Organizing your clothes will make your daily life feel a lot more pleasant. Not only will it help with your fight against laundry piling up (or getting lost in the chaos), but you'll open up so much space you didn't realize you had. Find out how to organize your whole closet so you can start enjoying the benefits.
Get All Your Clothing Together
The first step in this adventure is to make sure all your clothing is clean. Before getting your clothing organized, you have to know what you have and what you need to put back in there. You can't organize a closet if you don't know what you're working with because half of it is in the laundry room.
Once you have everything in front of you, sort out what you don't need. Create a bin for donations and trash. Now, it's time to start sorting.
Sort Clothing by Category
Sort your clothing into category piles like sweaters, t-shirts, pants, dress clothes, jackets, etc. Use a sorting system that works for you. And while you're sorting, create labels for your clothing rods and bins. Labeling everything clearly makes this a long-term system rather than a quick fix.
Hang Dress Clothes, Blouses, and Bulky Items
Start with the important and bulky items since these take up so much space. Hang coats, blouses, and dress clothes if possible. Not only will you keep wrinkles at bay, but it will make your morning routine easier when your work clothes are right there. You can use this same philosophy with children's dress clothes and school clothes. This way, you can just grab them and go.
Hang Clothing for Ease of Access
Organizing your hanging clothes will make your life easier. Therefore, rather than having a mismatch of hangers, use all the same one. Think about if the person using the closet is right-handed or left-handed. For right-handers, face the clothing to the left. Face them to the right for those left-handers.
Pro Tip: If you've got limited closet space for hanging items, you can double your capacity by adding a hook to the first hanger or sliding a can tab over the first hanger hook to hang a second hanger. This also works well for pairing matching outfits. Some advanced organizers also sort the clothing by color.
Flip Hangers to Indicate Favorite Outfits
For clothing that you wear often, you can flip the hanger the opposite way so you can quickly and easily see where your favorite blouse or dress slacks are. This can work great for teens and kids' clothing, too. By having a quick indicator, they might not be running around the house asking where you put their black hoodie!
Hang Long Dresses on Two Hangers
Use two hangs to hang maxi dress or formal dresses. Simply drape the dress over the second hanger to make it fit nicely into a short hanging space. This makes the space look nice and can make everything look cohesive.
Pro Tip: If you've got a spacious hanging space, you can also hang jeans without having to fold them over a hanger. Simply hook a shower curtain rod into the belt loop and snap them in. Bye, bye creases!
File T-Shirts in Drawers or Bins
If you've ever put a t-shirt in a drawer, you know that stacking them just leads to them falling on the floor or in disarray. Plus, you have to dig to find what you want. Make your life easier by using a file system for t-shirts. Put them vertically in the drawer rather than stacking them.
Pro Tip: Use small bookends on the end of your shirt stacks to keep them organized as you remove them.
Fold and Stack Jeans and Sweaters
When you have limited hanging space but do have a lot of shelf space, then you can use those for jeans and sweaters. These bulky items will fit neatly within your closet's shelving system. If you have deep shelves, you might want to use organization bins. Whether you sort them vertical or horizontal, make sure you mark them clearly for easy access.
Divide Sleep, Delicate, and Workout Attire
Trying to fold and organize delicates and pajamas can quickly turn into chaos. But, you can save a lot of hassle by getting drawer or bin dividers. These will help keep everything in its place.
Pro Tip: You might also want to consider rolling this type of clothing for storage. It gives you a lot more room and looks sleek.
Bag Beanies and Socks
Fold socks and slip them into a plastic or cloth grocery bag. You can then hang this on a hanger. It keeps your socks and beanies from getting out of control. And it can make them super easy for kids to find.
Hang Belts and Scarves
Belts and scarves can be hard to organize in a closet. However, if you have a hanger and some shower curtain holders, then you can organize these easily. Just put the belt buckles through the curtain holders and attach them to the hanger. You can wrap your scarves around the shower curtain holders to keep them organized. Allow enough room on the hanger so you can slide them back and forth to get at what you need.
File Panty Hose in Storage Bags
Pantyhose and tights get snagged easily. Avoid ruining your pantyhose by turning to storage bags. Fold pantyhose into squares and put them in storage bags. File these in the bin vertically by color. Then you can quickly find the pair you need.
Go Vertical With Shoes
Maximize floor space and keep your shoes coordinated with a tiered shoe rack. Put the most frequently worn pairs on the top rack for easy access. Other options include revolving shoe racks and over-the-door models as well. Just make sure to tailor your shoe organization hacks to your space.
Prevent Boots From Flopping Over
Keep your boots straightened out when you store them away. Don't let them flop over, which can hinder your whole clean, organizational vibe. Fight the flop by cutting up pieces of pool noodles and inserting them into your boots. Or, you can use boot holders with brackets to keep your fall boots in the upright position.
Use Under the Bed for Seasonal Items
Storage for your seasonal items is a little extra work, but worth it! You don't need coats and jackets clogging up your summer wardrobe. In this instance, think outside the closet. Shallow storage bins can easily slip under a bed or couch to store extra shoes, seasonal clothes, or spare items out of sight. Choose bins that fit fully beneath furniture without rubbing against legs or braces and opt for ones with wheels you can move without damaging floors. These maximize your storage space while helping you organize clothing.
Tips for Keeping Clothes Organized
Organizing all of your clothing will no doubt feel like an amazing accomplishment. Don't let all your hard work go to waste by not keeping it up. Here are a few tips for how to keep clothes organized:
Designate time for laundry: Have a designated time for laundry to ensure you don't cut corners.
Don't let the laundry pile up: It can feel more like a never-ending chore when trying to tackle 10 loads at once.
Create a laundry chart for everyone: Have a simple laundry chart for your household to make sure everyone's working together to stay organized.
Have fun with it: Sure, matching socks is boring! But if you challenge your children to fold socks faster than you, it becomes fun.
Keep it simple: Using labels and easy organization makes sure everyone can keep up with it.
Constantly reassess: As you go into a new season and pack clothes, reassess your clothing and get rid of what you don't need.
Ways To Organize Clothing
By using your storage space effectively and choosing the right tools for the job, your closet, dresser, and clothes racks can be neat and efficient, letting you choose the perfect outfits with ease. Now, it's time to get organizing!
