Search for the Messiest Closet?

Now, I wasn't exactly searching for the messiest closet, but I think I still may have found it. I spent some time at my parents' house over the holiday weekend. It was go-go-go time until Sunday rolled around. Mom and I were ready to hunker down and get some things accomplished. We planned to clean/re-organize her closet, and set up the tree. We only accomplished the first. And now you'll see why:

(I spy perm rods, a family picture from the 1980s, the dress my mom wore to my wedding, old makeup bags, board games, and lots of out of date clothes.)

No, this is not a joke. She and Dad have been living with this closet for some time now. It's not as if there was 20+ years of stuff packed in there, we did a closet overhaul a few years ago! Honestly, the closet belonged on TLC's "Messiest House." My inner OCD comes out in such situations and I actually enjoy making progress organizing.

We worked for 5 1/2 long, hard, hours, but not without some laughs. I threw out half of my dad's worn-out wardrobe, including a couple pairs of shoes. He gave me permission to get rid of the shoes above. He said, "Yeah, go ahead and throw these out. I haven't worn them since last year."

If you knew my dad and his dumb humor you would laugh. Clearly, the dust reads several years.

Mom found a picture from 1996, where we attended a cousin's wedding. She and Dad were in pretty amazing shape back then, not to mention, it was mid summer and Mom was rockin' a great tan. She showed my dad the photo and he couldn't believe how different she looked (or the fact that he had a comb over). To which he exclaimed,

"Is that you?! I thought it was Michelle Obama!"

After packing 3 large bags to go to Good Will...

 

One to consignment... (hi, layla)

and 10 bags of GARBAGE...

We have the end result.

(Those are not carpet stains, just shadows. Up until this point there has not been enough room to picnic in the closet.)

Can you believe the amount of trash we took out? What a transformation. And look at all the open space in that average size walk-in! Two things I learned:

Dad could use more clothes.

Mom doesn't need another thing:)

Does your closet look like the before picture? Or are you a naturally organized person?

*Comment to inquire about my hourly rates:)