How to Organize Your Closet

Have you tried to organize your closet, only to spend the entire day without accomplishing anything but making a big mess. It’s because we have a problem getting rid of clothes. We have a connection to them. They were chosen and added to our collection. We wear them. We love them and we hate them. They give us various feelings about ourselves that can affect our entire day. Overall, clothes are a big part of our lives. And we struggle to get rid of them.

So why does it seem that we never have anything to wear? Or why can we never put our hands on the one piece that would be perfect for this outfit?

It’s all because we have a mess of a closet. Maybe it’s full of clothes. Those clothes may be perfectly fine but not exactly what you want to wear that day. Or maybe your closet is packed with clothes that are worn out, too big, too little, or out of style.

Maybe your lifestyle or motivations have changed and your clothes just don’t “fit” who you are now. Whatever the reason, it’s time to give your closet some love. This will make getting ready everyday a pleasant experience instead of a frustrating one.

The Clean Out

The first step to organize your closet is to clean out all the clothes. So you can do this a couple of different ways; you can pull everything out, you can shop your closet, or you can use the hanger trick.

Option 1: Pull Every Piece of Clothing Out of Your Closet

The first option to pull everything out will make a big mess but it will force you to look at every piece and decide what is really worthy of going back into your closet. I would only do this IF I had a good portion of the day to tackle this task. This is a daunting method and I recommend this only for those who can get rid of things. If you struggle to let things go, do not use this method. You will end up with a wasted day and nearly everything you started with in your keep pile.

You will need to pull out every piece of clothing from your closet and drawers and put it all on your bed. Then you will go through every piece and make a decision to keep it because you love wearing it and it makes you feel good, donate it because it’s in good condition but doesn’t work for you anymore, or trash it because it’s worn out. Again, I say to only use this method if you have time to sift through all of your clothes in one day; because you can’t go to bed until you have finished.

When you are finished, you should have your keeps in one pile. Donations should be in bags or boxes to drop off and trash can be in bags to get rid of. I would be sure to keep trash bags and donation bags separated.

Option 2: Shop Your Closet

This method is quite a bit easier and way faster. It does take a little pre-planning though. Think about what you wear on a daily/weekly/monthly basis.

So, for example, I work outside the home so I need clothes for work. I teach first grade and we have a pretty casual dress code, so I need some dresses and top/bottom combos that I can mix and match to wear to work.

I also like to change into comfy clothes at home when I’m relaxing (never happens, lol) or cleaning/cooking/etc. So I need some leggings and t-shirts for this.

We also do things as a family on the weekends. This can include going to church, the movies, picnics, parks, or riding bikes. I would need clothes that are appropriate for these activities.

Think about how often you do your laundry. At our house, I do separate loads per person. Everyone usually has one load each week, with exception of my husband who usually has two loads. So we could really get by with 7-10 days worth of clothes. I like some variety though. So I’m going to have enough for two weeks of clothes and see how it goes.

This is where the “shopping your closet” comes in. Go in and pull the pieces to fill in for the clothing pieces and outfits you will need. Keep in mind the current season. We are going to pull clothes for only the next 3 months (or however long is in the current season). There may be gaps in your wardrobe but you can make a list of pieces you need to add.

Once you have pulled what you feel is good number that would clothe you for 14 days, take everything else out of your closet. Go ahead and toss anything that is worn out–you don’t want to pull that back out again. Get a couple tote boxes to hold the extra and out of season clothing. This will elevate the stress of getting rid of your clothes because you still have them available if you need them.

Option 3: The Hanger Trick

This is probably the easiest ways to figure out what to declutter out of your closet but it also takes the longest. So you will turn all of your clothes hangers backwards to the way you normally hang your clothes. As you wear, wash, and return your clothes to the closet; turn the hangers the normal direction. At the end of six months or one year, pull out anything that is still on a backwards hanger. If you didn’t wear it in the past 365 days, you’re probably not going to. Everything that is left is what you actually wear.

All the Rest

Now that we’ve taken care of the clothes, it’s time to pull out everything else. There isn’t a lot of storage space at our house so I store a lot of stuff in my closet. As you pull out items, sort into the same categories we mentioned earlier; keep, donate, or toss. When you are finished, you can move the donate and toss containers out of the space to prep for reorganizing the items that are remaining.

Clean the Closet

Take this moment that your closet is empty to clean the shelves, walls, and floor. When you are finished, the closet will be a blank canvas to start organizing.

Sort What You Have

We are on the third step to organize the closet. Now group your items by category. Clothes, shoes, bags, accessories, and any miscellaneous items that you will want to store together. Are any categories out of control? Take a minute to declutter any groups that you feel are too much.

Assess Your Storage Needs

Now you have decluttered and sorted so take a look at what you have to put back into the space. Take a few minutes to assess what you have and how much. Look at the best closet organization options for each category that fit in your budget.

Can you re-home anything to make more space in your closet?

How do you want to store your shoes: On shelves, in boxes, or maybe a hanging storage organizer?

Bags and purses will also need a home. You can keep them on shelves, hanging, in a hanging organizer, or in bins or boxes on an upper shelf out of the way. What you choose will depend on your preferences and the space you have.

Will your clothes all go on hangers or will you need shelf and drawer space. You might need shelf dividers or bins to keep your clothes neat and organized depending on your space.

If you have these storage items already in your home, great! If not, you can look at discount stores or purchase online. There are so many products available to us now.

Best Way to Use Space

When you are figuring out the best use of your storage space, look up. Do you have a lot of space above your hanging rods? You could move the hanging rod up or add another shelf to increase your storage. I recommend hanging dresses and blouses, coats and jackets and pants. Jeans, t-shirts, and sweaters do better folded on shelves. But that will depend on what you have space for.

If you need more hanging space; raise the existing bar and add another below it. This will double your space to hang clothes.

If you need more shelf space; you could add a tall cube shelf, hanging shelves, or raise the hanging bar to add a cube shelf under your hanging clothes. All of these are great options to increase the storage in the space you have.

Another option is to use the walls and back of the door for hanging storage organizers. Add hooks for bags, hats, accessories and belts. Shoes can be put on a low shelf under hanging clothes or in a hanging wall organizer.

I recommend putting away clothing that is out of season. They can be put in another closet in the house, on upper shelves, or in boxes in the back of the closet out of the way. This helps to only be able to see the clothes that can be worn during the given season. Here are some great cloth zip storage organizers to put your clothes and put on a top shelf or under the bed.

Evaluate Your Progress

At this point you can see if your decluttering was enough to make your closet work for you. Clothes in your closet are what you can currently wear in this season, so those should be reduced quite a bit. The other items will depend on your willingness to let go.

If you still have trouble, put items that are questionable in a box. Label the box with a date–3-6 months into the future. Tape the box shut. If you haven’t opened the box by that date, donate the entire box without opening it. Chances are, you won’t be able to remember what exactly was in the box anyway.

How to Maintain Your Organized Closet

In order to maintain your hard work and organized space, you will need to do a couple things. After all a lot of work was put into decluttering and organizing. So daily, everything should be put back into its place. Don’t leave shoes, clothing, and accessories out to create new clutter. Make it a habit before going to bed at night to put things back in their homes.

Another thing that will need to be done is to regularly go through your closet and declutter anything that isn’t being used. You can use the hanger example from earlier for clothes. Pick a time frame–weekly, monthly, seasonally–to do a quick run through and pull out what doesn’t work anymore. This can easily be done when you change out your clothes each season.

Your Organized Closet

Once you have finished this project, my hope is that you feel a sense of relief that’s its done and satisfaction at your accomplishment. Decluttering and organizing is difficult for a lot of people. Your closet is a space that is utilized everyday and it can be difficult to know how to organize it. Now it is an organized space that you can easily find what you need and put things aways. It’s definitely motivating to start on your next decluttering project!