The closet is an important storage area in your home. Bedroom closets are convenient places to keep clothing, shoes, hats, and accessories. A well-planned storage area makes it easy for you to find what you’re looking for. Getting dressed is easy when your closet is a tidy, functional space. If your clothing storage has gotten out-of-control, read on to learn how to organize your closet in four steps.
1. Clear the Space
Don’t waste time trying to organize a closet by simply moving items around within the space. If you have a messy closet, you won’t make much progress. It’s best to remove everything from the space so you can begin organizing with a clean slate. Group like items together in piles on the bed: tops, bottoms, dresses, jackets, hats, etc. Once these groups are made, you’ll be able to clearly see what you own.
While the closet is empty, take time to dust and clean the space. Vacuum and dust the floors as well. If the walls could use a fresh coat of paint, an empty closet presents a great opportunity to take care of this quick renovation. To go the extra mile in freshening up your closet, hang some sachets of cedar from the closet rod.
2. Sort Garments to Organize Your Closet
If your closet is full or overflowing, declutter before organizing. Odds are that you’re holding onto some clothing that you no longer need or use. Sort through your piles of garments and get rid of anything that you don’t wear or that isn’t comfortable.
As you find clothing to get rid of, sort it into two groups; a box to donate and a box that can be sold. While older and worn garments aren’t likely to be worth much, your rarely-used or more valuable items can be sold online or using a clothing reselling app.
Many closet organization guides insist that you throw out any item that you don’t wear regularly. However, that can be daunting to many people. It’s okay to hang on to a few items if you’re not quite ready to let them go. Bundle these items into a garment bag and move them to a coat closet so they aren’t taking up valuable space.
3. To Organize Your Closet, Develop a System
A disorganized closet is a sign that the system you were using wasn’t working for you. Design a closet organization system that is best for the closet space and the types of garments you have.
Look at the space available and the clothing you’ve decided to keep. If you have too many clothes to hang up, decide which items can be folded. Consider folding t-shirts, sweaters, and jeans and installing shelving, storage bins, or a small dresser in the closet to provide more space for folded clothing.
The floor is a fine place to keep shoes, as long as you keep them in pairs and don’t toss them in haphazardly. Higher shelves are perfect for handbags and accessories. Use bins to keep things sorted and organized. Install hooks on the walls of the closet to hold hats, scarves, handbags, and other accessories.
Items that you use regularly should be stored in an easy to reach area. Out of season clothing or special occasion garments can be kept in the back of the closet, or transfer those clothes to bins and store them elsewhere in the house. It might take a bit of trial and error, but you’ll eventually figure out the right way to organize your belongings to make good use of the space.
4. Put Your Items Away
Once you’ve made a plan about how to use the closet space, the hard part is over. Put your items away, organizing by garment type. Within the garment type groupings, sort by color so that you can easily find the items you’re looking for.
Organizing your closet might feel like an overwhelming task, but it will give you peace of mind and make getting ready a lot easier. If you commit to keeping your closet tidy and always put items where they belong, you’ll maintain your newly organized space for years to come.
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