“It is a question of selection, to choose less. That is something that Americans do not understand. They think that more is better.”– Manolo Blahnik
By organizing your closet you’ll increase closet space, you’ll make your closet more functional, you’ll be quickly able to see what you have and therefore spend less time rummaging through the closet looking for something to wear, and you’ll be better able to take care of your clothing, shoes, belts, accessories, and so on. In addition, an organized closet will help you save time, energy, and money, and will help you decrease stress.
Remember these five principles while organizing your closet: visibility; accessibility; own only clothes and shoes that fit now and look good on you; everything in the closet has to be clean, pressed, and ready to wear; and less is more.
Your Personal Uniform
The objective is not only to organize the items that you have in your closet, but also to make sure that everything that is in your closet looks good on you and can be worn. In the words of Yves Saint Laurent, “Fashion changes but style is eternal.” Consider dressing in a personal uniform. That is, find a look that suits you and stick to it.
A few, well-selected quality items that look good on you will go much farther than owning a lot of clothes, none of which seem to fit right. Figure out which style slacks are the most flattering, which line of skirts suits your build, which length of jacket looks best on you, and so on. Many well-dressed men and women who find a suit or other piece of clothing that they like, buy it in several different colors because the cut and fit complements their build and the different colors make the outfit appear different. Another tactic is to find a designer whose clothes look good on you, or finding a store or boutique that sells clothes in styles that flatter you.
One trick is to combine classic clothing with something trendy. Buy a few items at the beginning of each season that are “in style” and that go well with the rest of your wardrobe.
The Sorting Process
The first thing that you’re going to do is take everything out of your closet and lay it out in front of you. Then you’re going to do a “quick-sort”. That is, you’re going to move through your things quickly simply identifying and categorizing them. At this point you’re not deciding what goes and what stays, you’re simply creating categories and grouping similar items together. If you come across anything during this stage that you immediately know that you want to get rid off, then go ahead and put it in the discard pile. However, do not break your momentum by stopping to deliberate on what to throw out at this stage.
First, sort by garment type, then by use—work, dressy, or casual–, and then by color.
For example, women could sort by garment type in the following way: suits, skirts, pants, jeans, shirts, dresses, sundresses, coats, robes, sweatshirts, sweatpants, sweaters, exercise clothes, t-shirts, shorts, swimsuits, sarong cover-ups, pajamas, underwear, bras, slips, pantyhose, socks, shoes, belts, scarves, handbags, and jewelry.
Men could sort by garment type as follows: suits, tuxedos, shirts, pants/slacks, jeans, coats, jackets, sweatshirts, sweatpants, sweaters, exercise clothes, t-shirts, shorts, pajamas, underwear, swimtrunks, socks, shoes, belts, ties, scarves, and jewelry.
The Purging Process
“We wear 20% of the clothes we own 80% of the time. The rest just hangs there, just in case.” — Calgary Herald
During the purging process you’re going to go through each piece of clothing, every pair of shoes, every handbag, and so on, and decide in which of these piles to place it: keep it, trash, donate, and the “maybe” pile. In order to decide in which pile to place each item, ask yourself the following questions:
• Is it the correct size for you right now?
• Is this flattering for your body type?
• Is the item comfortable to wear?
• Is the piece a classic or in the current style?
• Have you worn it in the past year?
• Is it faded or beyond repair?
• Are you keeping it for sentimental reasons only?
• Are you keeping just because it was really expensive?
If your weeding process results in a small discard pile, you probably were not ruthless enough. In this case, you’re going to need to enlist a friend to help you.
When you’ve decided what to keep, check for stains, missing buttons, and wrinkles. Do your shoes need to be cleaned or resoled? Everything that you put back into the closet needs to be nice and clean, ready to wear. Give yourself two weeks time to get everything in the “to keep” pile in perfect shape to be put back in the closet.
Put the things that you’re not sure about in the “maybe” pile; then put everything in the “maybe” pile in a container and place it out of the way. In two month’s time you’re going to go through this pile again and make your final decision as to what goes and what stays.
Take immediate action to get rid of the clothes in the “throw out” and “donate” categories. In addition, you can sell clothes that are in good shape through e-bay or visit a consignment shop.
If you don’t have enough closet space for seasonal items, move your off-season apparel to another area. You can even think about adding a movable closet to the basement or storage area.
Create Zones in Your Closet
Each of the categories that you identified during the sorting process needs to be placed back in the closet in a different zone. That is, all items in each category will be grouped together in the closet, and every item is going to be assigned a specific place. In addition, you need to decide what type of organization system you’re going to use for each category.
The four basic types of closet organization systems are long hanging, short hanging, shelves, and baskets or drawers. Long hanging is for coats, suits, and dresses. Short hanging is for tops, jackets, skirts, and pants. For short hanging you can place two parallel rods, one above the other, to create more space. Shelf space can be used for storing empty suitcases and seasonal items up and out of the way, storing folded sweaters, and so on. Baskets and drawers can be used for undergarments, socks, pajamas, scarves, and other stuff you want to fold.
The best way to organize is by type of clothing, occasion, and then color. For example, if you start off by organizing your pants, first hang up your work pants, followed by your casual pants. Then, within each of these subcategories—work or casual—organize by color.
Another decision that you need to make is whether to hang or fold. There are no hard and fast rules here, it usually depends on what’s easier for you. Do you prefer to hang or fold your blue jeans? Do you prefer to hang or fold your t-shirts? However, keep in mind that there are certain clothes that can lose their shape if they’re hung instead of folded.
When organizing clothing or other items on shelves, you should use shelf dividers. You can use wooden shelf brackets from the hardware store on top of shelves, instead of underneath. Simply arrange the closet contents, decide where to place the brackets, set the shorter side of a bracket on the shelf and the longer side against the wall, and secure each bracket by drilling in two wood screws from the shelf’s underside. Another option is to purchase Closet Shelf Organizers.
Handbags can be placed together on a shelf. Use the back of the door for tie, belt and scarf hangers.
Throw out of all of your wire hangers and invest in good hangers. Make sure you place each piece of clothing on the correct hanger, especially the heavier items. Doing this will keep the piece of clothing in shape and prevent it from stretching. You should try to stay away from “multiple hangers” like the ones you see on television where you can accommodate several pants or skirts on the same hanger. “Multiple hangers” make it difficult to see what you have, and to retrieve it.
There are many options for storing shoes. You can stack cubbies across the closet floor to create space for shoes. Instead of cubbies, you can use plastic boxes. If you’re going to store shoes in their original boxes, you can take a photograph of each pair of shoes and glue it to the box so that you can see at a glance what’s inside. Another option is to use Canvas Storage Boxes for shoes: they have a label slot on the front that lets you know what’s inside. Shoe racks and shoe bags hung on the closet door are also options. Keep in mind that shoes should also be grouped according to color.
The preferred method for organizing jewelry, tie clips, and so on, is to place them in a custom drawer with inserts. You can also hang necklaces on hooks and organize earrings in a compartmentalized box meant for fish bait. Also, a valet organizer is a tray or divider with compartments that can be placed on a dresser or in a closet.
Make a Wish List
What features would your dream closet have? Pull-out shelves? Mirrored doors? Do you want a belt rack or a tie rack? Would you like to paint your closet a different color? Have more lighting installed?
Do you want a closet organizer? Closet organizers
In addition, once you see which items you have left in your closet, you might notice that you have lots of tops but few bottoms, or the other way around. You might also notice that you need to purchase a couple of brown belts and a new robe. Maybe all of your swimsuits were stretched out and you need to get new ones. Make a list of items that you need to get to complete your wardrobe.
Conclusion
So how long should this process take? Roughly following the time frames suggested by Julie Morgenstern, author of the New York Times Bestseller Organizing from the Inside Out
- Sorting: 3 hours
- Purging: 1 hour
- Creating Zones and Putting Things Away: 1 hour and 30 minutes
Once your closet is in good shape you can continue perfecting your system by scourring the internet for organization tips, looking through home magazines, or purchasing books on the subject, such as Smart Closet Makeovers
Create a system to make sure that clothes that rip or lose a button are repaired, that you get rid of clothes on a regular basis to make room for the new, and that you purchase and keep only those things that look good on you and that you love.
photo credit: leah.jones
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