Closet Organization

One of the most overwhelming spaces to organize in your home is your clothes closet. When you downsize and your closet is cut in half, it may seem impossible to make this space work for you. Focus on the following tips and even the tiniest of closets can become a clean, stylish, and functional haven for your clothes and accessories. As the weather turns colder and my wardrobe needed to change from summer to winter, I felt like this might be the best time to take on this project.

1. Time to Declutter!

Decluttering is key in the closet. Get 3 pieces of paper and label them “keep”, “donate” and “toss”. Dive into the closet and start the piles. I find it easiest to start with the items I love and have recently worn. Those obviously go into the “keep” pile. After that take on one category at a time; jeans, shorts, dresses, sweaters, etc. If you are finding it too hard to decide on certain items, put them in a bin that will go into your attic. If you don’t dig them out in the next 3 months, that bin goes to donation.

Some great questions to ask yourself while deciding :

If I ran into my ex and was wearing this, would I feel good?
Does this item coordinate with at least 3 other items?
Does it fit? Is it two sizes too big or too small? (Try things on!)
When was the last time I wore this?

2. Utilize other space in your home

Are there things in your closet now that could maybe go somewhere else? Are you storing the vacuum cleaner or a sewing machine in your closet? Could they be moved to a hall closet, linen closet, or a guest room closet? Is it possible to store your off-season clothes in a different closet in your home? I don’t have that option in our downsized house, but I do move off-season clothes to the back or high up while I bring the other clothes front and center.

Now decide how these categories need to be stored in their zones. The goal is to be able to see everything or at least know where things are based on labels. If you can’t see it, you won’t wear it. Do you want to fold jeans or hang jeans? Is there space to hang longer items like dresses? How will you store shoes? If you use stackable boxes make sure you can see what is in them or label them with a picture.

3. Create Zones

Once you have your “keep” pile it’s time to organize into categories. Examples of categories would be sweaters, jeans, leggings, long sleeve shirts. You may also want to sort by lifestyle. Examples of that would be workout clothes, work clothes, casual clothes. Do you prefer to see things by type or by color? You have to do what works for you or it won’t stay that way.

If possible, you want to incorporate drawers. Drawers are the home for socks, under garments, and even t-shirts. It can be a dresser that fits underneath hanging clothes. You can buy the built-in drawers that work with a closet system or maybe even use stackable Tupperware drawers. The point is plan how things will be stored before making purchases. Maybe even draw it out on paper if you are a visual person.

Use up every inch of that closet. Add high shelves for low use items. Add an extra hanging bar below or above the one that already exists. Adding shelves can save you a lot of space and are a good way to house sweaters, sweatshirts or long sleeved t-shirts. Use dividers or bins for handbags. I made use of the floor and some higher shelves for my boots. I bought inexpensive boot shaper inserts to keep their shape. Try to leave a wall open for accessories (more on that later).

4. Folding and hanging methods

Time to think Marie Kondo. It really does work and saves a ton of space! For drawers, use vertical folding. Not only can you fit more in each drawer, but you can actually see what is in it. I love this method for t-shirts, shorts, and all my workout clothes! For tanks, socks, and under garments use shoe boxes as drawer dividers.

Do you know how much space you save by folding jeans versus hanging them? I know they all look alike folded so it’s important to label them. The same goes for leggings and capris… label! Sweaters are much better folded, so they don’t stretch out of shape on hangers.

Stack folding is great for closet shelves (not drawers) but try to keep categories together. Don’t mix long sleeved shirts with short sleeved shirts for example.

5. Label!

You know this is my favorite thing to do! If shoes are in boxes, label them with little pictures so you remember what you have.

If you have bins up on high shelves, label those with what is inside. Examples are a bin of bathing suits or a bin of gloves and scarves.

Remember to label those folded jeans, otherwise they all look the same.

Handbags of different sized are stored in bins on the high shelf, so those are also labeled.

Again you need to decide how you use and look for things and make the system work for you.

6. Bag for donation

This is a great idea for continued decluttering. If you are trying on an outfit and realize it’s way too small or you just don’t like it anymore, throw it in the donate bag… do not hang it back up!

7. Shop with purpose

Now that you have streamlined your closet, make sure all future purchases are bought with a purpose. I keep a little wipe off board to write down things I’m missing or if I have a skirt that has nothing to match it. When you do purchase something new it should replace something old. Try not to shop for something last minute, because that is when the unnecessary purchases happen. Also never remove tags until you try something on at home. If it doesn’t go with anything in your closet, return it!

8. wall of accessories

Hopefully after setting up your closet, you have a wall left for accessories. I bought this jewelry organizer at Pottery Barn outlet, but you can create the same thing in other ways. A hanging jewelry organizer from bed bath and beyond holds all my little earrings. I put several necklaces on rings which then clip to a rod from Ikea. You could just have an assortment of nails or hooks to hang necklaces on as well. The point is that you see what you have!

9. Boards for inspiration

I have bulletin boards and wipe off boards hanging in my closet for notes and inspiration. This is where I can make notes about things i need to buy or am missing for an outfit. This is also where I pin pictures I see online or in magazines for inspiration!

10. Maintaining is the secret

This closet organization project probably took awhile, so now comes the time to maintain the organization. When putting away laundry, try to keep up your system with everything going back to its zone. Maybe hang some pictures of your organized closet on your bulletin board to stay motivated. If you don’t have time to focus on it everyday, take 15 minutes a week to put everything back in its place. Eventually it will become a habit!