Open space is a luxury of life on an island, and what most people need are smart storage solutions to at least give the illusion of freeing up space in one's home.

Simply Organized opened in Kapolei in November to offer solutions such as closet systems, cubicle storage and clear plastic shoe boxes to help individuals organize and stow belongings.

January is National Get Organized Month, so we asked Simply Organized vice-president Carol Ai May, and RSVPstyle president and designer Cathy Lee, to share some of their tips for cleaning out your closet and keeping it that way.

If you have trouble knowing where to start, May said to consider the 80/20 rule that says you only wear 20 percent of your clothes 80 percent of the time. Rather than getting rid of the 80 percent you don't wear, it may be a relief to just get rid of 20 percent.

  “;Toss all the stuff you don't think you wear into a black contractor bag,”; she said. “;Tie up the bag and put it away for one to two months. After about two months, if you haven't been tempted to access the bag, obviously you didn't miss any of the clothes.”;

The important thing is, without looking into the bag, donate it to a charitable organization.

Then, to keep your closet clear, count or buy a fixed number of hangers for all your remaining clothes. “;When you get something new, toss or give something away to make room for the new piece of clothing.

To make it easy to find matching garments, Lee suggests sorting by color, including separating casual and evening wear so you're not searching through sparkling pieces to get to daily wear pieces.

To prevent relapses, consider how you got to the overstuffed stage and allow yourself time to form some new habits.

“;What I focus on in my business is trying to teach people to shop with focus,”; said Lee. “;The reason we have so much clutter is people see something, they like it and buy it, and only later on think, 'What was I doing?' “;

As with grocery shopping, it helps to start with a list and stick to it.

“;When you're out there shopping, whether for home accessories or clothing, you have to go prepared with a focus, a style direction, a color direction,”; Lee said. “;Once you have a style direction, you'll find you don't have to look at all 20 sofas in a room. You only need to look at four.”;

Once you have learned to focus your energy on editing and decluttering your closet and living space, you'll likely find home life more enjoyable.

“;Home is our sanctuary. When we come home we want to feel good in a soothing environment that suits our style,”; she said.

And that style sensibility is probably current, not so 10 years ago.