Ever since I was little I had an organized closet. I don’t know what it is about an organized closet that makes me happy. Maybe it is because I was raised to always care for my belongings and not take anything for granted. If you didn’t care for your belongings, then you wouldn’t get a replacement. I took this into my adult years. Some of the pieces I have had in my closet since high school! If you take care of your pieces, and keep everything in pristine condition, then it can last you for years! Today I am sharing some of my tips for keeping your closet in great condition, as well as making it easier for you to get ready and find the perfect look!
Hanging/ Folded Clothes
When it comes to hanging clothes, I keep mine seperated in 5 areas (perks to having a closet to yourself). One rung holds athletic tops, graphic/basic tees, short sleeve shirts, long sleeve blouses, tank tops. I keep these organized by color within these categories, that way when I am looking in a sub section, I can see all my white options, stripe options etc all in the same place! You can move these sub sections around based on the season so you can have easy access to whatever you need!
Next area was the hardest area for me to figure out. I used to have all of my jeans folded in a hanging divider, but when I moved to this new apartment space did not allot for that. I found the best method was to fold them over hangers, that way it did not cover up my shoes. I have these organized by lightest wash, into black/colored jeans and then into work pants. On the left side I have all of my chino/printed shorts hanging so I can easily see my options! I have all of my jean shorts and leggings folded in a dresser in my room since these are pretty self explanatory and do not need to be visible to remember what options I have (at least that’s how it works in my mind). Like I said this was the trickiest area for me to finally figure out how to organize and so far it is working!
The next hanging area I have is long sleeve tops/sweaters on top and jackets/blazers/vests/cardigans on the bottom. The long sleeve shirts in the other section are more blousy light weight shirts, where these tops are basically strictly fall/winter attire. I organize the same way here, by color and length. I do keep all of my basic long sleeve tops in the front, moving onto flannels and more lightweight tops and then into the color coordinated sweaters. This helps also when I am working on an outfit based on warmth and not just color. Underneath I have all of my layering pieces. I organize these the same way by color and by sub category of item. I keep all of my long coats in the coat closet since this closet does not have much long hanging space.
The final section is dresses/skirts. I organize these by sleeve length, long sleeve to off the shoulder/spaghetti straps. Same old song and dance, I organize by color in each segment. I then move onto skirts, which I have all long skirts on its own hanger, and all shorter skirts on a nifty multiple hanging hanger to save room (see below for better visual LOL)! The very end of the closet is the long gowns aka bridesmaid dresses and robes.
Last but not least for this part of the closet is folded items. I keep my sweaters and sweatshirts folded above on this open shelf. These dividers I recently got are life changing. Keeps everything from falling over onto other piles! Here I keep light colored sweaters, dark colored sweaters, athletic jackets/pull overs/ and finally more comfortable longing sweatshirts. I applied the Marie Kondo folding method here to keep everything in order! I highly suggest watching that Netflix series if you are needing some motivation to get started organizing. I have always been a neat freak, but even for me watching the series got me excited to find new storage methods!
T Shirt Organization
If you think this is a lot of t shirts…. you should have seen my collection in college, un manageable. I have finally paired them down after many years! The top drawer has all my short sleeve t shirts, with Marie Kondo folding method applied here again. The bottom drawer has all my long sleeve and tank tops, with my running shorts on the left. I have had these drawers since I lived in the sorority house in college so they have obviously kept me organized for many years! My mom added this fun fabric to match my room back then and not make these drawers as drab and ugly.
Purses/Accessories
TBH this is probably the easiest area for me to organized solely based on this built in. At my last apartment I didn’t have this and I just used the top shelves to keep my bags! In this unit, I keep my small wallets/clutches and my sunglasses together. This is kind of like my pretty shelf where I keep a few decorative pieces as well. Highly recommend this sunglass holder although! So cheap and from Amazon! Second shelf there isn’t much to, just keep all duffles and totes. Third shelf has some larger hand bags and three boxes I store various items in. Just find a box that you find visually appealing. These top 2 are from Tory Burch shoes LOL just flip it around so the label doesn’t show. I keep all my extra charging cords, sunglasses cases, phone cases, cameras etc. Really anything that doesn’t have a home I keep organized here. The final shelf was the perfect place for all my tennis shoes and casual tennis shoes, this closet eliminated two hanging shoe organizers that I had room for at my old apartment so luckily I had this extra shelf!
Shoes
Finally the last section to conquer is shoes! I might have to admit I have a shoe problem… but I take care of my shoes so they pile up and are hard to part with! I recently invested in some boot shapers from the container store at such an affordable price! This way my tall boots are all visable and not slumped over, as well as helping them keep their shape over the years! I then move onto my short booties which are just organized by color and heel height.
Sharing the same photo again from earlier to talk about how I have organized my heels/wedges/ flats! I love this shoe storage from Target! These are 2 shelves stacked on top of each other to optimize my space in this smaller closet from my last apartment. I have these oraganized by color and heel height. One tip is to face your shoes opposite directions to help save room and fit more in an organized neat way! I am slightly nervous because I am fully stocked with this storage and don’t forsee myself parting with any of these shoes soon…. I will figure it out when I get to that point I guess!
The final storage area is on the back of my door. I love this shoe storage from The Container Store because it is durable and will not rip like some plastic storage options. This is where I house all of my sandals for spring and summer! I like this method because you can see all of your options without them being thrown in a pile. Can you tell I am big on being able to see everything I have? Helps keep everything neat and well taken care of!
I hope some of these tips have helped if you are struggling with making room in your space!
