Have you ever used the phrase "an organized mess" to describe your closet? What if instead of describing it as an organized mess, you just described it as organized? To turn your mess into a masterpiece, consider these tips your paintbrush.
Clean House: Begin by separating your wardrobe by types of clothing: pants, dresses, skirts, blouses, shirts and sweaters. You can even take it a step further by getting rid of pieces that you haven’t worn in at least a year—getting rid of those unwanted clothes gives you even more space to work with. Also, experts say that by organizing your closet like a store, you can "shop" for an outfit every time you get dressed.
Think Seasonal: Once you have your space divided by type of clothing, narrow it down even further by season. There’s no reason to have a cashmere sweater hanging in your closet in June. By dividing up your clothing by season, you can see what can be stored away, again giving you more room to work with.
During the warmer months, store your sweaters and wool pants in rollaway bins or drawers that can fit under the bed or be tucked out of sight when not being used. When the seasons change, so will the contents in the bins.
Get Off On The Right Foot: Take better stock of your shoes by actually seeing what’s in the box. For shoes that you still have the box for, take a picture of each pair and then glue them to the front of the boxes. For shoes that you don’t have the box for, buy clear containers to store your shoes in. Over-the-door shoe hangers are also a great. The compartments each hold a pair of shoes and hang on the back of your closet door for added convenience.
Accessorize: Accessories like belts, scarves, hats and purses can seem like clutter in and of themselves. If you have the extra shelf space, bins that you can label will do the trick.
Short on space? The over-the-door shoe hanger is great for scarves and belts, too; just roll them up and stick them in the clear pockets. For purses and hats, affixing some hooks to the wall and hanging them does the trick.
Additional Help
Many products are available to help take your organizing even further.
- Sweater Hanger: Many sweaters should not be hung, especially lightweight sweaters that stretch easily or very heavy sweaters. To solve this problem, pick up a hanging sweater shelf. It hangs on your closet rod and has multiple spaces that hang vertical, allowing you to fold and store your sweaters but still keep them at a convenient reaching distance.
- Cascading Hangers: These hangers are great because they have hooks in the center that allow you to hang several pieces together. These are great for suits, skirts and pants.
- Stacking Shelves: If you’re cramped for space, snag up some floor level shelving that sits on the ground, so you can stack jeans, sweatshirts and the like underneath your hanging clothes.
Organization is what you make of it. If the task feels overwhelming, start small by tackling one step at a time. After you do finish one task, the results will encourage you to continue your foray into organization.
Toni Cicone - Hi there! I'm Toni: yoga enthusiast, dog lover, Italian cook, and avid writer. I graduated from the University of Akron in 2005 with a BA ...
