How to Organize Your Closet (clothes)

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By amberdawn
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How to organize your closet (clothes)

Is your closet looking a little cluttered? Is it hard to find the clothes you want to wear? Maybe you have too many clothes. If you enjoy shopping, but have a hard time letting go of old clothes, follow these steps that closet organizers take to sort your closet and make it more functional and organized.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Closet
Mountains of clothes

Step 1

Make a pile of clothes you never wear anymore. For me, and some other people I'm sure, I keep bags of old clothes. Why? Well, I think maybe fashions will change again, or I'll lose weight and fit into them, or I could use them for parts of costumes or sewing projects. And while that’s possible, when your closet becomes overcrowded it's time to let stuff go.
Step 2

Identify from this pile of rarely used clothes, which are worn or don't look good on you. Probably if you've stopped wearing an article of clothing, it's because you just don't like it anymore. It might be frayed, misshapen or old-looking from many washings. Nothing will fix those things so let them go. Try filling one bag full of clothes that you will get rid of, then give them to charity. You'll feel good and get your closet back.
Step 3

Identify which clothes you LOVE, but are out of style, don't fit, or kept for sentimental reasons. Try letting some of these go. If you're not ready to do so, and I can relate, box them up. Then next year when you try again, you might find you're ready since you find you STILL haven’t worn them, and they're taking up space. Good closet organizers know sorting is an ongoing process.
Step 4

Sort your remaining clothes. There are 3 schools of thought on how closet organizers should sort clothes. The first is by color. The second is by season. If the colder weather is approaching, put your heavier clothes in the front, more accessible area, and keep your spring and summer clothes towards the back. The third way to sort your clothing is by type. That is, group pants together, shirts together, jackets together, and so on. I prefer this method since the weather can change quickly in New England.
Step 5

Air out your closet by keeping the closet doors open overnight. This not only airs out your clothes, it also reminds you the next morning of your accomplishment the day before. Good luck with your closet organizing!

Comments

ermabombeck said

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on 12/2/2008 Probably 70% of my clothes I could get rid of and not miss them. Good tips

LilacGirl said

on 11/15/2008 Good article on how to organize your clothes closet. We all seem to keep far too many clothes we don't need so it's always good to declutter on a regular basis.