Organize Your Closet

Do you have lots and lots of clothes? Take some time and organize your closet. I’ve been talking about the concept of good enough. The definition is a personal one. What may be good enough for me may not be good enough for you. Think about that as I talk about organizing your closet and clothes.

No matter the size of your closet unless you purposefully put your clothes away it can devolve into a disaster area quickly. Instead of letting your clothes drop into a heap on the closet floor, put them away.

Let’s talk about the different types of clothes you may have in your closet and where to put them.

Blouses and Shirts

Organize your closet by hanging blouses and shirts on the top row of a double hang bar. If your budget allows, get slim fabric covered hangers. This way the blouses (particularly silky ones) will stay on the hanger instead of slipping to the floor. You have the option to group your shirts/blouses in a few different ways.

Group them by shirt sleeve length (sleeveless, short-sleeved, long sleeved)

And by color. The reason for doing this is simple, when you group these tops by color, you’ll easily be able to find the top you’re looking for. It will be faster to pull an outfit together. You won’t have to sift through the different tops and colors until you find the one you want. This is totally up to you and honestly requires more maintenance because to keep everything in order is a little bit more time consuming. Decide to what length you want to go to organize your tops – how much is good enough for you?

T-Shirts

Do you fold or hang your t-shirts? If you have the hanging space, hanging your t-shirts is faster and easier than folding them. If you keep your t-shirts folded on a shelf in your closet, try to put the clean ones on the bottom of the stack. If your t-shirts are kept in a drawer, try to fold them so they are kept upright on edge – not stacked. It’s easier to put them away and easier to rotate them. Do what’s easiest for you.

Slacks and pants

Do you long hang your pants or fold them over a bar? If they are folded over a bar, hang them on the bottom row of a double hanging system. If you long hang your pants, get hangers with a soft grip so they don’t leave a mark on your clothes. No matter which hanging method you employ, group your pants by color. Keep black pants together, blue, gray, khaki – you get the idea.

I suggest you do this for two reasons. The first is so you see how many of each color you have, the second is to make it easier for you to put outfits together. If you have a lot of pants of one color or another, ask yourself how many pairs of pants of this color do I need?

If it’s part of a work uniform, you may need one pair for each day you work or at least one pair to wear, one in the closet, and one in the wash. You decide what is good enough for you.

Jeans

Do you fold or hang your jeans? Are they dressy jeans? Work in the garden jeans? Are jeans part of your personal uniform? How many pairs do you have? If you fold them, do they fit on a shelf in your closet or can they go in a chest of drawers in your bedroom?

Dresses and skirts

Fashion and what is fashionable changes all the time. I tend not to pay too much attention to what is fashionable and to wear what works for me. Do you? Hem lengths change all the time, too. Some skirts are short, some long, some mid-calf. If your skirts are short enough, you can hang them on the bottom rod of a double hang system. Hang long skirts in an open or long hanging section in your closet. Group dresses and skirts together according to function. Work clothes belong together as do church clothes and party clothes.

Shoes

Shoes can be a real problem. They tend to clutter up the floor of the closet. Do you have certain pairs of shoes you wear only on special occasions? Separate those pairs of shoes out first.  Keep those pairs high up on a shelf and store them in clear plastic boxes. You’ll be able to see them (you’ll know where to find them) and they will stay clean. Also, the boxes are easy to stack so if you have more than one pair of shoes that you wear infrequently, they can be stacked one on top of the other. Organizing your closet this way will keep the closet floor clutter free.

Do you have shoes you wear to work? Shoes you wear on the weekends. How about shoes you wear for exercise. Group the pairs of shoes according to use. They’ll be easier to find that way.

Try to put them in the pair when you take them off. I tend to kick my shoes off in my closet. Matching them as a pair makes it easier for me when I’m looking for shoes in the morning.

Handbags or Purses

I love my handbags. I admit to having lots of them. I change them out frequently. Sometimes I want a big bag and sometimes a smaller one. I keep mine on a couple of shelves in my closet. Upper shelves or storage bins work well for keeping handbags together.

Accessories

Then there are other accessories like belts and scarves. Stores like Target, The Container Store, and Walmart have a variety of hangers made for the purpose of hanging these accessories. They also have hangers for blouses, skirts, dresses, and pants. Check out these stores to find what is good enough for you.

Multiple Sizes

Finally, let’s talk about multiple sizes.

Some people store multiple sizes of clothes in their closet. I understand weight fluctuates. Be honest with yourself. If you’re hanging on to clothes that are 2, 3, or 4 sizes too small and have been hoping to be that size again for several years it may be time to remove those clothes from your closet. Give them away or sell them. They are taking up valuable real estate in your closet.

The best reason to organize your closet is to make your life easier. It’s a good feeling to either walk into or reach into your closet and find the clothes you want to wear each day without having to hunt for them. You can follow these tips on your own or give me a call and together we can organize your clothes in a way that is good enough for you.