Want to organize your wardrobe for good? Discover the 5 key rules you need to follow for a permanently organized closet, regardless of its size or layout.
When it comes to closet organization, there are many tips and tricks. It can be confusing and overwhelming. Here are five rules to organize any closet forever. These are the only five rules that are personally used to keep closets looking organized 95% of the time. If done right, closets will always look organized almost always.
It doesn’t matter what kind of wardrobe is available. Whether it’s a small wardrobe, a big wardrobe, a walk-in closet, or even moving places with a new wardrobe, these five rules can be applied forever.
Rule #1: Keep It Current
The first rule of closet organization is to always keep it current. Everything in the wardrobe should serve a purpose. It should fit the body and lifestyle, and also suit the current season.
Anything not appropriate should not be hanging or in the drawers. It should be stored elsewhere, maybe in an empty suitcase, under-bed storage, or another drawer in another house, but not in the wardrobe.
Let’s break it down further to identify which pieces should not be in the wardrobe.
Items That Don’t Fit
The first category includes items that are either too big or too small. Everything that doesn’t fit should be put in storage. Keeping them in the wardrobe will make dressing harder and can be a reminder that the body is different, which is not ideal.
Out-of-Season Items
Items that are out of season should also be put in storage. When younger, thick winter jumpers were kept in the summer, and summer dresses in the winter, even though they were never worn. This wastes space.
It’s personal how much stuff to put in storage. If an item is not going to be worn because the season isn’t appropriate, it should be put away.
Never-Worn Items
Consider items that have never been worn, maybe they still have the tags on. Decluttering is the best option. But if still wanting to commit to them, take the tag off and try wearing them. If it doesn’t work out, declutter them later.
Uncomfortable Items
Uncomfortable items also shouldn’t be in the wardrobe because they won’t be worn or enjoyed. Maybe the material is scratchy, or you have to constantly readjust the piece. Consider decluttering those as well.
Damaged Items
There are also damaged or stained items that are past their prime. If you like the item and it’s fixable, fix it. Try to clean it or give it to a tailor. If that doesn’t work, declutter it.
Sometimes, even if something is loved, it should be let go if it’s in really bad shape.
Special Occasion Items
Special occasion items shouldn’t be next to the main wardrobe because they waste a lot of space and make dressing more confusing. Find a corner somewhere in the house and make it a special occasion section. This can include everything from shoes and handbags to accessories and jewelry, as well as clothing items.
Once this is done, the closet will be more spacious with more room to play with. However, if there is too much room and empty spaces, don’t leave them empty because that can lead to unnecessary shopping in the future.
Treat the closet as a boutique. Space things out. Even if the wardrobe is decluttered and some things are taken out, space it out more and more. The same applies to drawers. If things are taken out, fold them differently so everything is spaced out.
Rule #2: Maximize Visibility
Rule number two is to make sure you can see absolutely everything in your wardrobe. Every single piece should be clearly visible when you open your wardrobe or drawer.
This is important because people have said that they cannot see everything, leading to buying duplicates and making getting dressed in the morning hard. Readjust and reorganize the closet to ensure everything is visible.
Folding Vertically
When it comes to drawers, if you’re folding horizontally, start folding vertically. When you open the drawer, you should be able to see all of your jeans, pants, or jumpers.
Utilizing Hangers
Put as much stuff as possible on hangers. It’s easy to see everything. You can see camis, t-shirts, and off-shoulder designs right away. However, heavy knits or dresses shouldn’t be put on hangers because they can stretch out.
In those situations, it’s better to fold them. Long cardigans can be folded in a way so they won’t stretch out, or they can be put on a shelf.
Optimizing Shelves
Shelves are useful, but a lot of the time, wardrobes are 60 centimeters deep, which means there can be two rows, one in the front and one in the back. If there are a lot of shelves and things at the back, it’s going to be really hard to get dressed and to see what you have.
You can use boxes and put them vertically to create a DIY drawer. Then, you can just take the box out and see everything and slide it back in. To know what’s in there, put a label on it, or use clear baskets to have a clear idea right away.
Rule #3: The 15-Second Rule
Rule number three is all about making sure everything is super easy to organize. Often, when reorganizing closets, the focus is on how it should look, but then forgetting how hard it’s going to be to maintain that. How hard it’s going to be to put every single piece in that storage solution.
That’s why we want to simplify that. A 15-second rule was created. That means that if it takes longer than 15 seconds to put the item back into the wardrobe, find another way of storing it or folding it.
When things take 15 seconds or less, you won’t postpone putting these items back into your wardrobe. It’s important to time how long it takes to put the item back into the wardrobe once you have it in your arms.
Some items may need special folding or hanging, but that should be maybe 10-20% of your wardrobe. If you have a method that takes a really long time for each piece to fold and put back, it’s going to be a disaster to keeping your closet organized.
That’s why this closet is organized 95% of the time because there is no reason to procrastinate, because it takes a second to put things back.
General Tips for Storing Methods
Hangers are everything. You’re going to see everything, plus it’s going to make putting things back on your hangers much easier than folding everything. Especially for tops with frills and weird materials. However, jeans, skirts, and shorts are not necessary to hang.
Velvet hangers are great because they’re thin and have friction, so things don’t fall down. You can also have wooden hangers with dips to avoid slipping.
Clip-on accessories can be used to put skirts, shorts, or pants onto hangers. They come in different colors.
Play with different aromas. You can have some kind of satchel if you enjoy fragrance.
If you own the wardrobe and see yourself living there for quite a while, it’s worth customizing it to your own needs. Repaint the doors or the closet itself. Order new shelves or drawers from a carpenter. Invest a little bit of money to make organization and getting dressed really easy.
Space for Already Worn Items
It is important to have a space in the closet or somewhere in the bedroom or next to the wardrobe where you can put already worn items. These items are not quite dirty. Used sport stuff can be put in one space for two to three days before washing, as well as loungewear. You don’t want to put these items back with clean items.
Most used items should be in the most easy-to-reach spaces. Items that are worn less frequently should be on the top or at the bottom. Things that are most frequently used should be somewhere in your eyeline, somewhere that it’s easy to reach, which is going to make organizing much easier.
Rule #4: Sectioning Your Wardrobe
Rule number four is all about sectioning your wardrobe. That means storing similar items together. In the past, things were mixed and matched, which was very confusing and lacked clarity.
The reason for doing this is because it’s going to help you get dressed in the morning and help you when you’re shopping because you’re going to know exactly how many things you have in a specific category.
Start with the hanger areas. You can put all of your tops, all of your dresses, and also all of your blazers, cardigans, and indoor jackets. If you have a bigger wardrobe, maybe a walk-in closet, you can section it even further.
For example, dresses in one section, short sleeves and long sleeves and camis in one section, and all of your jackets and cardigans and blazers in the third section. However, don’t take this too far, like having camis in one section, button-ups in one section, and t-shirts in one section, because it’s going to get too confusing.
The first drawer can have all of your underwear, bras, camis, tights, panties, and socks. The drawer underneath can have all of your jeans, pants, skirts, and belts at the back. Another drawer can be the active wardrobe, with jumpers, leggings, shorts, tops, bras, and socks. The last drawer at the bottom can be storage, with all of the items that are not in season or don’t fit.
Rule #5: Make It Pretty
Rule number five is to make sure your closet is pretty. The reason this is important when it comes to organization is because when we like something, we’re much more likely to put the effort into maintaining that. If the end result is a closet that you’re not excited about, you’re not going to be excited to keep it organized. But if you love your wardrobe, then it’s going to be joyful to keep it in check.
Simple Ways to Make It Pretty
You can color match everything. Organize by color, going from black to colors to white to beiges. If you don’t have a lot of clothes, don’t worry about categories; just organize everything by color. It’s going to look so much prettier. You can also do that with your drawers, going from dark to light.
Matching hangers is very important. If you have mismatched hangers, no matter how small your wardrobe is, it’s not going to look organized. Invest in new hangers and use hangers almost as a tool to keep you in check. You can set a limit of, say, 50 hangers, and if you buy something new, something else has to go.
Velvet hangers are great because they’re thin and have friction, so things don’t fall down. You can also have wooden hangers with dips to avoid slipping.
Clip-on accessories can be used to put skirts, shorts, or pants onto hangers. They come in different colors.
Play with different aromas. You can have some kind of satchel if you enjoy fragrance.
If you own the wardrobe and see yourself living there for quite a while, it’s worth customizing it to your own needs. Repaint the doors or the closet itself. Order new shelves or drawers from a carpenter. Invest a little bit of money to make organization and getting dressed really easy.
If that is not an option, maybe you’re renting and are more limited, you can change the doorknobs if there are some doorknobs. You can have some kind of inspirational quote inside of your door or a mirror. Create some kind of a focal piece in your wardrobe if you have the space.
It is important to make sure you’re not bringing in bad purchases and clothes everywhere.
