Organizing your closet is cheap therapy. You will be cleansed and relaxed, and every time you open your closet door, you'll feel a little thrill at what you accomplished. So set aside an afternoon to declutter and destress. Does this Spark an idea?
Reduce
First thing's first. You can't organize until you have reduced. Pull everything out of your closet and start three piles: keep, sell/give away and trash. Try all the clothing on and get rid of anything that doesn't fit or that you haven't worn in the past year (costumes and special occasion outfits aside). Use the money from selling your stuff on eBay, Craigslist or at a garage sale to reward yourself with a new outfit for all your hard work.
Hardware
Closet organization can get expensive if you go all out with multiple shelves, racks and personal consultants. But just a shoe rack from Bed, Bath & Beyond for less than $30 can make a huge difference. The key to keeping it cheap is to think about what you actually need. The Container Store is an organizer's paradise, and you'll buy everything in sight if you don't know what you need. Do you have an extraordinary amount of shoes? Or is it jeans and sweaters that are taking over your space? A plastic hanging shelf or a light-weight shelf that you can set on top of the shelf that's already in your closet will add more space for folded items. Adhesive hooks or a simple nail in the wall will keep belts, ties, scarves and purses out of your way (line the walls of the closet with hooks or nails from top to bottom). Clear plastic containers that you can label will keep clutches, bags, swimsuits, undergarments and anything you want off the floor to make more room for those shoe racks.
Color
Once you've reduced your clothing, one way to put it back on the rack is by color. You can follow the rainbow, basically, with black at one end and white at the other. If you know exactly where your red dress or blue shirt should be hanging, it will make dressing an easier process.
Clothing Type
The second way to organize your clothing is by type. First, put all off-season clothing at the back of the closet (or move to the attic or another closet in your home if you have the space). You don't need to waste time sifting through your wool sweaters in the middle of summer while your trying to find your swimsuit. Same thing with costumes and special occasion outfits--keep them out of the way. Then line up your clothing according to type: long-sleeve tops, short-sleeve tops, pants, skirts, dresses. Line up dresses and skirts by their length so there's a kind of stair-step effect.
Tags: your closet, your clothing, clothing back, costumes special, costumes special occasion, shelf that