31 Days of Organizing Tips: Day 23 (Main Closet)
Welcome to Day Twenty Three of the 31 Days of Organizing Tips series! I’m so glad you’ve joined me. Throughout this series I’ll be sharing organizing tips that will help you on your journey from overwhelmed to organized. I’ll include lots of pictures and links for ideas that I’ve found around the web that relate to the topic each day. You’ll find a complete list of all the posts in the 31 Days of Organizing Tips tab above, or at the end of this post.
Yesterday I shared tips for organizing your main bedroom. I had originally planned to include the main closet in that post but there are so many great tips for main closets that I decided to devote a whole post to the subject.
Main closets can make such a big difference in how your day goes. If your closet is chaotic and cluttered, it makes it hard to find what you’re looking for in the morning, which can get your day off on the wrong foot. Also, it’s easy to overlook some items of clothing because you have so much crowded into your closet. That can lead to only wearing 20% of your clothing 80% of the time, like I mentioned yesterday.
But, if you turn your overwhelming closet into an organized one, you’ll be able to find what you need, when you need it. Choosing outfits will be simpler. You’ll likely wear more of what you own because you can see it all and easily access everything. Organizing your closet can help reduce your daily stress. And if you take a few steps to make your closet look pretty (like adding some cute labels), you’ll also smile when you look in it. Who doesn’t want or need some extra smiles in their day?
OK, so here are some tips to help you organize your main closet:
1. Purge! Your closet will feel less overwhelming if there is less in it. Here’s a great tip for purging hanging items: Hang your clothes backwards at the beginning of the season or the year. As you wear them, switch them around and hang them forwards. At the end of the season or the year, give away any clothes that are still hanging backwards since you didn’t wear them at all. This is really helpful if you think you wear things but really don’t!
Source: One of Hilda’s clients
2. Similarly for shoes! How many shoes you have is a matter of personal preference (and budget) but no matter how many shoes you have, chances are you don’t wear some of them very often (or at all!). If your shoes are overwhelming you, it’s time to purge. Shoes that are out of style, worn, dusty, or don’t fit well should be donated.
I don’t have a ton of shoes, but I know over the years I’ve kept some that aren’t very comfortable or that hurt when I wear them because I don’t want to have to spend money on new ones. I end up not wearing them though so they’re really just taking up space. Time to give them away so someone else can use them instead.
3. Make a plan for how you can best use your main closet space. Determine what your storage needs are (hanging areas, shelves, drawers, shoe racks, etc.). Figure out what items need to be at what height (up high, at eye level, or down low). By taking time to plan your closet out, you will get more out of your space which will save you time on a daily basis.
Cyndy from The Creativity Exchange has shared a free printable closet organization worksheet as well as tips and tricks for organizing any closets. Click the link below this picture to download it.
Tips and Tricks For Organizing a Closet (printable worksheet)
4. For shoes you keep (after you complete step 2), store them in a way that keeps them visible so you don’t forget what you have and are more likely to wear them. You can use various back-of-the-door shoe pockets for this or hanging shoe organizers. You can also put shoe racks on the floor or on shelves.
Plastic shoe boxes are great for organizing your shoes. I prefer clear ones, but if you use opaque bins or the boxes the shoes came in, you can take pictures of the shoes and then stick them to the box so you know what is inside.
Source: One of Hilda’s Clients
5. Use the same style hangers throughout your closet and hang all your clothes facing the same direction (i.e. buttons all on the left or all the right). This saves space, looks nice, and keeps your clothes organized better. The style of hangers is up to you and will depend on your taste and budget. Velvet slim hangers are great if you have a lot of clothing because they don’t take up a lot of space. They’re also helpful if you have a lot of clothing that slips off the hangers because they grip your clothes.
Source: One of Hilda’s Clients
6. Sort your clothing by colour, within each category (shirts, pants, dresses, etc.). It looks pretty and motivates people to keep their clothes organized, which is a good thing. It’s also easy to see what you have or need and makes it easier to pick out your outfits. This doesn’t work for everyone, but many people find it helpful.
7. Maximize vertical space. Use the back of your closet door or empty wall space for pockets or hooks for items you use frequently such as robes, belts, purses, bags, hats, or even the next day’s outfit. The picture below is from one of my clients and she loved using different purses but didn’t have enough space on her closet shelves for all of them so she has a rack with hooks on the back of her door and hangs her purses in matching see-through bags so she can see them and choose the one she wants.
Source: One of Hilda’s Clients
Please remember to pin from the original source for all of these lovely pictures!
For Day Twenty Three, declutter your main closet and then choose one of these tips and put it into action. There are lots of cheap or DIY organizing ideas so don’t let money hold you back from getting that relaxed feeling when you open your closet doors! And you don’t need to replace all your hangers today if you choose tip. Wait for sales and coupons for the style that fits your budget and gradually change your hangers over until they all match.
How do you organize your main closet? What’s the best organizing tip you’ve implemented?
If you need help decluttering or organizing, contact me for in-person organizing services in the Mississauga area, or virtual organizing services anywhere else.
Happy organizing!
I am a professional organizer, ready to help you declutter and organize the overwhelming areas in your home and develop systems that will work with your family’s lifestyle to help keep you organized!