Closet Organizing Step-by-Step Guide

Get absolutely everything out of your closet, drawers and racks and sort them by clothing type. For example: pants, jeans, shorts, skirts, etc.

Start sorting the contents of your drawers first and move on to your closet, racks, etc.

Tip: Emptying the closets gives you a great opportunity to clean your closet, so take advantage of this moment and hit the vacuum cleaner before you put all of your clothes back in.

Go through everything that you took out and decide if you want to toss or keep it.

With all the clothes and accessories sorted in your room, create 6 piles:

Keepers pile: Items you wear daily, need and look good on you. Like wardrobe essentials such as perfectly fitted tees, sweaters, jeans, pants, jackets, etc.

Charity pile: What-were-you-thinking and grown-out-of-it clothes (outdated styles, wrong sizes, etc.) that are in good condition. Stuff that you don't want anymore but would like to give to charity or others who might like the garments.

Tailoring pile: Clothes you want to keep that need a little maintenance, like torn linings, hanging hems, open seams, missing buttons, broken zippers, etc. It could also be items you want to re-invent (like changing the buttons).

Dry cleaning and to-be stored pile: This pile includes anything you don't need right now in this season (there really is no space for super-chunky knit sweaters when it's blazing hot outside), which I usually group in two: warmer months (Spring and Summer), colder months (Fall & Winter). To maintain the fabric and material of these items, take the time to clean everything (that's why they call it Spring cleaning! ;-) )

Trash pile: Anything that has holes in it and that you don't want the world to see on you or anyone else. It also includes items that are broken and can't be fixed, like bras that are stretched and sprung, garments that have been stained, chlorine-bleached swimsuits, etc.

Time capsule pile: There are at least a couple of things you just can't be asked to part with, which you should place in a dedicated a space for sentiments. With me, I usually cop my taekwondo outfit and Mickey D job uniform from my early teens.

Start with understanding your own space limitations and find ways to organize the garments based on this information.

Ask yourself:

• How much storage do you need and have?
• What are you planning to put in each organizer (main closet, drawer, racks, etc.)?
• What kind of storage and organizers are needed for your clothes and accessories? Open-view or closed storage? Do you have to build a closet organizer system? (walk in or closet system, type of drawer organizers, jewelry organizers, clear shoe boxes, etc.) Research the options.

Jewelry rack from Stacksandstacks

With the completed assessment in step 3, it's time to finalize a list and go shopping!

After purchasing what's on your shopping list, put the items together and keep them separated from the other groups. Remember to measure the space first before you buy the containers, organizers and furniture.

When placing everything in place, start by separating Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter clothes from each other.

Tip: I would suggest that you group each season by item and then finally by color. I think it's the most effective system to build and maintain because it's the best way to keep an overview of your closet inventory. In this way you can take follow of what you wear the most and what's getting worn out.

Bed risers from Stacksandstacks

Don't know what's in the containers and organizers? Label them!
Not enough space for all of your clothes, leaving the clothes outside of your designated space? Create more space by finding practical ways to compress your items (like for example, under the bed storage, extra closet in the bathroom, bed risers, etc.)

You get my idea.

It's important to come up with a plan to stay on track. Your closet organizing system still need maintenance throughout the year.