Is your closet a mess? Do you struggle to find something to wear? Or do you know what you want to wear but you can’t find the item you are thinking of? Or you can’t complete an outfit the way you prefer because you can’t find your items and accessories? You are in the right place as I share all about how to organize your closet in seven steps!
Today, in this blog (and the video above), I show you how to organize your closet wardrobe in my seven simplified steps. Then, you will be able to get ready in a snap!
I’m Terry Elisabeth, author of “How to Organize Any Space in 7 Simplified Steps” where I show you how to organize your spaces according to your personal organizing style so that your spaces can finally stay organized. If you need help organizing or just love organizing videos, don’t forget to click the subscribe button!
Having an organized closet makes it possible for you to easily find and coordinate what you need so that you can get ready quickly in the morning.
- CLEAR OUT YOUR SPACE
The first step to organizing any space is to clear it out! So, to organize your closet, you must empty it completely. You must see what you have and what space you have so that you can properly assess how to store your items. If your wardrobe is scattered about the house, maybe your coats are in a different closet or your shoes are in the garage, go ahead and gather it all together in one area so we can properly assess your items in the next step. I think the bed is a great place to layout your clothes. (Set aside any organizing supplies like bins, baskets, and dividers to be used in the next steps.) You can combine this step of clearing out your space with the second step which is the …
- INITIAL SORTING STAGE
Check out my blog on “How to De-clutter by Season” so that you can know how to get through the first and most important sorting stage of organizing. We must get rid of the items we don’t need and aren’t using so that we can free up space for the items we do use. In my freebie (in that blog), I guide you through which items to keep and purge.
- CLEAN AND EVALUATE YOUR SPACE
With your spaces clear, you can use some elbow-grease and give it a good cleaning. Then, you can sit back and evaluate your space to make the best use of it. Grab some paper or get on your computer and map out your empty spaces. We will note where your items will go after the next steps. I have a blank chart you can use along with my 7-step guide and goal-setting resource which can be found in my freebie library here.
- SORT INTO CATEGORIES
To truly organize your closet, you must start by sorting your items into categories. Be as general as possible at first. Start with clothes you wear outside of the house for work or outings. Then, pajamas, house clothes, workout clothes, underwear, and socks. Then, refine these categories further. Sort the clothing you wear outside of the house into outerwear, tops, and bottoms, for example. Then, sort the tops by sleeve length. Finally, sort by color. Do the same for the rest of your categories. Do what makes sense to you. Maybe you like to dress by color, so you can sort your wardrobe by color first. You can keep those colors together in a section that is then sorted by outerwear, tops, and bottoms and those categories can then be refined further (i.e. by sleeve length) as you prefer. One thing to note is that the more your items coordinate with each other, the fewer items you need to keep because you can make multiple outfits from coordinating pieces. You can coordinate less-expensive, trendy pieces per season (i.e. floral blouses and dresses in spring and warm plaids in fall) with neutral, high-quality, classic pieces (i.e. good-quality jeans, solid-color skirts, beige and black cardigans, high-quality coats). My quantities to keep guidelines for all ages and lifestyles (FREE here) help to put things in perspective in regard to how many of each clothing item makes sense to keep depending on your lifestyle.
- SORT BY FREQUENCY OF USE AND PLAN YOUR SPACE
We all are changing our undergarments everyday (or should be) and so you organize those items in a drawer or section of your closet where they are within the easiest reach … like the top drawer of your dresser. Then, if you work out every day, your workout clothes can be in the second drawer. Then, you typically can get away with changing your pajamas every few days (unless you’re a sweaty sleeper), so you can place those in the bottom drawer. Or you can split your drawers depending on the size of your drawers and/or items. My folding techniques blog goes into detail about that. If you change your purse all the time, you will place your purses within easy reach. I don’t so I have them up high (well high for me because I’m short). Do you have special occasion items like fancy heals or dresses? Place those in protective organizing supplies like garment bags or shoe bins. The goal is to determine which items you access daily, weekly to monthly, and monthly to seasonally or on special occasions. After you determine that, you can finally grab your plan with your empty space and write or draw out where you will organize everything in your closet! Your plan will include you noting that you will place your most frequently accessed items within easy reach, moderately accessed items above and below those items (i.e. if your frequently accessed items are at eye level), and items you access rarely to be on the highest shelves or in other storage areas around your home.
- PUT EVERYTHING AWAY ACCORDING TO YOUR ORGANIZING STYLE
You will put everything away according to your organizing style. I note six organizing styles on the home page and I go into detail in my mini-eBook “How to Organize Your Wardrobe in 7 Simplified Steps” on how to get through each step of organizing specifically for each organizing style. Your organizing style is basically the way you naturally look for and put things away. We all have a dominating organizing style and you are either “The Piler” who hasn’t maximized your natural tendencies with systems that work for you OR you can be “The Organized Piler” who has set up systems that use clear containers and detailed labels. When you organize according to your natural tendencies, your spaces are far more likely to stay organized. Here, because I am “The Stasher”, I have my folded clothes filed. I have my work bag and purses divided by these shelf dividers. They aren’t within easy reach because I rarely change out my bag. I’ve used my purse for more than a year now. (Purse and work bag organization blog posts are also coming soon.)
Some tips to make your closet look a little neater is to place items facing the same direction typically from the way you open or look into your closet (i.e. the fronts of the blouses facing you). Place the crotch of pants to the rear of the closet and the back pocket facing you. Using all the same hangers in the same color also help to reduce the look of clutter by making your closet look less busy and more streamlined so your eyes can focus on the colors and patterns of your clothes rather than wonky hangers.
- MAINTAIN YOUR SPACES
Finally, you will make it a point to maintain your spaces on a regular basis by making habits of putting your items away every day … which will be easy now that everything has a place, and everything is in its place. (Always place your empty hangers in the same area so that they are easy to grab all at once when needed.) You will also evaluate your spaces on a regular basis. What makes the most sense is to note what items you aren’t wearing as you put your clothes away on laundry day. You can actually place clothing backward on hangers, face shoes a certain direction, replace clothing in drawers in a certain order.
As you use the items, you will replace them as you would normally. That way, the items you aren’t using will become obvious as they remain hanging backward on the rod and shoes aren’t turned around. To organize your closet throughout the year, as you enter a new season, you will then donate or sell those items and throw away any items that are stained or damaged.
I have FREE resources for you which include my quantities to keep guidelines for your wardrobe for all ages including infants to adults. If you have a hard time getting rid of things and don’t quite understand how many of each item makes sense to keep, my quantities to keep guidelines are perfect for you. They help to put things in perspective so that you can see what is really necessary and what can be excessive and impossible to use. And, because I have them for you for every age group, you can download just what you need or all if you want!
What do you do to keep your wardrobe organized? Or what do you struggle with purging from your closet? (Do you have a scarf, purse, or shoe addiction?) Share in the comments below. Don’t forget to grab your FREE quantities to keep guidelines here so your mind can be freed from the confusion about deciding how many of each item makes sense to keep. In my next post, I will show you how to organize different types of purses so follow me on my social media, so you can see when the next post is up!
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Happy Organizing!
Author of “How to Organize Any Space in 7 Simplified Steps“