Shopping for clothes should be an enjoyable experience. Rather than getting frustrated, I find myself avoiding stores that have their merchandise tightly crammed on their hanging racks, making it virtually impossible to move the hangers aside and see the item you may want to try on.
Your closet should provide the same experience as entering a well-organized store. Clothing and accessories must be visible, accessible and categorized by type and color. By taking an honest look at your clothes, and keeping only those items that you love and that currently fit well, walking in to your closet will be a delight, and getting dressed in the morning will become something to look forward to!
Suggested Supplies:
Pop Up Hamper lined with a sturdy trash bag for donations.
Portable Garment Rack to hold clothes as you sort through them.
Reroute Bin for items that need to leave your closet and find a home elsewhere.
Bins, Post It Notes and Markers to label and store items elsewhere.
Step 1: Remove all Items from the Closet.
If you would like to do some spring-cleaning as you organize, you need to remove everything from the closet. Wipe down all of the shelves, poles and drawers, and vacuum the floor.
Step 2: Purge.
As you remove the items from your closet, ask yourself these questions:
· What have I not worn at all this past season?
· What needs repair or does not fit well?
· Am I going to wear items that are stained or are no longer in style?
· Am I holding onto something purely for sentimental reasons?
Use the portable garment rack and your bed to temporarily hold the clothes you are keeping in your closet. Fill the trash bags with donations. Items to be kept but stored elsewhere, should either be stored in another closet or in a bin under your bed or possibly in the basement or attic – well labeled! Take a photo of the sweater that your grandma lovingly made for you and either let it go or keep it elsewhere.
Step 3: Organize.
Categorize: Get as detailed as you want. For example, main categories could include: Evening Clothes, Work Clothes and Casual Clothes. Evening clothes, that are worn less often, should be stored further back on the clothing rack in a less accessible area and evening shoes should be stored higher up on shelves.
Sub-Categorize: For example, shirts can be further categorized into sleeveless, short sleeve and long sleeve. Organize them even further by color. In the back corners, where the light may not be as good, hang lighter colors and keep the darker colors closer in view.
Shelves vs. Drawers: Use shelves for t-shirts, sweatshirts, work out clothes and sweaters and use drawers to contain socks, underwear and lingerie. Bulky items tend to fill up a drawer very quickly and store much better on a shelf. Avoid high piles and use shelf dividers to prevent items from falling over. Expandable shelf dividers can be used in drawers to separate work out socks from dress socks. Store shoes on shelves, in over the door hanging shoe bags, or perhaps in an under the bed shoe storage container.
Accessories: Belts, ties and scarves can be hung on hooks, or on one of the many products available, such as this scarf hanger.
Hangers/Uniformity: Thin, felt covered hangers take up less room and prevent silky tops from slipping off. For a uniform, cleaner look, consider switching out all of your hangers and remove dry cleaning plastic bags.
Step 4: Maintain.
Remember, that although there are many wonderful closet-organizing products on the market, just because you buy the products, does not mean that you will be organized. You have to work through all of the steps listed in this article to attain and maintain a closet that you love to spend time in!