The Best Way to Reorganize Your Closet

You open your closet door and the entire closet is filled with clutter. As a matter of fact, you hate to even open that door because you know it will be hard to find what you need anyway. You see all of these Pinterest worthy closets online and wish that your closet could look like that.

It can be! And I’m going to help you with that today. It will take a little work, but it will NOT be as hard as you think. Sometimes, you just need a helping hand and a guide to know how to filter through the mess and create the closet of your dreams.

People have paid me to organize their homes and closets for years. It started out as something that I enjoyed doing to help others, but I soon realized it was a talent that people were willing to pay for. I have learned a lot through the years and I want to share with you so that you will be able to create an organized closet.

Creating A Vision

In this post, I will link to certain products that I believe will be useful for your reorganization. You do not have to use these particular products, this is just a guide to help you see a visual of what you can use for extra storage and organization. But if you see something that you like and can use then, by all means, go ahead and get it! This post will contain affiliate links. You may go here to see my full disclosure.

There are many different types of closets. There are clothes closets, linen closets, entryway closets, game closets, or there could be just “where everything goes” closets.

The best thing to do before you begin tackling this project is to IDENTIFY what type of closet it is. This will give you a clear vision of what you would like for it to look like when you are done. And it will help you to be able to distribute other items to their rightful place.

Getting Started

Empty the closet

First thing is first…empty the entire closet. I know, I know, this is not what you expected to read. There’s a method to the madness here, and it works. Be sure to set aside several hours to be able to tackle the task of cleaning and re-organizing your closet.

Sometimes you will not need to go to this extreme, but if your closet is as cluttered and packed as I think it is, then you’ll definitely need to follow this step. If you can enlist the help of a willing friend or family member, it will not seem as overwhelming and will take less time.

Take a deep breath and begin tackling that cluttered, hot mess of a closet.

While you are emptying the closet, I want you to put each item in 4 different piles:

Keep
Relocate
Trash
Donate

This should be simple enough for you to remember as you are arranging your piles. You do not have to make this hard. It is a simple process, but you should be honest with what items should go in which pile.

When I am cleaning out my closets, I start getting rid of things that I haven’t used in a while. If you haven’t used it, there is no need to take up precious space in your home. If I feel that I will use it but need it more visible then I will relocate the item.

Keep:
This is something that you know is used often and is appropriate for what you have identified the closet to be. You don’t feel that it is taking up unnecessary space and it is needed. What you decide to keep will be put back in the closet once you have arranged all of your piles.

Relocate:
This is an item that you know you can use, and you do not want to get rid of it, but it should not be in this particular closet. It could be something that you have forgotten about and could be seen better in a differently designated closet. You do not have to think about where it will be relocated to right now. If you start thinking of this, you will definitely get overwhelmed.

Take this one step at a time.

Trash:
This is something that you know is trash and not usable. You won’t feel guilty for tossing it and you’ll be glad for the extra space in your closet! Get that trash bag handy.

Donate:
This is an item that you know you haven’t used in a while, and most likely will not use in the future. It is still in good condition and you think other people will benefit from having it. Get a couple of boxes ready to haul the items to a second-hand store or an organization that will benefit from these items.

Reorganizing the Right Way

Once you’ve emptied your closet, quickly dust, vacuum or sweep the closet. This will be a fresh start!

Reorganize the Closet

Now you’re ready to begin the next step and that is to actually organize the closet with the items in your “keep” pile. What have you designated this closet to be?

If you’ve designated it to be a

Clothes Closet: separate the clothes by item. Shirts, pants, skirts, dresses, suits, dress shirts, etc. Once you have that done, color coordinate the clothes. Please don’t skip this step! I know it may seem overwhelming at first, but remember to take this one step at a time…bite-sized.

**Why color coordinate? Once you have your clothes coordinated by item and color, it will be much easier to find what to wear, and much easier to maintain the closet. I have been doing this for years and it really helps. It is easier to hang clothes when you know that everything has a designated spot.

**Do not mix gender clothes. Arrange men’s clothes on one side of the closet and ladies’ clothes on the opposite side. Put shirts on the top bar and pants/skirts on the bottom bar.

**Shoe racks are great to help with organization. You can use nesting baskets, plastic baskets or weave baskets on the shelf above the top rack for miscellaneous items. You can use a tie organizer for ties, belts or scarves.

If you would like to go all out for a more uniform look, you can purchase non-slip velvet hangers. This will cut down on bulkiness in the closet and will create a very pleasing look for your closet. Don’t feel that you have to do this, though. It just looks nice!

Organization Hack:
Most closets have enough room for an extra bar in the lower section of the closet. Raise the top bar to a comfortable height and add a bottom bar. This will add more hanging space for you and will create a better-organized area.

If you’ve designated the closet to be a

Linen Closet: Use different colors and styles of baskets to create an eye-pleasing effect for this closet. You can use wire, fabric, weave or plastic. You can find different color, size, and shaped baskets at the Dollar Tree for only a dollar. I utilize these baskets often because they do hold up well. Use fun labeling stickers to place on the outside of the basket, or place on the shelve under the basket.

Neatly fold or roll your towels, wash clothes and sheets. I would suggest placing pillows and blankets on the top shelf. Purchase large baskets or clear tubs to place on the floor of the linen closet. This could be for toilet paper or perhaps large towels.

If you want to know how to get that “Pinterest worthy” linen closet you will need to strategically place your items. Don’t just pile everything on a shelf. Make sure everything has a place and is labeled and put it in the correct spot every time you put an item in the closet.

Organization Hack:
Use a shoe rack to create more space for storage. This works great for towels, wash clothes or small items.

If you’ve designated the closet to be a

Game Closet: Once again; use baskets, clear storage boxes, and labels. Or you can use color cubes to make it fun! Put smaller items such as cards and miscellaneous game pieces in the baskets. If you choose to put toys in the closet in addition to board games, use large baskets to put toys in. Using a hanging organizer is a great way to hold multiple board games. If you would like more storage, and depending on what your particular closet looks like, using a cube organizer with baskets or clear tubs is a great way to contain your games and toys for this closet!

Organization Hack:
Use magazine holders to store board games. You can also use a clear shoe organizer to hang on the door for extra storage.

Adding the Finishing Touches

Now that you have your closet organized the way that you want it, it’s time to do something with the rest of the items in your other piles that you created.

First, throw the trash pile away. Go ahead and get rid of that so you will not be tempted to go back through it.

Second, take care of the donation pile. Get that stuff boxed up and put in your car to take directly to the donation area of your choice. Once again, get it done quickly so that you will not be tempted to go through the pile and take items out. There’s a reason why you put it in that pile so don’t talk yourself out of giving it away.

Lastly, it’s time to relocate. What is the item and where in your home can you use it? Don’t put it back in the closet that you just cleaned out. If you can’t think of any place in your home that it could be relocated to, perhaps you can store it in your attic or storage building.

And with that, you are done!

Regardless of how your closet is laid out and what you designate it to be used as, you can have an organized closet and feel good about opening the door of the closet and not have everything fall on you. Just remember to take it one step at a time so that you will not feel overwhelmed.

Remember to make your different piles to Keep, Relocate, Trash, or Donate. Once you have that done then you can begin reorganizing your closet to your specifications.

If there is something that I did not cover in this post that you would like help with, feel free to contact me and I will be happy to help!