The Clever Solution That Keeps Your Closet Organized And Minimizes Clutter

It's far too easy to let your closet become cluttered and disorganized, especially if you're cramming too much clothing into a space that is too small. You can cut back on the clutter machine and work on a more organized closet by rotating, rearranging, and reevaluating your clothing. The reorganization of your closet will help you find clothing you may have forgotten, pull out items that are no longer in season, and perhaps let go of those worn-out pieces you have been wearing all the time while ignoring everything else buried in the closet. Mastering seasonal closet swapping is a great start, but you still want to make sure you're wearing what's left hanging in your closet.

There are many ways to organize a small closet, but even large closets can be clutter-prone. We suggest starting your rearrangement project by pulling all clothing out of your closet and taking a cue from Marie Kondo before you put anything back. For each item, ask whether this garment brings you any joy. If it doesn't, consider donating it. If it does, put it back on the hanger so it's ready to be organized anew. The key here is not to put your clothing back in the closet the same way it was. "When clothes live in the same spot for years, we fall into habits and reach for the same pieces again and again," Angelia York, vice president at Saint Louis Closet Co., told Southern Living. With that in mind, you'll want a new way to organize your clothing — and a plan for the future to keep your closet from becoming stagnant and boring. 

As you put your clothing back in your closet, make it easier to find what you need by organizing by color and type. For shirts, start with sleeveless, then short-sleeved, then long-sleeved. Keep pants with pants, shorts with shorts, etc. It's not too challenging to properly color coordinate your closet. Most of us have learned the ROY G BIV order to remember the rainbow's order, which provides a helpful basis for organizing your wardrobe by color. If you wear neutrals more often, place them first: black, white, brown, and gray.

Now, upkeep your closet with a weekly mini-wardrobe rotation: pick a dozen pieces from the closet and place them on a separate rack. The idea here is to not only push yourself to give sometimes ignored pieces in your closet some attention, but also to ensure you're able to wear everything you own — because if there is something on that rack that you can't match with other pieces, or you aren't comfortable with the fit of, you can easily let it go instead of adding it back into the main closet the following week. Plus, by experimenting with a limited portion of your wardrobe, you're engaging the parts of your brain that make you think you need new clothes, so you may cut back on buying new stuff. You're also developing a more minimalist fashion sense, allowing you to be pickier about what you buy — such as only buying items you need to complete an outfit and using what you already have.