Anatomy of an Organized Closet

I’ll be the first to admit that closets in my home get cluttered pretty quickly. It’s so easy to put stuff inside closets, close the door and forget about it. In time, the more I add the more cluttered it becomes, and in a short time, I’d rather just keep the door closed. Recently I have been determined to clean the closets in our home and try to get organized in a way which will be easy to maintain.

In our bedroom we have one of those standard closets with a double sliding door. We have no walk-ins here. Let me show you how I organized it for maximum use/storage. Oh, yes, my Beloved’s clothing get to hangout in another closet in what is the 3rd bedroom of our house.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links to products which you can purchase from external sites and I may earn a small sales commission. Thank you for being a loyal follower and supporter of Great Peace Academy.

First Steps to an Organized Closets

To really get your closets in tip top shape, you want to dig in deep and start with a clean slate.

• Empty the closet of all items.
• Vacuum and dust shelves and floor.
• If necessary make any repairs to rods, hardware or shelving.
• If necessary, paint the walls.

Purging Closets

I’m finding that one of the biggest challenges I have in keeping my closets uncluttered is that I have too much stuff and try to keep that stuff contained behind the closet doors. So in order to truly have clean and organized closets I’ve been purging.

• Organize into 2 groups, Keep or Get Rid of It.
• For items being kept, sort into like categories.
• For items in the get rid of it pile, determine if you will pitch it, donate it, or sell it.
• Set a deadline for completing the donation or sale of the items.
• If you have not accomplished the task of donation or sale by the deadline, the item should be pitched.
• Don’t bring it back and put it in the closet.

My reality is if I set something aside to sell or donate, it gets put into some bag or other container and although I may be well-meaning, I tend to forget about it and it ends up shoved into another area of the home or worse another closet. So that is why this time, I’m setting a deadline.

Sorting Closet Items

• Sort into like items, shirts, pants, coats, etc.
• Determine a location within the closet for each item.
• Gather your sorting equipment, hangers, boxes, hanging shelves, etc.
• Determine how and where like items will sit, hang or dwell within the closet.
• Organize the like items, folding, hanging, and placing in determined locations.
• Make sure every item has a home.

As you work you may find that what you have to make some adjustments as you go. The space always looks bigger when it is empty so as you fill it up you will begin to see that some items won’t fit exactly as you had anticipated. That’s OK, just make whatever adjustments you need. The goal is an organized closet, not a picture perfect closet.

Tips for an Organized Closet

• Organize Like items and place together.
• Use hangers that are alike and facing the same direction.
• Hang clothing on the hanger facing the same direction, either face clothes left or right, but all the same.
• I prefer grouping like items by colors, light colors on left to darker colors on the right.
• Use dividers with purpose within the closet.

In my closet I’m using two 10 pocket hanging shoe holders, a six shelf hanging organizer, a double closet rod for separating my skirts from pants, two leather travel hat boxes that I placed wallets and gloves into, a mini 3 shelf divider that I’ve had for quite a few years that I used to organized folded scarves, and some plastic toy tubs for holding purses. I’m a firm believer in using what you have rather than buying more that you may not need. I would love to have some canvas bins to instead of the red toy tubs, but it’s not currently in my “must have” list. Maybe the next time I happen to find myself at Ikea.

Maintaining an Organized Closet

Once you have your closets all organized and looking nice the goal will be to maintain those closets. In order to do that whenever you use and return an item be sure to return it it’s the assigned home. It is when we become lax in maintaining, that closets become more and more cluttered. One way to help with this is to show each family member who will be using the closet exactly where things should go. Many hands make light work, so if each person is working to ensure closet areas are being maintained then the likelihood of keeping your closets clean increases.

How often do you clean out and organize your closets? Do you have any special tips? Share them in comments.