Welcome to Part 2 of the Closet Series. Since a closet is a home for your clothing, your clothes need to be comfortable in their living space. And you need to feel confident that you can see and find all your clothing easily. Knowing your garments are in ready-to-wear condition, especially for that last minute invitation, is a big relief and time saver. Organizing your closet can be a daunting process, but there is such joy in a clean, well-organized closet that supports you and your wardrobe. It involves planning, strategizing and a very real look at the difference between the size of your closet and the size of your wardrobe. Most often, they don’t balance! It takes courage to face both. To accept the limitation of a small closet and the realization that you’ve spent $1000s on clothing you aren’t wearing, for whatever reason. My goal is to provide you with clear steps on how to get your clothes in your closet through an honest inventory, a strong organizational push and some purging power. You can do this!
ORGANIZATIONAL SUPPLIES
- A full box of heavy duty, tie-up bags
- A roll of paper towels
- a bottle of Simple Green (or your favorite cleaning agent)
- a supply of hangers (see note below)
- a supply of sticky notes to use on garments needing repair
- a few sheets of paper, pen or pencil to use for creating your Wardrobe List
- a measuring tape
- lint roller
- a box to store items that belong elsewhere
GETTING STARTED
Evaluate your closet space. There are small shifts and tweaks you can make to create more space and make it pleasing to the eye. Decide what your closet goal is and how to get there. Colorful bins and organizers? In my experience, I have found that our closets will tell us what they want. Just like a house does. I never furnish a room without listening to what the room wants to express. Your closet will do the same.
Evaluate your wardrobe. If your wardrobe exceeds your closet space (when doesn’t it), unless you want to hire a closet company to redo your closet, be prepared to edit your wardrobe. I know this is hard — it pulls on us emotionally, mentally, financially and energetically. More on this in Part 3: Purging. For now, begin thinking about what you really want to express in your wardrobe and let that percolate until you get to the purging stage.
EVALUATING YOUR CLOSET SPACE
- How much vertical space does your closet have and how much do you need (dresses/long coats)?
- Is there enough shelving for purses, hats, sweaters, shoes, apron)?
- Do you have room for cubes to house bras, lingerie, socks, gloves)?
- Do you have a chest of drawers for miscellaneous items (bulky sweaters, out of season garments, swimsuit and summer lights) or will you need to make room for these in your closet?
- How and where will you store your jewelry and accessories?
- How many pair of shoes will your closet accommodate?
- Do you need to add shelves? Where?
- Hooks? Where?
- Hanging closet organizers?
- Replace your hangers?
- Get rid of dry cleaning plastic wrapping that takes up space?
- What about any other boxes, papers or files? Where else can you store them in your home? Or can some of these be shredded?
CUBES, BINS, BASKETS
Cubes, bins and baskets help expand the space in your closet and can be quite attractive. Do you want a lid on your bin (great for dust busting), or not (easy access). It’s important to measure EXACTLY how much space you have in your closet and how many bins will fit in your closet. Take your tape measure to the store and measure the bins BEFORE you buy them. Note which bins will harmonize best with your closet — white plastic, oatmeal fabric, or natural wood baskets. Here are some links: Amazon, Target, The Container Store.
HANGERS
Decide if you want to use wire, plastic, wooden or velvet hangers. I vote for velvet because they are slim, take up less space and are “no slip” for silky tops. Whatever you decide, they should be uniform in style and color, with the hangers turned in the same direction. Here are links to hangers. Bed Bath & Beyond, The Container Store, Target, Amazon, I recommend purchasing some hangers with clips which are great for hanging pants and skirts.
HANGING vs. FOLDING
Your closet space will help you determine what gets folded and what will hang. Sweaters, pajamas, workout items and swimsuits hold their shape better when folded.
I have a category entitled “apron” referred to above. These are items that I’ve downgraded into wearing while working, doing projects or chores around the house. They are still good for that purpose, but no longer have enough life for wearing as part of an outfit. These are the items I fold and place in a bin. And if the bin starts to overflow, items are removed. Also, when a new item arrives, an older item gets cycled out into a rag.
SHOES
Absent the ideal built-in shoe shelves, and depending on your shoe inventory, you can use an over-the-door shoe organizer with shoes being organized according to type, and then color if you like. The other option is to purchase clear, stackable shoe boxes, but you must measure your closet first and make sure you have the room. I originally purchased opaque shoe boxes which stack and fit nicely in my closet, but it’s hard to see the shoes. I recommend the clear version. You can purchase at Walmart, Amazon, The Container Store and Wayfair. Here are the links: Walmart, Amazon, The Container Store, Wayfair and Bed Bath & Beyond.
ACCESSORIES
Purses can be hung on hooks, or if you have room, displayed on shelves by size and then color. Belts can also be hung on hooks which is better than rolled up in a drawer or cube which tends to crack the leather or stretch the fabric.
JEWELRY
Best if housed in a jewelry box, but statement pieces can be displayed. If you have lots of jewelry, you’ll have to decide how to categorize it (statement pieces, earrings, pins, necklaces, etc.) I use plastic carpenter bins purchased at Home Depot. Not pretty at all, but very practical — they snap closed. You can also create sections with separate plastic pieces for smaller jewelry like earrings, pins and rings. These bins are also opaque, so hard to see inside. I’ve labeled each container. I sort my jewelry according to color. Here is the link for the bins: Home Depot.
CLOSET CARE
Put your closet on cleaning rotation just like other areas in your home. Wipe it down, vacuum it, dust the shelves and shoes, change moth bags (if needed) and if your closet doors are mirrors, shine them!
RESOURCES
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying up, Marie Kondo
Project 333, Courtney Carver
My Closet
My Clients
My Experience
Are you ready to have a fresh, organized closet?
If you asked your closet, would it recommend contacting me for help?
CLOSET SERIES – PART 3: PURGING
Next week is Part 3: Purging. Yes, you can. See you soon.
To Your Mature Beauty and Style,
Denise
