example) and to compare/contrast, e.g., hello, do I need to keep these anymore if I have this many of this or that?<br /> Plus, even though the items I rotated out include ones I still "love" at the time I moved them out, I'm not always sure that means that will still be true 3 months from now, so I think it's more useful to look at an entire group of tops or skirts or something, and also may be easier to see "versatility" emerge.</p> <p>If any of you recall file folder days there was always advice about trying to name your files based on how <u>you</u> think, even if it's not a typical file system. Of course, item types is not at all an unusual system, it's just that I had been grouping more by "weight" --summer skirts vs winter, etc.</p> <p>Over to you...do you think organizing the holding zone is just more churning,  or might lead to the goal of winnowing and clarity? </p>