For some reason, the season of spring seems to motivate people more than any other time of year to clean up and organize different areas of their lives. With the end of the school year, you may also be looking at a move home for summer or a move to a new home for next year at some point, both of which make organizing your wardrobe all the more important so you have one less thing to worry about during the move. I go through my wardrobe at least once, and sometimes twice a year because I don’t have a lot of space at home or at my school apartment for storage, so being organized is key. Read on to find out my tips for how to organize your wardrobe with minimal headaches.
Tip #1: Purge, purge, purge
The first thing you should do, when tackling your closet, is completely empty it. Don’t leave anything in the closet, not even hangers. It’s easier to go through items and decide what goes back in the closet, then try to leave everything in it and decide what to remove from the closet, because you could miss something or just get overwhelmed by the amount of items. Once you’ve emptied the closet, it’s time to go through your clothes and divide them into piles. Pile #1 is keep: these are pieces that you know you wear on a regular basis, that are season-appropriate, and anything you can imagine putting on tomorrow. Pile #2 is store: these are pieces that are out of season (think scarves, wool sweaters, and UGGs), or that you really want to keep but don’t wear very often (like special occasion dresses or costumes). These can be kept somewhere else, like under-the-bed storage containers until you need them. Pile #3 is repair: these are any pieces that are stained or torn, need to be hemmed or repaired. Put these in a hamper in your closet but make yourself a promise that you will take these pieces to the dry-cleaner or seamstress within the month, otherwise it’s time to move them to Pile #4, donate: pretty straight forward, any pieces you no longer like, or haven’t worn in the last 12 months, no longer fit, or are out of style should go in a container or bag and be donated to good will. If you have any pieces you think are particularly valuable, you can try selling them to a vintage or consignment shop for a couple extra bucks to put towards some new spring pieces! This pile can sometimes be hard because there are always pieces you think you will wear, or that hold some sentimental value, but try to be harsh because I promise you won’t miss these old clothes, but you will appreciate the space that they free up in your closet.
Tip #2: Divide and Conquer
Once you’ve decided what you want to keep and purged your closet of everything else, it’s time to sort through what you are putting back in the closet. Come up with a system that works for you, some ideas might be to organize by colour and hang all like colours together, or you might was to organize by clothing type and place sweaters with sweaters, tees with tees, dresses with dresses etc, or you could try organizing by outfit with pieces you often wear together within easy reach of one another. Whatever suits your taste is fine, but I figure if you’re going to be putting everything back in your closet, you may as well put them in some sort of order at least for the first while.
Tip #3: Use the Tools
Before you throw everything back in your closet, take a look at what sort of hardware you have in place. Do you have a hanging rod? Hooks? Drawers? Shelves? Now consider how you might make the most of this space: can you put a shoe rack on your top shelf? Add hanging shelves to your hanging rod? If you have time to go to an organization store like The Container Store or Solutions, go and see what they have. Take some measurements and photos of your empty closet before you go and talk to the sales associates: they’ll know what they have to offer and can come up with create solutions to make the most of any space. Sometimes something as simple as a decorative storage box to keep all your belts in, or shelf dividers to keep your tees neatly stacked can make a real difference in the space and appearance of your closet. Don’t forget to replace any wire hangers, which can damage clothes, with thick plastic or wooden hangers while you’re at the closet organization store.
Storage boxes, shelf dividers, and storage drawers, all The Container Store
Once you’ve got your closet cleaned and organized, try to be conscious of it every day when you get dressed so you can keep it organized throughout the year, making the whole process even easier next year. Now you have lots of room for new spring and summer clothes you pick up, and you’ll appreciate them all the more because you have an organized space to store them.
What Do You Think?
Do you regularly organize your closet? How hard is it for you to purge old clothes? Leave me a comment and let me know!
One good tip I found one time is to hang all of your clothes with the hanger openings facing you. As you wear an item and replace it in the closet, hang it normally. When you go to clean out your closet, you’ll easily see what you never wear by the hangers still facing the wrong way.
I find it easier to purge my closet when I change my mindset from ‘Oh I might wear that in the future’ to ‘Will someone else get more benefit from this than me’. Also knowing where you can donate your clothes to in advance really helps. In addition to Goodwill, there is the Salvation Army, women’s shelters, Vietnam Veterans of America and Soles4Soles.org for shoes. You will get far more pleasure from knowing someone in need is getting your clothes than hanging onto them and never wearing them.
Chloe
I just went through my closet this week when I came home from school.. Great tips and so true!