How do I Organize a Closet?

There are various ways you may choose to organize a closet, including using storage bins and hangers to keep items from causing clutter, cleaning the closet of unneeded or unused items, and coordinating items based on size, color, or use. The individual ways in which you choose to organize may be partially based on the size of your closet, what the closet is being used for, and the space in your home. A few standard measures can be taken, however, that will help make any closet more organized and easily accessible.

The first step you should take when you want to organize a closet is to go through all the contents and get rid of anything not being used. Look through old clothes and shoes and toss anything that doesn’t fit or that is no longer in style. A general rule of thumb is that anything you haven’t worn or used in more than six months can be thrown out, with the exception of special items like wedding gowns and evening wear which are rarely needed.

You can throw out your old items or donate them to a local charity. Many donations are tax-deductible. Another option is to give old or poorly fitting items to someone you know who may need them.

After you have thrown out all unwanted items, you can then use individual storage bins or drawers to organize all remaining items. There is no right or wrong way to organize a closet in this way, but you should be sure that the bins you are using will fit easily in the closet and can stack neatly. Separate items into piles and choose a space for each category of things. For example, clothes go on the clothing rod, blankets all go in one large bin, and shoes go in individual plastic bins. Be sure that any bins which aren’t transparent are neatly labeled so that you don’t have to dig through every one to find a certain item.

You can also organize a closet by separating things further into subcategories. For instance, put winter clothes like coats and pants on the left side of your closet and summer clothes on the right side. If you feel it will help, you can even separate clothes based on type or color. For instance, skirts go next to other skirts or red items go with other red items.