There are many different ways you can choose how to organize your closet. Not every person will benefit from having their closet organized the same way. This is because your individual style and personality also plays a role in how well you are able to keep the area neat and clean. For example, some people would do well by labeling everything to make sure it always goes in the right place. Others may do better with breaking things up into different categories and organizing it that way.
The hardest thing for many people is to first find the motivation to clean through all of that clutter and the items inside the area. It can seem like an overwhelming and daunting task. Fortunately, for those who don’t want to take on the project themselves, there are many professional services available, both on a local and national level, to help you determine what will be best for your individual needs.
Remember what is best for your individual needs is the key factor. You may see all types of closet organization systems, complete with fancy drawers and baskets and racks for holding shoes. While these can all be great for deciding how to arrange things, if you are not the kind of person to always put your shoes back in the right place for example, it may be an entire waste of space and money.
Before you get started with your project, carefully think about your daily routine and what role the items in the closet play. If you are tackling a bedroom space, then obviously you would use the area holding your clothes much differently than if you were tackling the area in the entrance way or a bathroom linen closet. Also consider how motivated you will be to continue with a system – many people spend hundreds, possibly thousands of dollars on luxurious systems only to find that it’s not something that mixes well with their own personality or level of motivation.
After you’ve carefully thought of what you do each day and how it relates to your use of that space, you’ll want to next think of different solutions that can possibly help. For example, are you constantly shuffling through ties and seeing them fall to the floor? A rotating tie rack might be of benefit in that case. Do you find yourself hating to hang clothes back up on the hanger after washing or wearing them? You may do better by installing hooks on the wall or the back of a closet door for items you regularly use but don’t want to be bothered with hangers for.
The next step is to get rid of anything you don’t need. This for many people sounds a lot harder than it actually is. Go through the clothes in your closet and think about the last time you wore the outfit and when the next time you might consider wearing it again will be. If there’s things in there that you haven’t worn in a year or more, and you can’t imagine wearing it again in the next six months or so, there’s a good chance that you can safely donate it to charity and never miss it. We all have a tendency to keep clothes we seldom wear. Maybe it’s the wrong size and we hope that we’ll fit again into it someday. Maybe it’s something for a special occasion, but you’ll likely never have a similiar special occasion again. If you have clothes that have sentimental value but will never wear, consider having them turned into artwork or a quilt that you can use and will actually allow the item to get special recognition instead of being jammed in the back of a closet out of sight.
The other thing to ask yourself when going through these items is “Is this really the best and most logical place to store this item?” If you have a blender for example sitting next to your shoes, it might be time to find a home for that blender somewhere in your kitchen. Some items, such as bulky sweaters, blankets, or luggage, might be better off stored under the bed or in an attic if they are not used very often.
Once you’ve been able to skim your closet contents down by 25% or more. (More is better in this case!) you’ll be able to then focus on what methods of organization will work best for you. Maybe you will place items into convenient drawers, maybe you will purchase something such as a double hanging rod to maximize hanging space for shirts and pants. The different things you use will vary from person to person, so don’t worry if your selections don’t look like they came out of a magazine or catalog. The goal is to use items that make it easy for you to find things and continue to keep placing them in their proper place.
The final thing to remember when organizing your closet is that you should ideally keep every single item visible. If you are not able to see something, chances are you will not remember it is there or use it. This will only lead to more and more clutter building up. Before you jam pack everything as well as you possibly can, you’ll want to make sure that you take care to keep it in a place you can see to ensure a clean and clutter free closet.
It’s not difficult to learn how to organize your closet, even if it may seem intimidating at first. Remember that even if you don’t have what it takes to sit there and sort through everything, a professional organizer or closet system representative is only a quick phone call or email away.
