A cluttered closet leads to daily frustration. However, it can be daunting to try and get your closet under control. Most of us just procrastinate on the task and never get around to tidying up. That’s despite the fact we know that organizing a closet can save us lots of time searching for items in the long run.
Don’t worry.
Organizing a closet doesn’t have to be a full spring cleaning exercise. You can do it in such a way that you won’t feel overwhelmed in the process. How?
Follow these four simple tips:
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1. Take out and sort
It is challenging to plan for things you don’t know exist in the first place. To organize your closet, it is vital to know then what you have in the first place. When you have a complete inventory of your things, you can effectively plan how to store them.
Take time to pull everything out of your closet and sort it into categories. There are two main heaps you can use to categorize your clothes:
- The keep pile
- The toss pile
The best way to decide whether a piece of clothing should be tossed or should be kept is to look at how long you’ve stayed without wearing it. If you have stayed for more than a year without wearing something, then it most probably needs to go. This, however, may not apply to clothes that you reserve for special occasions or that were special gifts from loved ones.
Another way to decide whether to keep or toss is to check the condition of the outfit. If a piece of clothing is worn out or is in bad shape, toss it. In general, no one has the time to repair clothes.
Once you’ve completed the process, you can take stock of what you have kept with you. You’ll get to see how many short-hanging, medium-hanging, and long-hanging clothes you have. Repeat this process for your shoe rack, jewelry, hats, and other accessories.
Taking everything out and sorting the items is also the natural first step for anyone who wants to design and build a new closet for their home. Custom walk in closet maker Closet Engineers gives you all the guidance you need to create your dream closet that fits all your clothes, shoes, and accessories.
2. Donate
People like to say “when in doubt, donate.” The thought of contributing to a worthy cause can be motivation to donate what you don’t wear. Instead of throwing out good clothes you don’t like, you can give them to charity.
There are a few donating etiquette tips to consider before taking your donation pile out. You may not be able to donate clothes that are stained or torn. If a stained piece of clothing is still of good quality, you could consider dyeing it to bring back its vibrance and attractiveness. It is also prudent to avoid donating underwear because, well, that’s gross.
Wondering where you can take your donated clothes? Just do a quick Google search and you can find charitable organizations where you can donate clothes. Good examples of well-known charitable organizations are Goodwill and the Salvation Army. The Salvation Army is the best option for big families with large donations. They will bring a truck to your home and carry the donations for you.
Donating helps you prevent any clothes from working their way back into your closet and occupying space. It’s a great way of getting your closet under control. But more importantly, it’s a great way to help and support a good cause.
3. Do a seasonal switch
There’s a chance that all your closet organization and decluttering efforts may not be working well. This may be because try as you may, you can’t seem to let go of some of the items in your closet, perhaps because you have an emotional investment in them. Don’t worry. There’s still hope.
Instead of getting rid of these items, one brilliant closet organizer idea is to try and change your closet makeup seasonally. You can do this by taking out clothing and accessories used for a specific season (or seasons) and storing away the rest. For instance, you may have a closet filled with autumn/winter clothes in the winter.
Where do the rest of the clothes go (in this case, the summer/spring clothes)? Into a closed-door clothing rack that you can store away until the seasons change again. You can also store them in a more remote storage space of your house or in a separate closet in another room.
The seasonal system will help you declutter your closet while keeping all the clothes you like. It works well no matter what your master closet size may be.
4. Hang or fold
Some clothes do well when folded while others do well when hung. Take time to decide what you want to hang and what should be neatly folded and stored in a closet drawer or labeled basket.
For example, sweaters and other clothes that can be stretched should not be hung. Folding them instead will help you keep the integrity of the clothing for longer. Likewise, casual T-shirts, drawers, swimsuits, and workout clothes should be folded. This will make it easy to find your favorite top in a jiffy.
Hang jackets, coats, and clothes made from flowy fabrics like silk and chiffon. Linen clothes are known for getting wrinkled, so hanging them up is the best option. Dressy and casual pairs of pants should also be hung. You can hang them the long way or by folding them in half.
Finally, hang your blouses to prevent any major wrinkling that may occur because of folding. Whether you have a luxurious walk-in closet or a small, functional one, knowing what to fold or hang will help you keep your closet tidy.
Conclusion
Getting your closet under control can be an uphill task. It can be overwhelming. The good thing is, there are simple steps you can take to organize your closet without it feeling like a chore.
Start by taking everything out and sorting your items into keep, toss, and donate piles. Think of a worthwhile organization near you where you can take your donations to. Or you can use the seasonal system. Keep the winter/autumn clothes in the closet and store the spring/summer clothes and vice versa. Finally, decide which clothes need to be hung on your closet rods and which ones should be folded.
With these four tips, you are on your way to having a neat, tidy, and organized closet. Just remember to redo this process every three months. This will help ensure your closet is under control every time.
