Say Goodbye to "the Chair": How to Organize Your Closet
When watching home design shows, it's inspirational to think about flawlessly organizing a closet with your clothes, shoes, and accessories intact. In reality, decluttering, cleaning, and reorganizing a closet to make it more practical requires some planning and preparation. The size of your space, the number of your clothes, and the type of life you lead will all influence how to organize your closet . Follow these ideas on how to organize your closet to discover the pro way - just like the organizing experts on TV.
How Frequently Should You Organize Your Closet?
When looking for ways to organize a closet, we recommend organizing your closet on a seasonal basis. Doing it this way allows you to reflect on what you wore and enjoyed that season - or what you simply ignored - and do some tweaking before the new season begins.
Things to Consider Before You Begin
To arrange your wardrobe, you may be tempted to purchase additional hangers, hanger add-ons, baskets, or hanging organizers - but please don't buy anything just yet. Save those purchases for later in the organization after determining exactly what you need. This way, you'll only purchase the best hangers for your precise requirements. Enlist the help of a friend if you believe you will require assistance in making decisions. An objective bystander can help you select what to keep and throw away. Collect the tools and supplies that will make the process easier. Here's a simple closet organization tool for you:
- Shopping bags: Carry your clothes in sturdy bags to the donation center, tailor, or dry cleaner. If you don't have any bags, cartons and bins will suffice.
- Measurement tape: Take measurements for shelving and hanging space. Don't forget to bring a notebook to record the dimensions of your closet.
- Mirror with a full length: Decide what you want to "keep" and what you want to "let go," and make sure your mirror can handle your full image.
- All-purpose baskets: In your jeans pockets, you may find coins, documents, rubber bands, hair clips, wads of cash, and various receipts. Do not stop arranging to put these items away in the middle of your process; instead, place them in these catch-all baskets for the time being.
Organizing Your Closet Step-by-Step
Take Everything Out
The first step of learning how to organize your closet with little space is pulling everything out. Take everything from your closet and throw it all on the bed. Sort them into piles on the bed according to type - shirts here, dresses there, and so on. Remove all organizers and containers to create a completely empty closet or dresser.
Using a Rag and Cleaner, Clean Your Closet
Now that your closet is empty, use your rag and cleanser to clean the shelves, rods, walls, and baseboards, then vacuum or broom the floor. The place shouldn't be too dirty, to begin with, so getting a clean slate here shouldn't be too difficult.
Examine Your Closet
Consider how your closet has worked and not worked for you. The prime real estate is right in front, so think about your most-used items, what you're always struggling to reach, or which things would be better folded than hung. One of the best tips on how to organize your closet is deciding what goes where thoroughly and correctly.
Ask Questions
Take each garment from the pile and evaluate whether or not it should be returned to the closet. You don't have to go all out, but before you decide, ask yourself these four questions to determine whether or not you should keep something:
- Have I worn it in the last year?
- Do I fit in it?
- For pieces that need to be altered, will I spare the time to repair them?
- Do I feel good wearing it?
Make piles for clothes to keep, things to toss out, and clothes to donate as you answer the questions. Clothes to give away (such as maternity garments to a pregnant friend) and clothes to sell (such as a pristine bridesmaid gown you'll never wear again) are the two categories you can utilize when going through your clothes. If you respond "no" to any of the questions, we suggest putting it into one of your piles rather than back into the closet. If you use the word 'should' to justify keeping it, that's the first step towards knowing you should let it go.
Combat the Need to Overthink
When going through the steps of how to organize your clothes drawers, this one is actually a closet organization danger zone. This is when your determination may waver, and the task may come to a halt. Is giving up your size four clothing a sign that you've given up on your old, skinny self? Does giving your decade-old thigh-highs imply that your wild-partying youth is over? All of your overthinking can transform a 30-minute task into a three-hour one or force you to leave the project entirely. It's always helpful to focus on what you're keeping rather than what you're getting rid of. Look at all these awesome clothes left in your closet that make you feel fabulous!
Return the "Keep" Items to the closet.
Place each "keep" item in its proper location in the closet and move on to the next item. Work by type - pants, skirts, blouses, jackets - and move fast rather than getting caught up in remembering the clothes you used to fit into or wear for an old profession or lifestyle. The idea is to make your closet work for you right now.
Toss the Items Marked "Toss."
Take your bags and head out the door. Put your donation garments in the car right away so they don't sit around, and prepare any other goods - such as the gift or sell piles - for the following stage.