Step by Step: How to organize a woman's closet

There’s little point in owning the latest bag or dress if you can’t find it in your closet when you’re getting dressed. A clean, well-organized wardrobe—instead of a confusing, jumbled mess of clothes and accessories—means you’ll maximize all your sartorial purchases, and come up with polished, carefully considered outfits even on hectic mornings. 

Read on for tips and tricks from professionals and soon you’ll not only have clothes that are well maintained but also an orderly closet, like the one below from  The Coveteur.

Step #1: Get Rid Of Your Old Clothes. 

It might not be easy, but tossing out or donating old clothes is key to making room in your closet. Donate anything they haven’t worn in more than two years that has no intrinsic value. Also, if it’s two sizes too small or two sizes too big, get rid of it. It’s time to buy new clothes. Ask yourself if you’d buy this item today, or if it has a sentimental factor that warrants storage.

Step #2: Call The Pros—Or Find Your Own Storage Solutions. 

If you’re interested in hiring professional help to organize your closet, it may be more affordable than you think. A custom closet is a luxury that many of us can afford. Even the major closet companies can design what you would like on a budget. But if that’s not an option, use storage units that allow you to see your clothes and accessories. If you can’t see it, you don’t wear it! Use Slimline Hangers; your clothes won’t fall off and they give you twice the space of wood and plastic.”

Step #3: Start Organizing. 

How do you organize sweaters versus lingerie or shoes versus jeans? There are different solutions for each, so check out how you can start de-cluttering your closet.

Tops 

If you have the space to hang everything, hang everything. You’ll wear things more if you can see them.

Sweaters 

Fold the very heavy sweaters so they don’t lose shape on the hanger.  Also, cedar is not a myth. It really does prevent moths from getting into your cashmere or wool sweaters. Replace the cedar every six months.  Color code sweaters by weight, and use dividers or cubbies. Use a sweater folding board to make perfect folds. 

Jeans 

There are a number of ways to do so—by cut, brand, color, style, size, or none of the above. Some people go by color and most prefer it that way, unless they’re die-hard jeans collectors.
Hang by the hem and organize by dark to light denim.

Pants/Skirts/Shorts 

Hang them using clips and fold in the sides so the outside of the garment isn’t marked by the clips. This also makes everything look uniform on the hanger and gives it a cleaner side profile in your closet.

Dresses 

Hang by color rather than length and start with strapless and go to long-sleeve. Never leave your dresses, or any other clothes, in the dry cleaning or plastic garment bags. The chemicals from dry cleaning attack the fibers of your clothing and cause damage.

Bags/Scarves/Hats 

It’s hard to change bags if you can’t see them. They don’t generally get damaged out of their dust bags, so enjoy the view. Scarves folded in piles by color and material works best, and makes it easy to pull one out without ruining the organization of the rest. I have a scarf hanger and it works well. For hats, use hat boxes. Take uniform photos of the hats and glue them to the outside of the boxes.

Shoes 

Organize shoes by color and style. You could  hide tennis shoes and flip-flops in the least seen place. My son puts them in a row in his hall as a kind of sneaker exhibition. Since the shoes are super and well cared for, it looks great.

Lingerie 

Organize by color, size, and type. Make sure to rotate your bras and underwear so you’re not wearing the same few all of the time. 

Jewelry 

A built-in drawer in one’s closet or dresser in order to keep things neat and uncluttered works well. It’s also a great way to see what you have and makes it easy to keep hidden from plain sight. Other people like the easy accessiblility of necklace "trees". I have a pretty bamboo box and a special wooden watch case with a glass top so I can admire them.

Image courtesy of The Coveteur.