Closet Organization ideas + hacks: The 3 commandments

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Normal People with Average Closets, Unite!  
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​I think it’s safe to say that if you are a normal person living in an average home, you probably have some strong feelings about your closets.  Are we talking about pride, joy, and/or total bliss?  Ah…. no.  If you’re anything like me, you have been embarrassed, frustrated, and sometimes just ticked off your closet.  Too many clothes!  Nothing fits!  How did the floor disappear?  Isn’t it crazy how that little bit of square footage in your house can make you feel so overwhelmed and unorganized?
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In this post, I'll be talking about how I used the Three Commandments of Closet Organization to totally revamp my personal closet.  After I learned these tricks of the trade, I started helping clients turn their closets in a happy place.  Today, I’ll share all the details to help you do the same.

Want me to help you with your closet? Click here!

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The Three Commandments of Organizing
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​As a Professional Organizer, I’ve learned that whether you are organizing a closet, a garage, or a sock drawer, there are 3 steps you need to take with every single project. It can be so overwhelming to tackle a project, but if you can follow these three rules, you’re on your way.   Are you ready for me to drop this  closet organization knowledge on you?!?  Get ready to have your mind blown:
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Commandment One: Reduce
Commandment Two: Arrange
Commandment Three: Maintain.
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Sounds so simple, right!?!? Well, let’s take a closer look at how you can do it.

The First Commandment: Get Loose & reduce!
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My personal closet Before

​Before you start organizing a closet, you first should reduce the amount of inventory on hand. Or, to put it in simpler terms, Just Throw Stuff Away, Already.


​I had all these items in my closet, and I’ll guess you probably do too. 
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• Sentimental garments (dresses from my rehearsal dinner 20 years ago, college formal dresses, a leather jacket my late grandmother bought me circa 1987).
• “Skinny” clothes (that totally don’t fit) and “heavy” clothes (that totally don’t fit)
• Clothes that I bought and never wore, but felt too guilty to donate.
• “Maybe I’ll Wear That If I’m Invited to a Alligator Allergy Awareness Gala” (or some other obscure event), which can also be the “I Once Wore That to a Fabulous Party.”  I’m looking at you, 2011 Steeplechase dress and hat.
• Shoes that don’t fit, are out of style, or are too worn out to wear
• Every handbag I had ever owned
• A floor covered by laundry, things I didn’t want to rehang, and other random junk.

I knew stuff had to go.  I KNEW it… but I needed some inspiration.  Lucky for me, this was right about the same time that the book,  The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo,  was all the rage. So, I read it and despite all the Zen/hippy-dippy stuff in there, I walked away with one piece of true wisdom.  Only keep the things that make you feel happy.

Did the shirt I once wore to a company Christmas party in the late 90’s make me feel happy?  No : I just felt bad it was too small now. How about the leather jacket my grandma bought me? No: I kept it because my late grandma bought it, even though I hadn’t worn it in over a decade.  Did the expensive dress I wore once to a wedding make me happy? No, but it was so expensive I thought I thought I should hang on to it.

Did any of it make me happy? Well, yes!  There were a lot of garments that I loved, that fit me well, and/or that I loved.  And yes, I kept my rehearsal dinner dress. I will never wear it again, but it truly makes me happy.
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So that became my rule: If it makes me happy, it stays.  If it doesn’t, it goes. And once I made peace with that rule, it was amazingly easy to get rid of things. A LOT of things.  Like, bags and bags and bags of consignment and Goodwill items. 

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A Quick Tangent on Donations
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​Two Tips.
 1: Always keep donation bags in your closet.  If you have to go searching for a grocery bag to bag up your stuff, you’ll lose the momentum and quit.  Just stash some extra bags in the closet and fill them as needed.  Trust me,  it works.
2: Take your full donation bags to your car immediately.  If you leave it sitting on your closet floor, it’s never leaving.  Go throw it in the back of your car and drop it by Goodwill (or wherever) the next time you’re out running errands. 

Boxed & Headed to goodwill

 
Commandment two: Arrange what is left over
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​So now that you’ve got a lot less inventory in the closet, you can figure out how you want to organize it. Here are a few of my professional guidelines. 

Joan Crawford Agrees No Wire Hangers

Get rid of the wire hangers.  

​They are an eyesore, but they also don’t support your garments well. In time, they will bend and bow and ruin the lines of your garment. Ladies, you have nice things, so treat them well.  I don't care if it is a Target t-shirt: treat your clothes nicely!

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All new Slimline hangers

​Have all your hangers match.
​This eliminates the visual clutter in your closet.    If you can afford it, slowly invest in and build up a supply of the velvet lined slimline hangers. (Better Homes and Gardens makes a box set of 30 that you can purchase at Walmart). Slimline hangers allow you to hang more garments in the same amount of space. I also love that garments don't slip off the hanger. 

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check out our Closet Organizing Board

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Used existing plastic hangers

​If slimlines aren’t in your budget, you can always purchase plastic hangers.  This may be my OCD, but try to do all one color.  Again, it eliminates the visual clutter.   Note: I've started seeing plastic slim hangers in stores, but have yet to try them out.  Let me know in the comment section below if you've used them!  I'd love to hear how they work.

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My closet cleared out & extra shelving added

Use dead space in your closet.  Most average closets I’ve seen have the hang bar, then one shelf above it.  But truly, there is usually room for a second shelf above that.  If you can add another row of shelving, you’ve just doubled the number of items you can store. Get yourself to Home Depot, buy more shelving, and put in another row.  You’ll end up using that top shelf for your lesser used items. 
Use the floor to your advantage too.  Tuck your laundry baskets underneath your short hang items. 

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all jackets stored together

Arrange by function (not color).  I believe you should put like-items together. That means all work tops in one zone, casual tops in a different zone, etc.  Then within each zone, arrange by length. So, in Work Tops, go Sleeveless to Long Sleeve.  In Pants, go Capri to Bootcut.  When you’re getting dressed, you think about what you are doing that day and/or the weather.  You don’t say “Oh, it’s hot today. I think I’ll wear green”.  You say “It’s hot and I have to work. I’d like a sleeveless top”. 

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work clothes stored in easily accessible part of closet

Put the things you wear most frequently closest to the door.
If you work 40 hours a week, put your nice work clothes up front.  If you seldom dress up, put your casual things closest to the door.  I personally like to put the trendy seasonal items at the front of my closet, and the classic pieces further back. However you dress is the way you should organize your closet. 

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Stand Back, Admire Your Progress
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​Now that you’ve hauled out tons to donate and/or sell and your stuff is all gorgeously arranged, you want to keep it that way.  

Let's move on to the third Commandment of Closet Organization. 

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The Third Commandment: Maintain it, yo. 

Want to keep your closet under control?  Then it's all about the ratios, my friends.

Follow the One In, One Out rule.  It’s easy.  If you buy one new shirt, you must get rid of one old shirt.  Two new dresses?  Gotta donate 2 old dresses, pal. If you can make yourself follow this rule, your closet will never again get out of control.  PREACH~!

Need to thin out your items quicker?  Try a One In, TWO Out ratio.  
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Want to be even a little more hardcore?  Don’t keep extra hangers around.  That way you can’t “cheat” the One In, One Out rule because there aren’t extra hangers.  It’s brutal, but I’m here to tell you, it works.

Wilt thou follow the 3 commandments of closet Organization? 

I'm going to be honest: it takes time, patience, a couple gut-checks, and sometimes a little money, but you can organize and maintain your closet if you follow the 3 Commandments.   

Let's hear your questions in the comments section!  Do you think the 3 Commandments will work for you?!?

want me to help with your closet? click here!

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