How many times have you walked into your closet, only to find it overflowing with clothes? You try to search for something in particular, but then you realize that the only way to figure out what’s in there is by taking everything out first. Inevitably, this means that you end up putting things back into the wrong places and starting over again—and even worse: walking around covered in dust and other gross stuff from your closet (um, ew). It doesn’t have to be this way! With some simple tricks and tips for closet organization, you can keep all of your clothes looking neat and clean.
Group like clothes together.
Grouping like clothes together will make it easier for you to find what you need, as well as keep your closet from looking cluttered.
The easiest way to group clothes is by color. You can choose to organize based on all colors of a certain hue (blue, green, etc.) or organize around a theme (light colors, dark colors). You can also take this one step further and organize by shades within the same color family (light blues and dark blues).
Clothes that are similar in size should be grouped together as well. For example: all of your pants could go in one bin while shirts could go in another bin; or all t-shirts could be placed into one container while long sleeve shirts are placed into another container.
Use dividers to keep things organized.
Dividers can be used to create sections within your closet, helping you keep things organized. You can use dividers to separate the sections of your closet, or you can use them to keep clothes from falling over on each other.
Hang up your most used items.
The hanging method is a great way to take advantage of vertical space. In the closet, you have a lot more vertical space than horizontal. That means that any time you can use the walls for storage, it will save you room in your wardrobe. To maximize this method, hang your most used items on the left side of the closet and less used items on the right side of the closet. It’s also important to hang up clothes that are used less often at least halfway into one section so they don’t get buried by newer purchases!
Hang as much as you can.
If you’re going to hang clothes, do so by color—it’s the easiest way to keep them organized. But if you have a lot of pieces that are similar in shade, such as jeans or t-shirts, group them together on one hanger.
- Tops with buttons should be hung with the buttons facing down so they don’t get caught on anything else.
- Pants with belts should be hung with the waistband up so they don’t slip off while hanging.
- Dresses should be hung with their waistbands down so they don’t get tangled up with other items when you open your closet door and everything comes crashing down on your head at once like those infomercials where people try to take out all their stuff at once and then it all falls out of their hands and makes a huge mess everywhere and then it starts raining inside because someone left open a window somewhere? Yeah, that happens all too often in my life…and now back to our lesson: dresses should be hung from their waists downwards—this helps keep them from slipping off hangers too easily (and onto your head).
Stack your clothes by color.
The most obvious way to organize your closet is by color. This method works well when you have a lot of clothes, because it’s easy to see what’s in each bin and keep track of what you’ve worn recently. For example, if you’re trying to find the perfect shirt for a date with your significant other and want something blue and casual, simply pull out all the shirts that are blue!
Once you’ve sorted by color, it’s time to decide how best to store those different garments so they’re accessible but not taking up too much space. You could use shoe racks or hanging shoe organizers as drawers (or even an entire closet). If your shoes are stored on shelves, organize them vertically instead of horizontally so they don’t take up as much room.
If hangers aren’t an option for some reason—for example because there isn’t enough room in the closet—look into plastic shoe boxes instead; these can fit more shoes than regular hangers since they’re taller than regular hangers are wide (duh).
Use air tight containers for your undergarments and socks.
You can use air tight containers to keep your undergarments and socks organized. These containers come in various sizes and colors, so you can find one that fits your needs. It’s best to keep them in a drawer or on a shelf near where you store your other clothes. This will help ensure that they stay clean and dry, which means they won’t smell bad when it’s time to put them back on again! Plus, if there is an earthquake or other natural disaster that causes flooding or water damage elsewhere in your home, these airtight containers will prevent any damage from occurring inside the container itself.
Make use of any wall space, even behind doors.
- Use hooks to hang things on. If you don’t have enough space in your closet, use hooks to hang clothes from the outside of the door.
- Use the back of your closet door for hanging items. This is a great way to maximize space if you don’t have much room inside of your closet.
- Use wall space above doors, dressers, and beds to store things like purses or slippers.
Organizing your closet is easy when you take the time to do it right
It is easy to fall into the trap of thinking that organizing your closet will be time-consuming and boring, but it doesn’t have to be! By following these five steps, you can organize your clothes in no time at all.
- Purge. Take a day and go through every item in your closet—yes, even those old turtlenecks from high school with holes in them—and get rid of anything you haven’t worn in the last year. If something is too far gone or too uncomfortable for daily wear (ahem), donate it!
- Containerize. Once everything has been purged from your closet, find containers for everything else—cardboard boxes work great for this! Label each container with its contents so you know what’s inside at a glance: shirts/blouses; pants/skirts; dresses; jackets; shoes/accessories… etcetera ad infinitum until every last piece of clothing has been placed into its respective bin by type alone (exception: keep socks together).
- Assess space needs and optimize accordingly! Do my clothes fit into their new containers? Where do I need more storage space? Are there any areas that could use some extra organization gadgets like hooks or shelves? These questions should help determine what “extra” things we may need before finalizing our organized look.”
Conclusion
In the end, it’s important to remember that clothes are just a small part of your life. They’re not worth spending too much time on, but they should be comfortable and functional so that you can focus on other things that matter more. We hope these tips help you out in your quest for closet organization!