| WINTER ORGANIZATION SERIES | MASTER CLOSET
The snow days have given me plenty of time to organize and boy did I need it for the next area on my list to tackle - the dreaded master closet! This is a big one ladies!! It took me a couple days of editing, purging and organizing. However, it was worth it to get my closet in order and create an organization system I could maintain daily. I have listed below the 5 simple tips I followed to get my closet organized.
I plan on doing a separate blog post at a later date on how we achieved a custom closet on a budget.
|ONE| IF YOU DON'T LOVE IT, GET RID OF IT
Purge, purge and purge. I went through and "edited" my clothing, shoes and accessories. If I haven't worn them in the last year, I got rid of them by selling, consigning or giving them to our local thrift store. This is also a good time to review your clothes that have missing buttons, laces, drawstrings, etc. I set them aside to be repaired or discarded.
|TWO| CREATE STYLE ZONES
Create different zones based on "styles" for your items. I created the following zones:
Dresses and long cardigans
Long sleeve tops/blouses
Short sleeve tops/blouses and tank tops
Pants
Undergarments and pajamas
Casual t-shirts and tank tops
Sweatshirts and casual long sleeve shirts
Leggings and athletic leggings/shorts
Shoes (dressy, tennis shoe, flip-flops, boots, etc.)
Out of season clothes (shorts, bathing suits, etc.) kept in dresser drawers in our bedroom
If you are working with a small space or do not have sections in your closet, you can use a set of clothing rack size dividers or acrylic shelf dividers. Check out these I found on Amazon:
I also love creating zones for my accessories. I like to put my scarves, gloves, belts, hats, etc. in pretty baskets.
I have these wonderful pull-out trays that I will go into more detail about in my future blog on how we built our closet. These trays are great for organizing my jewelry and I totally feel like I am shopping in a boutique when picking out my jewelry.
You can easily search Amazon for cute jewelry organizers that can be put on shelves or fit inside drawers. Below are some of my favorites:
|THREE| COLOR CODE
After sorting your clothing by style (sleeveless, short sleeve, long sleeve, etc.) then, by color in each category. This will make things easier to find and put away more efficiently. I used to have my clothing by color and then by style in that color. However, it was harder to maintain and also harder to actually find what I was looking for. This way, if I need a sleeveless shirt, I can go right to all of them and then choose the color.
I like to follow the following color code for each style of clothing:
Black
White
Tan/Brown
Gray
ROY G. BIV (Then because I am an art teacher, I go Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple)
|FOUR| DIVIDE AND FILE
My favorite tip is to use dividers and file your folded items. I love to get these dividers at the Dollar Tree for my socks and undergarments. The Dollar Tree has them in their closet section in the style pictured below with little sections or in one large section. I love that I can organize all my drawers for under $10.
I also file my folded items (t-shirts, sweatshirts, shorts, leggings, etc.). I fold them to where I can see the logo and then stand them upright like a filing system to know which shirt I am selecting. This is by far my favorite tip of all when it comes to closet organization. Gone are the days of folding shirts and stacking them one on top of the other.
|FIVE| #OOTD
I got this idea from watching Vanderpump Rules....lol! This tip is totally unnecessary, but surprisingly I use it often. I created an "outfit of the day" section in my closet. I ordered this wall rack on Amazon to hang up the outfit I will wear the next day:
It has 5 rings so I can hang up the outfits I will wear to work for the whole week. I have also found it helpful when planning out an outfit for a special occasion. It comes in a pack of 3, so you can put them in a kids' room or give one as a gift. I really do love it and have found it super handy!
Here is a picture in action. It saves a lot of time in the mornings getting ready for work when the outfit is already hanging up ready!
Now to muster up the strength to do the same on my husband's side of the closet.....eeekk!!!
