3 Steps to Make Space & Organize The Clothes in Your Closet

If you love clothes and your closet is your haven, you’re reading the right article!

We love clothes. And shoes and accessories and more! Sometimes we love clothes so much that we buy too many and eventually forget about our older clothes. Or we buy clothes that we don’t need or can’t wear regularly on a whim purchase. As fun as it is to open your closet and see an abundance of shirts, dresses, skirts, and pants, sometimes it can be overwhelming. And, unfortunately, sometimes it can get messy.

We understand your frustration.

A messy closet means more time spent in the mornings trying to find what you’re looking for and more decisions to make when narrowing down what to wear for the day. That’s not fun.

For most people, their closet is one of the first steps in starting their day. You shouldn’t have to spend more than a few minutes putting together an outfit… unless, of course, you choose to! Did you know that maintaining a clean closet can actually benefit your health? Yes, it’s true! That is why we put together a simple and quick guide to help you organize your closet.

Step 1. Separate Your Clothes by Likability

Start with an empty closet. Clear everything out, from top to bottom and left to right. Everything should be completely out of your closet so we can start from scratch.

As you’re taking items out of your closet, sort them into three different piles:

• Love It. This pile should be filled of clothes you absolutely could not give up or clothes that need to be in your presence at all times. Examples could include a work uniform, the new shirt you just bought, your favorite pair of jeans, and the classic little black dress.
• Like It. This pile should be filled with the clothes that you like and don’t want to give up (at least not just yet). You wear them regularly, but you’d definitely trade them in for something better if an opportunity arose. Examples could include a shirt in a color you don’t like or a dress with a not-so-flattering style.
• Leave It. This pile should be filled with the clothes you can easily walk away from. You haven’t worn them in at least 12 months, they are damaged in some way (i.e stained or torn), or the style no longer suits you. Examples could include a shirt you received as a gift but never liked, a dress that’s too small for you (even though you hoped to one day fit in it), or leather pants that were an impulse buy.

Once you have these piles set and you feel good about your decision, move on to step 2.

Step 2. Sort Your Clothes

Now that you have labeled which clothes you absolutely need and those you absolutely do not, it’s time to figure out how you want to design your closet. Begin with how your clothes will be sorted.

Option 1. Sort your clothes by color (neutrals, brights, darks, etc.)

Option 2. Sort you clothes by item type (dresses, shirts, pants, etc.)

Option 3. Sort by recent wear history (every time you wear an item, you put it in the far right of the closet so the left side of the closet is items you haven’t worn in the longest amount of times)

All three are great options. Choose which one works best for you. If you have a closet that is all one level, you may prefer option 1 or 3 to keep everything consistent. However, if your closet is leveled with various options (i.e. high/low racks on the left and one medium rack on the right), you may prefer option 2 so you can put your dresses on one side and your tops and bottoms on the other side.

Also, take in to consideration that if you have shelves, you can use this space for more than just your accessories. Folded sweaters or pants will work well on a shelf and will open up more hanging space for your other items that shouldn’t be folded. On the contrary, if you need more space for folded clothes, look into incorporating floating shelves. There are some great options out there that should be able to fit your individual needs.

Once you’ve figured out how you want to sort the clothes into your closet, move on to step 3.

Step 3. Load Up Your Closet

Now it’s time to everything back into your closet. This is where Step 1 comes into play.

Begin loading the items that are in your “Love It” pile first. These are items you cannot live without and, therefore, take absolutely priority in your closet space. Once the entire “Love It” pile has been loaded, begin with your “Like It” pile – beginning with the items you most prefer and working your way down.

This point is crucial. This is where you determine what you will continue to keep in your closet, and what you will not.

How full is your closet right now?

You may have space to add everything in from your “Like It” pile or you may have to stop mid-way.

If you haven’t finished including everything from your “Like it” pile, but are almost at capacity in your closet, now is the time to make the decision – do you keep it?

If you have finished your “Like It” pile, now assess your “Leave It” pile. Do you have enough room that you can still comfortable include select items into your closet? And if so, do you want to?

We’d recommend you not include them. After all, they were in your “Leave It” pile for a reason… right?

Right.

*Bonus* Step 4: The Remaining Items

So now you can decide what happens to those items that didn’t fit into your closet. Are they in good, reusable condition?

If they are not, you can either trash the clothes or look into repurposing them into cleaning rags. Sometimes an old t-shirt is great to dust with!

If they are in good condition, consider your storage options. This is a great way to keep them from disorganizing your closet, while still staying within reach. Consider at-home storage solutions. Have space under your bed? Have an empty shed?

Place your remaining items in bins. We recommend clear bins so you can see what’s inside. You can also label the outside of your bins or boxes with a detailed list of what’s inside (i.e. black boots, white t-shirt, etc.) so you can easily grab the item you need at a later time.

No options at home? Rent a small storage unit! Depending of course on how many items you have, you can easily fit the clothes you’re not yet ready to part with in a small storage unit. Bonus! You can also use your storage unit for seasonal clothes – store your heavy coats during summer and store your swimwear during the winter.

How does your closet look?

Now it’s time to take a step back and appreciate your hard work.

Share a picture of your closet with us on Facebook or Instagram (@LighthouseUnits) and let us know which sort method you chose!