Organize Your Bedroom Closet

Opening the door to a well organized closet is a peaceful way to start the day. Wouldn’t you love to be able to open your closet and pick out an outfit to wear for any occasion in 20 seconds or less. Well, I can teach you how and it will only sting for a minute. Did you know that most people wear 20% of their clothes 80% of the time? That’s a lot of clothes taking up valuable room in our closets that we rarely, if ever, wear.

First things first. Empty the whole closet. That’s right, take everything out of the closet. You’ll be amazed what you’ll find. While the closet’s empty you might as well wash the walls, shelfs, rods and vaccum the floor.

Now it’s time to go through your clothes and decide what to keep, give away or throw away. You will need four boxes for sorting: put away (things you are keeping, but do not belong in your bedroom closet) give away, throw away and store away. Ask yourself these questions about each article of clothing: Would you buy this again today? Is it easy to wear and care for? Do I feel good when I wear this? That should weed out the obvious duds. Next, try on the clothes you’re not sure of. Don’t keep those clothes that are 2 sizes too big or small. What a waste of space and you don’t want to get back into those clothes that are too big anyway. If you have to think about keeping an item for a minute or longer, it is probably not worth keeping. This goes for clothes and anything else. If you still have some indecision, I have one more trick for you. When it’s time to put your clothes back in the closet hang all the hangers on the rod backwards. As you wear an item place the hanger on the rod the right way. If the hanger is still turned backwards after 6 months, donate the item. Your husband might think you’re crazy, but it really works.

You’re almost ready to start putting your clothes back in your closet. First, you need to get rid of all those wire hangers. Run to the store and buy those thick plastic hangers. They are so inexpensive (10 for $1) and make your closet look so much neater. They also force your clothes to hang further apart to help prevent wrinkles and they don’t get tangled in one another. I prefer the white ones for my closet, but each member of my family has a different color.

As you’re returning your clothes to your closet, Keep Like With Like! This means categorize: pants, skirts, dresses, shirts, etc. Next, hang categories grouped by color. This makes selecting and coordinating outfits quicker and easier. Say you need a red shirt to go with those gray pants, you could pick out those items in a manner of seconds. Hang your skirts on skirt hangers to save on space (keep colors together). Add a lower rod to your closet to add to or even double hanging space. It’s so quick and easy. Put your shoes on some kind of shoe rack, not on the floor. Get rid of all your shoes that look 10 years old or hurt your feet. You know you’re never going to wear them again. Remember, waste of valuable space. I prefer cubbies or shelves, but you could also use metal racks, depending on how many shoes you have and how much closet space. Put your belts, scarves, hats, ties, etc. where you can see them for fast and easy retrieval. I love hooks, all kinds of hooks. They work for everything and they’re inexpensive. Remember, like with like in everything.

Do not put anything back in your closet that does not have a home there. Ie: bags from stores, school supplies, kids items, things that have a home in another room, etc. Don’t buy something just because it’s on sale. Take an inventory of your closet and only buy what you need, and what makes you feel good about yourself when you try it on. I organized a clients closet and she ended up having 19 black sweaters and 13 white button down shirts. Eight of them still had the tags on them. She had wasted time, money and space not knowing what was in her closet. Keep a bag or basket in the bottom of your closet where you can toss items to donate. Take to a charity when the bag is full. Don’t forget to use the valuable space on the inside of the closet door. This is a perfect place for your exercise clothes, pj’s, sweat jackets, robes, etc. Put sweaters on shelves and categorize by color for quick retrieval. Wow, now you have an organized closet. Don’t you feel so much better and think of how much time you will save picking out that perfect outfit for a day with the kids or a night out with your husband. Time is money and an organized closet is peace of mind.