Tidy Home

Declutter Your Closet

Have you ever had to forcefully push aside hangers to cram one more item into your overstuffed closet? Or worse, have you ever known exactly what outfit you wanted to wear that day but were unable to find it? Everyone has experienced something like this at some point, and it’s all due to a lack of clothes organization.

But searching for a shirt or adding a new sweater to your wardrobe doesn’t have to be frustrating. You can take back your closet space by knowing how to organize your clothes in a more effective manner. The following seven tips will help you become a master of clothes organization in no time.

1. Purge clothes you no longer wear

Before you start figuring out how to hang your pants or how to fold your clothes to maximize space, you need to reclaim the space you have. Go through your closet and get rid of any clothes that don’t fit or that you just haven’t worn in a while. A good rule of thumb is to donate anything that you haven’t put on in a year to charities, churches or family members are all great options for the donated clothes. . Alternatively, you may be able to sell clothes that are in excellent condition to a consignment shop.

2. Increase hanger space

So now you have to figure out how to hang your pants and skirts so that they don’t take up as much space. Good news: There are special hangers to help you with this task. You can up the clothes organization ante by using tiered hangers with clips to hold pants and skirts. That way several garments only take the hanger space of one item of clothing. Another option is cascading hangers. They follow the same idea as the tiered hangers, but don’t always have clips. They can also be used for shirts, whereas tiered hangers typically can’t.

DIY Tip: You can make your own cascading hangers. Just pop the tab off of a soda can, slide one hole over the hanger hook and slip the hook of another hanger through the second hole in the tab. Voilà! Homemade cascading hangers.

3. Add a closet rod

An alternative to cascading or tiered hangers is to install a second rod in your closet. If you think about it, most of your clothes don’t hang all the way to the ground, right? Make use of that valuable open space by installing a second rod below the first. That way you can hang shirts, blouses, long dresses and jackets on the top rod. Shorter items—like pants and skirts folded over hangers—can make themselves at home on the bottom rod. Tension rods work great here, as they’re inexpensive and can adjust to fit in almost any space.

4. Get colorful with your clothes organization

Have you ever been late to work or an errand because you planned on wearing your green shirt that day but just couldn’t find it? Save yourself a ton of time getting dressed every morning by organizing your closet by color. Start with the darkest color and move towards the lightest. Group light colors together. If you really want to earn clothes organization points, you can further separate your clothing by sleeve length, skirt length or fabric weight within each color group. You’ll never have trouble finding that green shirt again.

5. Fold clothes like a pro

Who taught you how to fold your clothes? It doesn’t matter. They probably didn’t teach you the method that works best when it comes to effective clothes organization. The KonMari method—created by Japanese organizing consultant Marie Kondo—is an amazing means of folding everything from shirts and pants to socks and sweaters so that they barely take up any space. You can find plenty of tutorials and videos online. And you’ll be amazed at how much your closet shelves and bins open up once you learn how to fold your clothes KonMari style.

6. Use the closet door to organize clothes

The closet door is an incredibly underutilized space when it comes to clothes organization. However, it’s a great means of clearing out hanger or shelf space that you might waste on accessories. Fasten hooks or clips on the inside of your closet door—or use over-the-door hooks,—and you have an excellent spot for hanging belts, scarves and ties. Alternatively, you could fasten a towel ring to the inside of the closet door and loop scarves or ties around it.

7. Rotate seasonal clothing items

You won’t wear a parka in July, so what’s the point in having this bulky jacket eat up precious closet space when it’s not in use? Rotate your clothes every season,; save those that you layer or wear with jackets. Out-of-season clothes can be stored on closet shelves in clear plastic bins. Take clothes organization to a new level by labelling the bins by season.

Now you know how to organize your clothes like you were born to put things in their place. And if all these ideas have you clamoring to coordinate more rooms in your house, be sure to check out these kitchen cupboard organization tips.