Tips and Techniques to Keep Your Closet in Order

Not everyone is lucky enough to have a huge closet. If you live in a small space and have an even smaller closet, you have to be creative to make the most of what you got. Or if you want a more ordered and neat closet space, there are ways to organize all of your belongings. Don’t be overwhelmed! Before you start, you have to go through… the purge.

Time to make decisions – What Clothes You Do and Don’t Wear

We all have items we plan on wearing but never do. The rule of thumb is if you haven’t worn it in 12 months, it’s out. If you can do without it (forever), donate or sell it! To make this process a bit easier, put away all out-of-season clothes (winter/summer) and put them into storage (like this under-bed storage) for later use.

Next, it’s time to sort the pile of clothes you do wear. Figure out what items need to be hanged and what will be placed onto shelves or in drawers. Designate zones in your closet. For example, dresses with longer lengths need longer space, while blouses and shorter items won’t. Shelves and drawers are typically for accessories, casual tees, active wear and most knits.

It’s now time to tackle your wardrobe!

10 Techniques to Organize your Closet

1. Sort your clothes: Color-coding is popular. You can also sort by occasion (casual, professional, etc), by clothing categories and sub-categories (bottoms: pants, jeans, etc.) or by season. Whatever makes the most sense for you!
2. Get matching hangers: It makes a visual difference! Everything will be the same color and look more orderly. Over the years, you’ll collect hangers of different types, adding to the chaos. Throw them out and invest in one style. While you’re at it, hang everything facing the same direction.

3. Deep shelves: if you have deep shelves, store what you don’t wear as often in the back, and what’s in-season in the front for easy access. That’s an obvious one, right?
4. Use all available areas: Use your closet doors! Get an over-the-door rack or stylish hooks to hang scarves or belts. It’ll free up precious space in your closet. Command hooks on the side walls also work great for hanging hats!

5. Optimize vertical space – try using cascading hangers or tiered hooks. You can stack up the items that need to be hanged, like pants, without sacrificing more space on your rods or shelves for more clothes. You can also add a hanging rod, like this closet-doubler.

6. Storage baskets: use shelf space for casual t-shirts, knit clothes (to avoid those annoying hanger bumps) and bulky sweaters. Buy storage baskets or boxes for a more uniform look and to add style. You can try out shelf dividers to make sure your stacks don’t fall over.

7. Don’t hang your bags: hanging your purses and hand bags stretches out your straps! Instead, stuff each with tissue or newspaper to keep its shape and place each on a designated shelf. This keeps them in great condition and they look great on display!
8. Drawer organizers: If you have built-in drawers, you can buy (or make) your own drawer organizers. Use them for underwear, socks, sunglasses, and other small items. Drawers can get chaotic quickly! Dividers help keep each item in its place. You can also use them to organize your jewelry.

9. Top shelf storage – It’s high up and out of reach. Where else is the best place to store clothes you won’t be wearing? Purchase storage bins that fit snugly or like the shelves, get cute boxes. If you have high ceilings, try stackable shelf organizers to add another level to make use of the vertical space.
10. Shoe racks – the only section left is the bottom of your closet! Invest in shoe racks, and even better if they can stack like these. Space your shoes evenly apart, to maintain the orderly look in your wardrobe. If you have open shelves left, you can store your shoes there, too. 

You’re on your way to a less cluttered wardrobe!

“Spring cleaning” can be done any season, you just have to be ready to get rid of what you don’t wear. Store away your out-of-season clothes and make more room! Hang everything and use all the space you have. It’s all about optimizing space and keeping things orderly and neat with baskets, bins or specialty dividers. Organizing your wardrobe makes your life easier!