Cleaning Out Your Closet 101

I have a problem when it comes to buying clothes. I'm admitting it.

Although I shop faaaar too often, I do however clean out my closet at least once a month and I am constantly re-organizing and re-evaluating what I have. This allows me to really see what I have in my closet and maximize the use of all my many different pieces. 

It is really easy to pick everything up off your floor, shove it all in your closet, and shut the doors. This may temporarily make your room look clean, but causes you to forget about certain things and therefor miss out on great potential OOTDs. I believe that everything in your closet should have a proper place, and that you should never go into your closet "looking for something." You should know exactly where everything is.

Looking to create a perfectly organized and beautiful closet? Here are some tips!

Tip #1: Create sections in your closet. I used to color coordinate my closet, and while it looked pretty, it didn't allow me to see clearly what I was looking for. I would go into the blue section looking for a dress and find sweaters, tanks or a pair of jeans. No thanks! Instead, I now have sections in my closet for each item. I have a section for dresses, a section for tanks, one for blouses, one for skirts and even one for vests (I love me a good puffy vest!)

Tip #2: Put your sweaters in bins instead of hanging them. Sweaters take up way too much room when they're hung in your closet, and they also can get stretched out when they're on hangers because they are so heavy. Instead you can get bins like I did and pack all your sweaters inside of them giving yourself plenty of room to hang your other favorites!

Tip #3: Get plastic AND felt hangers. Felt hangers are great because they hold onto your clothes and don't cause them to fall or move around while you're going through your closet. Although I have mostly felt hangers, I do also like plastic hangers for certain pieces. Sometimes I find that blouses or shirts with higher necklines do best on plastic hangers because the felt hangers can be tricky to navigate and move around. 

Tip #4: Put your workout tanks, shorts and tees in dresser drawers. While I do hang my work pants as well as silk and nicer blouses, I still like to fold many of my "tee shirt like" tops as well as my workout gear and put them in my dresser. Because I have sooo many cotton tees, Lulu Lemon tops, and Nike shorts (many of which never get used- note to self I should work out more...) I fold and stack them in my dresser instead of hanging them in my closet. Some of this stuff is only used for short periods of time throughout the year so I prefer not to waste space in my closet.

Tip #5: Use the storage space from a bookshelf or a trunk to hold jeans, pants and heavy/bulky items. Like I said I hang my work pants, but that is it. I have way too many jeans to hang in my closet, so instead I fold and stack them on a bookshelf in my room! I actually like the way it looks all neatly stacked, and this way I can clearly see what pair is what, and can grab them easily!

Tip #6: Get under the bed bins. For years I never had anything under my bed. Once I started living in small off campus apartments in college I quickly become accustomed to the harsh reality that not everything will fit perfectly in my closet. In one of my apartments I didn't even have a closet! I got a freestanding wardrobe and put it in the corner of my room! I now use my under the bed bins for holding all my purses and also for holding all my winter/ leather boots. I lay everything flat in the bins and slide them under my bed. This keeps the floor of my bedroom looking neat and also keeps my bags and boots from getting dusty!

I hope these organizing tips were helpful and that you are now inspired to go and clean out your closet! Another great tip is to go through EACH item in your closet and if you haven't worn it in the past year accept that you probably won't wear it in the coming years. Instead of holding onto things you don't need, donate them to those who do! Plus it makes room for new pieces for the upcoming season! 

xx

Courtney