Charlton Fascitelli, author of Shop Your Closet, gives some basic tips in her book on how to get your closet up-to-date and more organized than ever. I couldn't agree with her suggestions more. In fact, I've been walking myself through these steps at least once a year for the past 8 or 9 years, so I am proof that this system is satisfying and works! It's really quite simple, honestly.
Before you get started, you're going to need to
pick a time when you can dedicate a weekend or at least two full evenings after work to sort through your current wardrobe. It may seem like a lot of time but trust me, you will need it! We're all busy people, so if you are serious about doing this you will need to make it a priority (put it in your Blackberry if it helps! I don't know about you, but for me nothing is official until it's in my BB haha). If you don't make it a priority, you will just keep putting it off or you'll get started on it when you don't have time to finish, which will leave you with a big mess and a lot of frustration. (I was guilty of this several years ago... it was a chore to get ready every morning until I finally set aside time to finish the job. Learn from my mistakes- make it a priority & set aside plenty of time!)
When you're ready to get started you will want to
sort your clothes into three piles:1. Give away
2. Throw away
3. Keep
The "throw away" pile is for anything that is damaged and cannot be easily repaired(this SHOULD be a no-brainer, but you'd be surprised what some people hold onto). You can decide what to put in the "give away" pile by asking yourself two simple questions: "Is this something I would buy today?" and "Have I worn this in the past 12 months?". If the answer to
either of these questions is NO then it goes in the "give away" pile. Pretty simple. Any items that don't qualify for the "give away" or "throw away" piles can go into your "keep" pile. If you end up with a giant "keep" pile and can't seem to part with anything then it's time to call in a friend. Someone with a good sense of style that knows you well can give you an outsider's perspective and make sure you don't hold onto anything solely because you got a great deal on it.
The next step is key to a visually pleasing, organized closet...
Purchase matching hangers! Having a hodgepodge of hangers is a sure way to leave your closet looking sloppy. Get rid of any wire hangers and plastic garment bags you may have acquired from the dry cleaners. Not only are they eye sores, but the hangers are also too weak to hold any garment properly.
Speaking of properly holding garments, make sure you
use the appropriate hangers with the garments they are made for (hang coats on a coat hanger, pants on a pant hanger, etc). Also,
hang like with like.... Keep your shirts with other shirts, pants with other pants, coats with other coats, etc. Within each of these categories you can
seperate the garments even further by grouping them by color. Doing this will make it easier to visualize possible outfits. You should always
leave a little bit of breathing room between garments, too. When you jam too many things in a row they end up wrinkled and difficult to look through.
Finally,
hang your clothes so that they are all facing the same direction. It makes it easier to find things and looks a lot neater.
The one exception to hanging is sweaters; They tend to lose their shape when hung so they are better off being folded.
These two closets are good examples of an organized, fresh closet:
It may sound like a ton of work, but it's really not as bad as you might be imagining. I guarantee it is worth the time spent!! You will be in closet heaven every morning once you're done and it will be so much easier to put outfits together and find what you're looking for. It saves a lot of time and stress in the long run.
"Be faithful to your own taste because nothing you really like is ever out of style." ~Billy Baldwin
