I almost titled this blog post: 4 easy steps to organizing your closet, but I really didn't want to lie to you from the start. My experience organizing my closet this year was not easy, nor was it quick. It took me several hours, and I'm not going to sit here and act like I enjoyed every single second (or any second). After about the first hour, my back was cramping from folding clothes, and I seriously contemplated giving away half of my belongings so that I wouldn't have to hang them up or put them on shelves.
With that being said, I am feeling pretty accomplished now that the project is complete. My closet looks beautiful and neat so picking out clothes will be more like shopping and less like wading through an overgrown jungle. That is, until everything gets all rumpled and chaotic again (hey, I am human after all). Between my limited closet space and my ridiculous amount of clothing, organizing a closet can be a pretty daunting task. Here's I how I lay everything out:
Make sure your cute summer clothes are easily accessible in a well-organized closet.
T-Shirts/ Sweatshirts
Some people organize their t-shirts by event (school, sorority, miscellaneous,etc.), but I am a fan of organizing them by color. However, I do separate the long-sleeved shirts from the short-sleeved shirts. When I'm looking for a t-shirt to wear, I don't stress over whether or not it's a UNC shirt or a Tri-Sigma shirt. I'm more concerned about whether it matches my shorts. However, keep in mind that organizing by color can be a pain to maintain. Every time you put away laundry, you'll be lifting up different stacks to return the shirt to its rightful location. It's a recipe for disaster unless you're extremely OCD.
As for sweatshirts, I organize those by style: 1/4 zip, heavy sweatshirt, etc. This is especially helpful during the summer because I can put all of my light sweatshirts together, including my spirit jerseys. This makes them extremely accessible and they're less likely to get stuffed between two bulky sweatshirts that I only wear two months out of the year.
Shoes
A sturdy shoe rack is something that I would recommend for every closet. The plastic shoe racks are nice and easy to put up on the back of a door, but they aren't going to maintain the integrity of your shoes as well.
Unfortunately, I don't have room in my closet for a shoe rack, so I have to get a little creative. My boots are stacked neatly against the wall, while my formal shoes are stored in individual cloth bags. My sandals are all together in plastic bins (that I'm pretty sure at one point stored my brother's action figures) and tennis shoes/other shoes I don't wear a lot are all in one basket. The moral of the story is to organize your shoes by style and make sure that nothing is squished.
Hanging Clothes
My first tip for handling your hanging clothes is to purchase the no-slip velvet hangers. They are pretty cheap and can be purchased almost anywhere. They're much thinner than regular plastic hangers, so you can fit more clothes, and everything hangs very nicely. It also adds a nice pop of color or print to your clothes racks.
My other note on hanging clothes is that it's best to organize your clothes by style and then by color. It seems easy to put all of your blue dresses and all of your white dresses together, but you'll be able to move quickly through your clothes if you organize by style (strapless, sleeveless, short-sleeved, etc.).
Dealing with Winter Clothes
Once you've brought down all of your summer clothes, you may think that the battle is won. That is, until you look up and realize that you've still got to find somewhere to store all of the winter clothes. Spoiler alert: They're much thicker than your summer wardrobe, which means they require more space that you probably don't have.
What's my solution? I keep the top two shelves of my closet reserved for winter clothing. I fold everything up neatly (which is annoying but necessary so you don't have to iron all of your clothes when you take them down in six months) and stack them up on the shelves. Winter boots get pushed up against the wall in a nice line, and scarves, hats, gloves, etc. get stored in attractive shopping bags. They provide stylish storage and make my closet feel like a boutique.
Manners Moral: Your closet is somewhere that you go at least once a day (depending on how many times you change your outfit), so your clothing should be organized in a way that neatly displays everything you own, makes things easy to get to and shows off your personal style. A well organized closet also makes it easier to find the perfect outfit for every occasion, something every well-mannered girl needs.