10 Tips For Organizing Your Closet

For the “No Place Like Home Decluttering Challenge, we are working on closets this week, and I am going to share with you my top 10 tips for organizing your closet. I know that it is so overwhelming to start the job of decluttering and cleaning out our closets. You pull the clothes out, and you can’t let the clothes go so you end up putting them right back in the closet. It is so discouraging. I want a closet where I can easily see everything that I own. I want to be able to hang up my clean clothes without having to squeeze them in my closet. If the clothes are stored so tight, they will wrinkle. The clothes take up space. Would I rather hang on to something that I may wear once or even never? No, I would rather have the space to store my things neatly.

I keep saying that I had to get my mind right and my thinking right before I could really make progress and when I changed my way of thinking, I conquered my closet. I am going to share these tips with you. First, I will tell you how I decluttered and then how I organized my closet.

The number one tip every book will tell you is golden.

If you haven’t worn it in two years, donate it.

The way I started thinking about this is that I want more space in my closet. If I donate my clothes, I am bringing joy into someone’s life, who is shopping at the Thrift Sore for clothes.

Only keep a certain amount of hangers in your closet.

I keep only the amount of hangers that can fit and move easily in my closet, and I do not purchase any more than that. This will limit me from having an overstuffed closet.

Don’t hang on to larger size clothes or skinny clothes.

First of all, we know that if we lose weight and can wear the size we want to be in, we are going to purchase new clothes. It’s a fact! Right? When we work hard and it finally pays off, we want to reward ourselves with something new and cute. We don’t want our larger size clothes in there because we are not ever going back there again!

Do not buy things that are on sale or on clearance thinking that you may wear it one day.

This was a big one for me. I am a clearance shopper. I will dig through piles of stuff for a bargin but when it comes to dirt cheap clothes, I never ever wear them. They will stay in my closet for years, and I would rather have the empty space than a barging item that never gets worn.

If a bag comes in, a bag goes out.

A neat closet will never be a reality if you do not practice this rule. I will use the shopping bag that I bring my new items in the house in and fill them with a few things to donate.

Use storage containers that do not take up a lot of wasted space.

When I see some things that people use for storage on Pinterest, I think of how it may be cute but also how much space it takes up and what could be used instead for better storage. For example, a hanging shoe rack can take up 1/8th of a closet. I have to come up with something that doesn’t take up that much space.

Baskets make great storage containers.

Whatever I use for storage will not keep my clothes and shoes neat constantly so a basket makes a great storage solution. If my shoes get messy in the basket, I can still see what shoes I have and can grab them quickly. It can be expensive to purchase new large baskets but I always find them at my local Thrift store. I like the lined baskets because I can Clorox the liners and the baskets will look and smell like new.

Keep only the amount of items that the container will hold.

Same rule as the hangers. I purchase the container to contain my shoes so I will not put more in the container than it will hold comfortably.

Keep things that are used often, in your closet.

I change my sheets often, and it will save me time if I have them close at hand instead of across the house in a closet. This can only happen if you have space in your closet.

File, don’t pile.

The same organizing tip that works for papers works in your closet also. Stack everything neatly side by side or on top of each other so that you can see everything you own, and you can get to it easily. If it is in a messy pile, you will feel unorganized.

I hope that my 10 tips for organizing your closet will help you tackle and maintain your closet. As you can see, the key is in how you think about decluttering. Check out my blogging besties post on the same topic for more great ideas. Let’s get our spaces clean.