Organize your Clothes

Clothing organization is probably the organizational area in which I am most meticulous about. I've become less anal through the years - when I was 12-ish I used to evenly space the hangers in my closet. I don't care if you color coordinate your clothing (which I'm totally guilty of doing) or not, but at least make an attempt at hanging it nicely (this will help it wear better on your body) and making your closet and drawers look well-kept. There are tons of secrets and tricks to organizing and properly storing your clothes, so hopefully you can benefit from some of them. Best of all, this is a great opportunity to just get rid of cluttered clothing.



Whenever I'm doing a closet organization I start by removing everything (from both the closet and the drawers and anywhere else that clothing is stored!) and throwing it on the bed or in a wide open space to take inventory. It is vital to go through all of your clothes and determine whether or not there is still a future for each item in your life. Sometimes it is helpful to have a spouse or friend to assist with this process - try questionable clothing on and ask for an honest opinion. Find a charity or a consignment shop to bring the clothing that was vetoed to - don't forget to follow through and actually bring it there. While you're doing this it is also important to make a pile of clothing that needs attention or mending because of a missing button, a hole in the armpit, a need to be ironed or a stain that needs removing. Don't put these things away until they are properly dealt with.

It is important to figure out the needs of storing your clothing and what your capabilities are. I have a pseudo-custom shelving system in my closet that I sort of like. I can hang quite a few things from the shelves in addition to stacking clothing on top of the shelves. I also have a large dresser where I keep my undergarments, socks, pajamas, bathing suits and workout gear. Surprisingly the combination of the two is enough to store all of my clothes and still have room to grow. If that wasn't the case, I would store off-seasonal clothing in a large plastic tub, so as not to clutter and overcrowd my closet.

If your clothing organization system is not working for you I would recommend you think about why that is and what you can do to make it work or improve it based on your needs. Do you need more drawers? Clean yours out and get rid of unnecessary apparel, buy an inexpensive set of Sterilite stackable drawers or get another dresser or a wardrobe. Do you need more places to hang your clothes? Go through your clothes and eliminate what you don't wear. Is it possible to remove some things from your closet and fold them up elsewhere? Think of other places in your home where you could hang some off-season apparel. Still need more room? Consider adding another clothes pole if you have the room - or re-design your current space, if able. As silly as this sounds, what about adding a clothes line to your laundry room, or a stand-alone clothing bar (see image below)? Have you heard of the innovative "Wonder Hanger" hangers that cascade your clothing down (see image below)? There are quite a few options for custom closets at various price points that can be great options to maximize your clothing storage space.





Clearing away off-season clothing from your dresser and closet can really eliminate a lot of your problems. I would suggest that if you're running out of room to store your clothes that you corral some extra large plastic tubs or under-the-bed tubs to store off season clothing and swap it out when you do your seasonal cleaning.

Let's talk about your dresser drawers. What do they look like inside? Well, mine are pretty darn neat looking (I bet you're shocked) and everything is folded and kept in its place. I make sure that everything is folded nicely and has a spot where it belongs. One thing I know for sure is that if everything is neatly folded I can fit a whole lot more than I would otherwise be able to. This also helps me to see everything inside my drawers and not allow messy buildup and unnecessary accumulation to occur.