Is your closet as chaotic as a war zone? Does it take you forever to pick an outfit, find the clothes or shoes you need, or search for that thing you stashed somewhere in there but now can't find? These things are telling you: it's time to re-organize your closet!



Closets are a wonderful part of a modern home. They give you a place to store the stuff that you need to use on a fairly regular basis, but still wish to keep out of sight. But it's easy for a closet to go from being a blessing to a curse if it's not serving your needs effectively. Like that little-used drawer, a closet can become a convenient place for people to hide away things they can't find a better place to store and yet can't bring themselves to throw out. And clothes, since we all grow, gain and lose weight, and because styles are constantly changing, can become a huge burden on even the most roomy closet.

Organizing a closet that has gotten out of control seems like a huge task. But if you break it down into easily-achieved steps it might seem less daunting. The first thing you need to do is to pull all the contents from the closet and lay it out so you can go through it piece by piece.

Clothing and anything else in your closet should be put into three basic piles: things you need and will go back in the closet; things you no longer use and can discard; and things you want to keep but should be stored elsewhere. Be ruthlessly honest about your possessions! If it no longer fits you or you haven't worn it for a year, get rid of it. If it's something you don’t use but has sentimental value, box it up and put it in storage. Donate your discarded clothes to a clothing bank. If you’re like me and have a hard time getting rid of things, donating to a worthy charity is a good way to ease the pain!

Sometimes it's hard to get rid of possessions we've grown accustomed to having, even if they are no longer of any purpose to us. But when possessions start getting in the way, taking up limited space and making it harder to find what we really need, we have to ask ourselves is it really worth keeping them. I can be a hoarder myself, and when I finally get the courage to throw away unused stuff, I feel like a huge burden has been lifted off me.

Next, while your closet is still empty, take its measurements if you feel you need to buy extra storage materials, such as bins, shoe racks or a new shelving unit. There are tons of innovative storage solutions on the market that are fun to shop for! Think about the overall look you want to achieve, and whether you may move in the near future or want permanent storage capability.

When you've decided what you're going to keep and put back in the closet, it's time to come up with a way to organize your clothing to best suit your personal needs. You can organize by colour, season, style (casual, work, social, and so on). If you always wear certain pieces together, hang them together to help save space. Certain clothing, such as ski-wear or other seasonal pieces, might best be stored elsewhere in sealed labelled bins and returned to your closet only when needed.

Re-organizing your closet can provide a lot of satisfaction, and doesn't have to be a huge burden. Aside from that, it serves a valuable purpose. You take out and put back things from your closet every day, and a disorganized closet makes things hard to find, wasting your precious time. Having everything in its right place, easily accessible, is a big step to making your daily life run more smoothly and efficiently.