An Organized Closet in One Afternoon

January is a great time to get organized. It’s a new year, the weather has changed from warm to cold, and it’s a good time to have a fresh start! Also, if I get anything new for Christmas, I like cleaning out anything old to make room for the new!

Sometimes it’s hard to get started on an organizing project because it seems so big. So daunting. But I promise you can organize your closet in one afternoon – really! I’m going to show you how…

Ah, I love an organized closet! But it didn’t start off that way. It started off like this:

Seriously…where is the police tape?

Because our weather here in the south is warm until November or December, then turns cool one day like someone flipped a switch, I end up with summer clothes and fall clothes all over the place.  Time to get organized!

Here’s how to get an organized closet in one afternoon:

(1) Take everything out of the closet.

First, I pulled everything out of my closet.  See crime scene “before” pictures above. This way, I could easily go through everything.

(2) Pull out the obvious discards.

Next, I weeded out any clothes that were too small, out of date, worn out, or stained or torn in any way.  I did the same thing with my shoes.  As it turns out, when I broke my leg last year (see this post), it changed the shape of my foot and ankle and, of course, made my ankle less stable.  So, I (begrudgingly) had to get rid of shoes that didn’t fit anymore or had too tall of a heel because of this.  Meh. (On the up side, it means I can buy some new shoes that fit!)

For the clothes and shoes in good condition, I donated those to a thrift store.  Old t-shirts and socks with holes in them were recycled as dust rags or rags for staining projects.  Anything that wasn’t salvageable went in the garbage.

(3) Create Order.

Next, I organized.  The main idea here is that everything I was putting back in the closet is something I wanted to keep. Everything in a place, with a logical order to it.

Purses went into boxes from Ikea and into the back of the closet, where they are accessible, but out of everyday reach (I don’t change purses every day, after all).  The back of my closet has an awkward slope to it, so the back corner is a great place to put these boxes.

Summer clothes went into a plastic bin at the bottom and back of my closet.  The sweaters came out and were put on the top shelf (I have a folding step ladder in my closet to reach these, given that I am vertically challenged).  Sweatshirts went on the other top shelf.

For the shirts and short jackets, I organized them by color, starting with the darkest on the left and working to the lightest.

Then, within each color grouping, I organized them in order of (from left to right) jackets, sweaters, long-sleeved shirts, short-sleeved shirts, and sleeveless shirts.  This organization helps me find exactly what I want to wear in terms of color and in terms of being “weather appropriate” (a term usually reserved for telling my daughter that she can’t wear shorts to school when it’s 40 degrees outside).

For pants, I organized them casual to dressy.  I wear the casual pants more often, so they go where I can most easily access them.

On the adjacent wall of the closet is my hanging storage.  I organized it (from left to right) by fleece jackets (I love me some fleece!), suits, dresses (in order from most dressy to casual), skirts (same organization – dressy to casual), and then scarves (on an organizer from Ikea, although you can make one with drapery hardware like THIS ONE).

On the adjacent wall to the hanging storage (right to the right of the door) are hooks for my necklaces, belts, and, as it happens today, a hat:

I like having my necklaces hanging up, rather than in a drawer or jewelry box, so I can see them all and so they don’t get tangled.

Lastly, on the floor, I organized my shoes by color and heel height.

And voila!  An organized closet!

Looking into an organized closet each morning not only makes it easier to get dressed, but makes me happy.  Order out of chaos.

What do you do to organize your closet?  Do you have a method or time of year when you organize?

Want more organization and storage tips? Click HERE!

Have unwanted items or clutter? Click HERE for what to do with them!