Throughout December, we have reflected on the previous year, and we have begun to set goals for the swiftly approaching New Year. December is a great time to get organized to be ready for all that the holiday season and the New Year has to offer, so get excited to dive into these topics with us this month:
- Organizing Your Wallet
- Organizing Your Kitchen
- Organizing Your Clothing
- Organizing Your Mail
In this third installment of our “Diving into December” series, we will take a look at the best ways to organize clothing so that you feel confident in what you wear wherever you go.
Why It Matters
Wearing clothing that you can identify is important, whether you are dressing for an internship or you want to be sure you are reaching for your favorite t-shirt on a casual Saturday. Organizing and identifying clothing can feel like a very visual task, but with a few tips and tricks, you can feel confident that you are selecting clothing from your wardrobe that matches and suits the occasion.
Labeling and Organizing Clothing
Everyone has a different way to organize and identify clothing, and we encourage you to develop the system that works best for you. Reference this list to get some ideas for how to create your own organization system:
- A simple cut in the tag of a piece of clothing can help you differentiate between items. For example, you could put a vertical cut in the tag of all of your black clothing items, a diagonal cut in the tag of all of your gray clothing items, and a horizontal cut in the tag of all of your navy items.
- Strategic closet or drawer organizing can help keep items in their proper place for quick access. Perhaps you have one side of the closet for shirts, and another for pants. Perhaps you choose to organize your closet by color or season.
- You never have to worry about matching socks again with pairing tools, such as safety pins or sock locks. You can simply take off your socks after a long day and either (1) use a safety pin to keep them together or (2) feed them through the plastic holder to keep them together. Both will keep your socks paired through the laundry process – both washing and drying, and they keep your socks together in the sock drawer as well. Safety pins can be purchased from dollar stores or retailers like Wal-Mart or Target, and sock locks can be purchased on Amazon or from specialty retailers like the NFB Independence Market sock locks (Item number AIG59S), LS&S sock locks, and Maxi-Aids sock locks.
- Consider going through your wardrobe once a year or so with a friend, family member, or hired shopper to ensure that your clothing is free of stains or other natural wear and tear so that you can always feel confident that you look your best!
Specific Labeling Ideas
You may feel that you want to have the maximum information available to you on your clothing labels. There are several different options that involve attaching a customized label to your clothing using a pin or a needle and thread:
- WayAround: WayAround has a special line of labels (WayTags) that can be attached to clothing using a needle and thread. Once you have gotten your WayTags, you can download the WayAround app and create the content for each label. You could choose to include the color, laundry instructions, and style of dress (casual, professional, formal, etc.). Then, when you scan the tag later with the app, all of the tag information you entered in will be read aloud to you.
- Braille Clothing Labels: These premade Braille aluminum labels can be attached to your clothing with a needle and thread or a pin. The labels are very small and are safe to launder. They are available from specialty retailers like the NFB Independence Market labels (Item numbers AIG44B and AIG86B), LS&S labels, and Maxi-Aids labels.
Contact us
- Follow the Bridges Helpdesk Facebook page for more transition tips, and please contact the Free Helpdesk for Maryland Blind/Low Vision Transition Students, Families, and Educators anytime using:
- Our Accessible web form
- Email: Helpdesk@imagemd.org
- Text: Send to: (410) 305-9199
- Bridges Helpdesk Facebook page or Facebook Messenger
- Voice mail: Call (443) 320-4003, leave a voice mail message, and we will return your call
This unique project is being coordinated through The IMAGE Center of Maryland, a center for independent living in Towson, and it is funded by a grant from the Maryland Department of Education Division of Special Education/Early Intervention Services.