After you get over the initial howling fit you’ll be having at the idea of me writing a post on organization, I’ll be happy to inform you that you are right…my forte is not organization EXCEPT for my closet. There’s something about keeping a well thought out and maintained space that is almost life transforming. Granted, when we built our master bedroom addition, I begged, borrowed and stole (not really) to make a big closet happen, I see now how much stress can be eliminated by becoming a little more orderly.
The value of a well-organized closet is huge. Let me share why:
- You can see your clothes, making your clothes “findable” &, thus, wearable.
- Edits are easy to make. Pieces that never get worn become obvious and can be removed.
- You know where the gaps are and where you need to pare back. Shoe overload? If your shoe storage area/racks are full, that’s a hint to stop buying shoes.
I realize that most women’s closets are never big enough (my last closet consisted of overflowing shelves and unwieldy stacks of clothes) but many of these ideas can adapted for smaller spaces as well. The idea is to have a home for each of your items to make they accessible and visible. Otherwise, you may as well purge them from your space! Here are my tips to organizing your closet:
- Use uniform wooden hangers – this applies to closets of all sizes. It’s one of the easiest changes that will instantly de-clutter your closet. Beyond the visual appeal, wooden hangers are a better choice for your clothes. They allow your garments to hang properly without leaving creases or dents, as the cheap wire ones do. Am I asking you to ditch the dry cleaner hangers? Yes, yes I am. I stocked up a number of years ago at Superstore with these ones, but other places to get big quantities for a great price are IKEA and even some dollar stores.
- Hang your boots from boot hangers – we’ve all tried stuffing our high boots with socks to keep them standing up while not in use…haven’t we? Boot hangers are ingenious and allow you to stagger your boots, taking up less room. They are also easy to move when boots are out of season..simply move them to hang at the back of your closet or to a less used one elsewhere.
- Color-coordinate. Am I losing you here? I hope not, because it really does make a difference. Planning your outfits becomes much less time consuming…as does searching for a specific piece of clothing. When each piece has a “home”, you can eliminate the frantic digging for that ever elusive favourite tee.
- Add dividers where possible. These are the best for organizing handbags, hats or stacking your tees/sweaters. Handbags, especially, are so hard to store nicely. These keep them standing up and easy to access. A little note, I also stuff my handbags when I’m not using them to help keep their shape..is that over the top?
- Store your socks and underwear in organized fashion. I use containers, like these, that allow you to keep the sock situation fully in check…because if there aren’t parameters they become a monster in short order. Make the effort to only put pairs of socks in there. Get rid of the solos…just do it. It’s actually freeing..ha!
- If space permits, or if you’re in process of planning a new closet, set aside dedicated areas for each type of clothing. If you have a rod on which you will be hanging your skirts, measure the longest one you have to ensure that you’re hanging rods at the right height. The same goes for boots, and longer pieces like maxi dresses. Dedicated spaces also give you a limit..once that space is full it’s full.
- Lastly, keep the closet golden rule: One in…one out. And stick to it. Keep your wardrobe in check (hey, I’m preaching to the choir here, but I’ve adopted this rule for the last couple of years and it’s what keeps me off of the latest Hoarders episode). If you buy something, get rid of something. Simple as that. It will also help you think a bit more before making a purchase…
Hangers that are uniform are key to de-cluttering and allow everything to hang at an even height.
Whenever possible, incorporate dividers to help keep purses, denim, etc compartmentalized.
Color-coordinating is also a system that allows you to find pieces quickly and to scope out what you have too much or too little of…
Hope these tips will help you bring a bit more organization into your life…well, at least into your closet. Now if I could just incorporate this into some other parts of my home…it’s always on my to-do list!
Laurel
