One of my all-time most popular posts is one I made back in the early days about Clearing Closet Clutter Here are 5 more tips to help declutter your closet.
Photo by Liz
1. Start with a blank slate
To truly beat the clutter, remove everything from your closet. Everything, including hangers and bins. Wipe all the surfaces with a micro-fibre cloth to remove dust so it’s nice and clean when you put items back into the closet.
2. Decide on a sorting system
There are many ways to sort your clothing within the closet. You could sort things by colour, by article of clothing (shirts together, pants together, etc.) by type of clothing (“work clothes”, “casual clothes”, “party clothes”, etc.), or even sort by outfit. Pick a system that works for you and stick with it. With a sorting system in place, you’ll know where each item will be located when you need it, rather than flipping through the hangers looking for a particular shirt.
3. Store out-of-season items elsewhere
The fewer things you keep in a closet, the easier it will be to keep organized. Keeping out of season clothes elsewhere is a great way to do this. Bulky sweaters don’t need to take up space in your closet during the hot summer months, and shorts and t-shirts don’t need to be in the way during winter. If you have a guest room, put out of season items in that closet, and swap out when the seasons change. If you don’t have an additional closet, bins that slide under the bed are a great place to store out of season clothing.
4. If you need to lose or gain weight to wear something again, let it go.
Clothing that doesn’t fit properly just takes up space in your life. You either don’t wear it, or look and feel awkward if you do. Odds are by the time you change your body shape in order to wear something again, the clothes will be out of season or out of style. Consider donating these items to a local charity or homeless shelter, or try selling them on Kijiji or Craigslist.
5. Use all available space in your closet
Store things vertically instead of horizontally. Instead of spreading your shoes out along the floor of the closet, get a show rack and store them up vertically, and you’ll have more floor space available. You could add additional short shelves in your closet for sweaters and other items that can be stretched out by hanging on hangers. These items can be folded neatly below hanging shirts to maximize storage space.
Remember to use unconventional space too. The back of the closet door can be used to store smaller items. Hang a full-length mirror there, or put up small hooks for scarves, belts, or ties. Muli-tier hangers can store multiple skirts or pants in the space previously taken up by one.
Bonus 6th tip
Remember that the 80/20 rule applies here; you wear 20% of your clothing 80% of the time. When you put your clothes back inside the closet, turn your hangers backwards. As you wear each item, return it to the closet and face the hanger properly. After a month or two, check how many hangers are still backwards. These items can be donated or sold, since you are clearly not wearing them right now.
What is your best closet decluttering tip? Do you have any tricks to share?
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I never thought about putting a mirror inside the closet! It makes sense since you have the closet open to try on clothes anyway. Thanks for the tip.