By Erika, Resident Fashionista
I get it. Organizing your closet can be a total pain in the butt! Definitely a more painful process than most of us would like it to be. But, it doesn’t have to be! Taking the time to organize your closet makes getting dressed easier and transitioning between seasons so much easier. Using my closet as an example, here are some of my most helpful tips to help make organizing your closet just a tad bit easier.
1. Use Baskets or Storage Boxes
If you have odds and ends (think belts, scarves, baseball hats and caps, flip flops, etc.) use baskets to store them in your closet. This is helpful because it keeps all of the bits and bobs (a little term I picked up working in London last year) contained in one place and it makes excellent use of your space.
2. Keep Seasonal Items and Staple Items Folded on Shelves
I tend to hang most of my clothes because it is easier for me to see what I’m working with. However, it can totally be a pain to always have to switch clothes off the hangers during my seasonal wardrobe switch. So now, I keep some seasonal items – like shorts, capris, heavy sweaters, etc. – folded on my top shelves for easy transition. I just remove one folded pile and replace with another during my seasonal closet switch.
I also keep some “all season” staples – think pashmina scarves, plain t-shirts and cardigans – folded on my top shelves. Because I wear them often (all the time really) I like to have easy access.
3. Hang Like Clothes in the Same Section
People build outfits different ways. Some people start with their shoes and build from the bottom up. Others, like me, start with the base (pants, a skirt, a dress) and build that way. No matter how you build your wardrobe, if you keep everything in the same section it will be easier to build your ensemble on a daily basis. What do I mean? Well, I keep all of my skirts, pants and jeans on one side of the closet. Jackets and blazers are in a different section. Dresses have their own section. And all of my tops have their own section. Regardless of the season I know where to find those pieces in my closet. It makes it really, really easy to pull together matching and complimentary pieces. I also take it so far as to organize them by style. As an example, all of my casual tanks, graphic t-shirts and work tops are sectioned off. So, when I’m dressing for the office I know exactly where to pull my favorite blouses.
4. Use Over Door Coat Hangers for Items Other Coats
I probably have more coat racks than any normal person should. And, none of them actually hold coats! I use one on my bedroom door for towels and bathrobes. I have another that hangs inside my closet for belts. Belts are often tricky to store. You need to be able to see them and have easy access; however, they can often be messy and take up room on hangers or get tangled in drawers and baskets. An over door coat rack was the perfect solution! Think about grabbing some for your home to store belts, necklaces, scarves or even purses!
5. Keep Your Favorite Items on Display
Items in my closet get favorite status one of two ways: they are worn over and over (and over and over and over) or they’re really pretty to look at (shallow, but whatever). I like keeping my favorite items on display because it provides easy access to the items that I wear on a regular basis. Instead of having to dig through drawers or shoe boxes I can easily and quickly grab my favorite pieces and go. And, looking at my prettiest pieces on display just makes me smile. No, I may not get to wear my fascinator from Paris all the time, but just looking at it brings a smile to my face.
These are just a few of the ways that I organize my closet. What helpful tips do you have to organize your closet? Share them in the comments section below!
Your Chic is Showing,
With Love, Erika
These are great tips. My problem is my closet is really small and so is my bedroom. I find clothes are everywhere yet I can’t really see anything. 🙁 I need a bigger house with bigger closets.
That is a problem!! Do you keep everything (all seasons) in there at the same time? I started switching them out to give me more space.
Also try storing things like t-shirts, workout gear, PJs, jeans, etc. in dressers or in underbed storage drawers/boxes. Basically you can put non-essentials in other places besides your closet.
You can also check out cool solutions like pants hangers (multiple rungs for multiple pairs of pants) or hanging storage options. I also have a girlfriend who stacks small shelves on her shelving above. It gives her an extra row of storage!
Maybe some of these tips can help!
Hi Erika! I love your blog! I’m going to be visiting this site on a regular basis because as I mentioned I need help in the wardrobe styling area – and hopefully do a consulation with you as well. Artlett and I were just talking the other day about organization and making sure you have access to everything you own. It’s so important because otherwise you forget to use the things you love the most (and usually paid the most for)! I actually went home after we talked and looked at my closet to figure out what I wasn’t getting access to. And realized I have several cute pairs of shoes stashed in shoe boxes up top, and a whole bunch of jewelry that I can’t see either. This is my nicest stuff! (and the things that make me smile when I see them!) I think I would wear it more if it was out in front of me like you mentioned with your stuff. I’m in the process of addressing that issue right now. I’m converting an old coat rack into a jewlrey holder that will stay right beside my dresser so that all of my jewlery is organized in front of me and on display. It’s a DIY project that I’ll be blogging about on my blog (www.ispaci.com) in a few weeks so I’ll be sure to post back here to send everyone the link when it’s up and running. I love organizing! Thanks for all the helpful tips here 🙂
Girlfriend – I have not forgotten about you!!! I will definitely be in touch soon! And I totally agree – it is easy to forget what you have!!! I’m a huge fan of showing the things you love. You might try snapping pics of the shoes and taping them to the box so that you can see what’s in the box on your shelves. I am going to do that because I have way too many pairs of shoes to keep up with – a gift and a curse, lolol.
I Love, love, LOVE the idea of a coat rack for a jewelry holder. I may just have to steal that idea from you. After I get a coat rack to be, well, a coat rack, lol! If you have any more helpful tips please share them with us!
Nice images. Organizing closets is a difficult because you don’t know from where you should start this process in a effective way. I think with the help of this article we can easily do this task in a proper manner. First make a list of your closets than choose which you should needed and which you don’t. After sorting you can store unused in a store rooms or basements. Thanks
Hi Erika!
I wanted to share the link with you for step-by-step instructions to transform an old coat rack into an jewelry organizer. If you or any of your readers have any questions please don’t hesitate to reach out to my on my blog at http://www.ispaci.com
http://www.ispaci.com/?portfolio=coat-rack-jewelry-organizer
Thanks and enjoy!
Cherise
Thanks for sharing!! This is going to be so helpful!!! I can’t wait to try it!!