FAIRMONT — When it comes to closets, Julie Mills has a simple reason why people have trouble finding a particular outfit or pair of shoes.

“Basically, we have too many clothes,” Mills said. “We only wear about 20 percent of what we have in the closet. We have a favorite sweater and a favorite pair of jeans, but a lot of times, we buy things because there is a good sale but we didn’t necessarily need it.”

Another problem is that women often have clothes in their closets in three sizes: their actual size plus one size larger, in case they get a little bigger; and one size smaller, in case that new diet works out.

Mills, who has a Morgantown-based business called All Squared Away in which she helps people get organized, is prepared to help her clients learn to recognize and let go of the items they do not need.

She also has practical advice and solutions to help organize the items they do keep.

“I’m an advocate for storing things seasonally,” Mills said. “We have a smaller closet so that’s what I like to do. I know it takes a lot of effort for people to pack all of their clothes in the closet and switch. But if you purge things and twice a year you switch and have your fall and winter things and then your spring and summer season, it eliminates the clutter in the closet.”

Mills also can help people depending on their budget without making them install a custom-made system if they do not want to do so, although some devices, such as baskets for sorting items and a shoe organizer over the door can come in handy.

“It depends on their budget and it depends on their needs,” she said. “I really like the shelving system with the adjustable shelves that you can mount on the wall and you can hook the shelving system there. You can adjust it to accommodate the clients’ needs.”

When Mills starts working with clients, they go through the space to be organized. “I can see how the system is working or not working and I also get to see what items they have on hand,” Mills said. “I like to reuse items they have. Sometimes it’s a matter of rethinking a particular item. If there is a basket they bought that they thought would be great for paperwork but it’s not great for paperwork, maybe it will work for scarves. Looking around homes and seeing what they have on hand and what we can use gives me a better idea, and I can make a game plan from that point.”

Sancie Smallwood of Bridgeport spent three years in a state of disorganization, surrounded by boxes of belongings from both her late mother and late sister. She eventually turned to Mills, who arrived and quickly labeled boxes to help Smallwood sort through her stuff.

“She had boxes to throw away and we had boxes to take to the (Clarksburg) Mission,” Smallwood said. “Then we had shelves in the garage that we could put these things on, whether it was photo albums or small appliances, and we put everything away in these crates.”

Mills has liked to organize things for as long as she can remember, which makes her an expert when spring rolls around and overstuffed closets beckon to be cleaned.

“I used to rearrange and organize my room,” Mills said. “My mother would come home and the house would be organized. I would rearrange the kitchen. She just always knew I was going to do something like that.”

A former schoolteacher, Mills decided to start her own organizing business so she can offer her services to everyone, helping people get organized both at home or at their office.

“She has such a talent for it,” said Kim Hawkinberry of Fairmont, who had Mills help her reorganize her kitchen and kitchen pantry and who plans to bring Mills back to go through closets. “I felt really comfortable with her. Some people would feel really embarrassed to open their doors and work with somebody else but that’s what she does.”

Mills helped Hawkinberry realize that her kitchen did not provide enough space and helped her develop a pantry. She also came up with an organization system that Hawkinberry believes will continue to work long after Mills’ departure, such as by putting all items having to do with the children’s lunches in one handy drawer.

“I feel like I’m organized,” Hawkinberry said. “It gets so overwhelming. It’s a system and it works. I read a book once about a house that cleans itself. If you have things in an area where it works, like the lunch bags right within reach, you don’t have to hunt for it. It’s been a while since she was here and everything is still organized like she had it.”

Paige Higgs of Mannington also had help from Mills when she organized her new home after she and her husband moved. Together, Higgs and Paige have figured out the basement space and a kitchen pantry and Mills will be returning to work on the garage.

“Not only can we walk around” the basement, Higgs said, “but it’s organized. It’s totally organized.”

Mills has worked with clients helping to organize homes as well as businesses. She once spent 250 hours helping one client organize an entire home and garage, “But that was really the extreme,” Mills said.

Closets can be a real problem because of people’s tendency to hang on to items and to put them in a small space with a door that can be closed to keep the items out of sight.

“When we go in we stay with the clients and work side by side because we need their input,” Mills said. “We go through all pieces of clothing and they need to decide whether they love it or like it or whether they will wear it again. We recommend that people go through all their clothing and purge through things they haven’t worn in a year.”

People either donate items or if something needs to be repaired, take it to a tailor or seamstress.

“Maybe it’s garbage or maybe you can turn it into cloth. A lot of clients have reused clothes as quilts and a couple of them have made purses out of old jeans.”

Not only does getting organized — including cleaning out closets — really help people in their day-to-day lives, Mills said, but it also can help them emotionally.

“Eliminating the clutter and the chaos really helps people with overall mental health and physical health. It’s very stressful for people to live in the world of clutter and chaos.”

E-mail Mary Wade Burnside at mwburnside@timeswv.com.