Why is it that closets and clutter seem to go hand in hand? Even a carefully crafted custom closet can take a turn for the worse if you’re not careful. The key to curbing chaos is to keep your closets organized. You can start with a Marie Kondo-style purging session, but it is best to follow up with some strategized storage solutions in order to keep your closets organized for weeks, months, and even years to come.
How you choose to arrange your closets is a personal choice. Fortunately, there are plenty of options available. When thinking about how to properly arrange the clothes in your closets, be sure to consider:
- Prime Real Estate
- Zone Coverage
- Rainbow Connection
- Knowing When to Hold ‘Em and When to Fold ‘Em
- Hang Time
- Sole Solutions
Keep reading for practical solutions on how to arrange your closets so that you are never faced with the dreaded, “I have nothing to wear” syndrome.
Prime Real Estate
Have you ever found yourself searching your closet for your favorite pair of jeans but just couldn't find them? Of course you have – don’t deny it. Everyone knows that it is impossible to find what you're looking for when everything is crammed in willy-nilly. So, you will want to start by organizing your closet.
Whether you have a walk-in or a reach-in closet, dedicate prime real estate to the clothes you wear most often. If you wear business attire to work each day, then store your professional clothes in the front and center of your closet. This will make it easier to see what you need when you need it.
On the flip side, you don't need immediate access to your out-of-season items or formalwear. Pieces you rarely put on, like that ugly Christmas sweater you wear only to your neighbor’s annual holiday party, can be tucked away in the back corners and hidden recesses of your closet.
Zone Coverage
Another option is to divide your closet into zones rather than by what you wear the most and least. This type of arrangement is ideal for someone who needs to dress for many different occasions.
Arranging your closet into zones also offers additional flexibility. You could sort your clothes by occasion (e.g. work, casual, formal), garment type (e.g. T-shirts, blouses, pants, skirts, dresses), or even season.
Rainbow Connection
Color coordination is another option when organizing the clothes in your closet. By arranging items by hue, you can easily see what works together to quickly assemble outfits.
While many prefer sorting items according to the colors of the rainbow (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet), Readers Digest reports that one way to do so is by arranging your clothes from lightest to darkest. Hang darker and heavier pieces on one side and lighter, airier pieces on the other.
Knowing When to Hold ‘Em and When to Fold ‘Em
Kenny Rogers touted the virtues of knowing when to hold and when to fold in his song, "The Gambler", but those decisions are equally important when it comes to arranging the clothes in your closet.
You should always hang your work and dress clothes, including button-down shirts, blouses, pants, and skirts, and your formalwear. Hanging these investment pieces helps them last longer. It also reduces wrinkles and the time you need to spend ironing.
Just like there are some clothing items that you always want to hang, there are also some that should be folded and placed on shelves, in drawers, or in bins and baskets. It’s best to fold sweaters and knitwear because hanging them can stretch the material and leave hanger marks on the shoulders.
Jeans should also be folded because they are heavy and bulky to hang. Consider stacking them sorted by wash, from lightest to darkest. Fold workout clothes and place them in drawers; hanging can stretch out the spandex.
Hang Time
The type of hanger you use is important, especially if you are trying to maximize the space in your closet. Professional organizers seem to universally support the use of slender velvet hangers, which also offer the benefit of being non-slip. However, there are a few instances when you will want to use specialty hangers.
Bobvila.com notes that sturdy wooden hangers are ideal for heavy winter coats, men’s suits, and other bulky items. On the other hand, lingerie and other delicate items should be hung from padded silk hangers. To avoid creases on skirts and dress pants, use hangers with clips.
How you hang your clothing is also important. Be sure to button the top button so your shirts don’t fall off the hangers, and zip up zippers before hanging pants to keep them crisp and neat. Make sure you face all items in the same direction for a streamlined look.
When arranging the clothes in your closet, consider length. For example, hang sleeveless shirts in their own group next to short-sleeved shirts, which should also be separated from long-sleeved shirts. Blouses, tops, and skirts can hang from a double bar or above a set of drawers to maximize space. But longer items, like dresses and pants, should be hung with nothing beneath them to keep the bottoms from bunching and wrinkling.
Sole Solutions
Custom closets offer many options for organizing accessories, with shoe racks being one of the most popular as noted by Closet Solutions & Organizers. In their article What Accessories Are Available for My Custom Closets, they further explain how one pair of shoes can really bring a classy outfit together.
Just like you organized your clothes, you should arrange your shoes by purpose, separating work shoes, casual shoes, and athletic shoes. If you do not dress up a lot, consider storing your formal shoes in their boxes on the top or bottom of the closet, where they are out of the way.
Shoes can make a statement even when you’re not wearing them. For instance, think about all of the celebrity closets you’ve seen with women’s high heels – and fancy pocketbooks – posed on a shelf acting as works of art. You can create the same look in your closet by putting your most fabulous shoes and handbags on display.
Flip-flops and sandals can be hard to store because of their small size. If you have a flair for arts and crafts, you can create really cool flip-flop holders using wire hangers and ribbon. Just follow these simple how-to instructions from Epbot and store your slides and sandals in style.
Conclusion
You’ll never be at a loss for what to wear if you follow the suggestions outlined in this article. By properly arranging the clothes in your closet, not only will you be able to easily find and put together outfits, but your clothes will stay wrinkle-free and last much longer.
