10 Quick Steps to an Organized Closet

Here are 10 simple and practical tips for organizing your clothes and closets.

1) Edit your wardrobe.

The reality is, too much stuff makes anything more difficult and challenging. It’s common knowledge among professional organizers that we typically wear only 20% of our wardrobe 80% of the time. Are you the exception? If not, take a long, good look at your clothes and decide what you wear most, least and not at all. Remember to focus NOT on letting things go and feeling the loss—instead focus on finally having enough room in your closet to see the clothes you like to wear every day. Clear out the clutter and keep only what you wear and love. Bonus points for the joy you’ll experience knowing that everything you donate will bring someone else happiness. Garments that are damaged, stained, or stretched out items should be tossed.

2) If you can see it, you can wear it.

The main point of having a closet in the first place is to gather your clothes into one area—so you can easily find something to wear. After you’ve edited your clothes (in step 1), now you need to arrange them.

Every step you have to take to put something away becomes a potential obstacle to using it in the first place. This applies outside of the closet as well, so keep that in mind when cooking up clever ways to store things that involve multiple moving parts. If it’s too cumbersome, you’ll stop using this “clever way” right away. Keep things simple.

That said, there are plenty of great ideas in The Container Store. How likely are you to actually use those tiered hangers? Or will you just wear the top one over and over because it’s easier to get to? Again, keep it simple.

3) Rotate clothes seasonally, either inside the closet or between closets.

For those of us in urban areas without attics, basements or other auxiliary storage places, it can be helpful to swap out clothes you won’t be wearing for a few seasons. No need to keep the shorts front and center during a cold winter. Likewise your bulky sweaters and winter jackets don’t need to be taking up prime real estate in your closet in July.

4) Organize hanging clothes by type, then color.

Slacks, trousers, jeans, shirts, jackets and blouses should all be sorted first by sleeve length and then by color. Using this system to arrange your clothing means you’ll find exactly what you’re looking.

5) Choose the right hanger.

Your closet will look neater and function easier if you use just one type of hanger—wood, wire, or plastic. The one exception is for jackets and coats—they need sculpted jacket hangers to keep the shape of the shoulders from sagging and puckering.

6) Set up zones.

Just like in the kitchen, keep zones of the same types of clothes together. Use a step stool to store purses, or out of season items you don’t need access to often. 

7) Arrange folded items.

Any clothing that will stretch out of shape should never be hung on a hanger—you could drape it over the rod but it’ll take up more space that way and be harder to spot when searching for it.

When organizing folded clothing on shelves, place heavier, bulkier items at the bottom of each stack, and lighter ones at the top. After folding them in a uniform way, arrange the garments by function (workout clothes, casual tops, business or dressier tops, etc.) and then by color (white to nude to bright colors to black).

8) Use garment bags.

The preferred material is canvas for garment bags—not vinyl or any other kind of plastic or synthetic material. You want something that breathes while also protecting your fine suits, dresses and jackets (that you keep at the back of the closet, or in another closet).

9) Deal with dry cleaning when you get it home.

Don’t wait until you’re racing around to try to rip something out of those plastic bags and then leave the crumpled bag on your closet floor. When you bring things home from the dry cleaners, take a few minutes to remove everything from the dry-cleaning bags and transfer them onto your own hangers. Don’t forget to return the wire hangers to your dry cleaner for reuse or recycling.

10) Contain what doesn’t hang.

Anything odd shaped, small or otherwise hard to stack or hang should be placed into containers. Custom drawers are a good choice or purchase all the same type of baskets you can set or stack on the shelves. Remember “like with like” when storing socks, undergarments and single accessories, like scarves, hats, gloves and small bags or clutches.

After wearing something, hang it up with the hanger reversed. If you haven't worn it in 6 months-toss it!

12 Things You Must Have in Your Closet

12 Things I Think You Should Have In Your Closet

I have spent years working as a stylist. I love clothes, have a hard time parting with them. I’ve collected a lot of clothes. You do the math. My closet is constantly full of too many clothes, shoes and accessories. While every woman’s style is different, there are a few things that I think deserve a spot in your closet, too.

Below, is what my fantasy closet would look like...

1. A black dress. Because duh. Actually, you could make a wardrobe of only black dresses if you were so inclined: a sexy one, an office-appropriate one, a casual one. With a blank canvas like a LBD means the possibilities are endless.

2. Three skirts: one pencil, one A-line, one maxi. You can have more, obviously, and you should, but these are easy basics that you can wear a thousand different ways. Purchase them in neutrals that are easy to mix and match.

3. Something appropriate for church. You never know when you’re going to have to go to a baptism or a funeral, so it’s good to keep a knee-length, relatively-modest dress on hand in a subdued shade. Of course, if you go every week, have several outfits you love for church.

4. A slip. Actually, let’s make that a collection of proper undergarments to wear underneath those tricky garments like sheer white dresses and shirts. Beige bras are the Most Boring Item ever, but they do have their place. And so do Spanx!

5. Something to wear to an interview – I’m not saying you need a suit. A slim skirt or dress with a jacket is just fine, and far more modern than showing up in a business suit.

6. Something sentimental. Maybe you’ve grown out of it or it isn’t your style anymore, but you hang on to it because it meant something to you once.

7. Something that makes you feel 100% you. I have a few items that I reach for when I want to feel most like “me,” including this sassy black Calvin Klein dress I got for cheap a few years ago, I also have a big gray sweatshirt from the Bellagio... I feel like myself when I wear these things, and that’s comforting.

8. A pair of jeans that fit you perfectly. I know that finding the perfect pair is really, really hard. But it’s doable. I think there’s an argument for having one pair of dark denim skinny jeans, one pair of black and one pair of casual, easy boyfriend jeans, but whatever silhouettes you prefer, find your “favorite” style and rock it.

9. A dressy coat. Wool and knee-length in black, navy or charcoal grey is a classic option. A dressy coat is always classy looking.

10. One pair of black boots, black flats and black pumps. I don’t care what style or heel height you prefer, but these are easy, go-anywhere basics. This is a pretty good way to pack for a trip, too. Of course, substitute black for brown if you prefer.

11. Sweatpants. Every girl needs a pair of sweats or yoga pants for Sundays, cold nights and extended bouts of the flu. The baggier the better. Just stay inside, put your feet up and enjoy!

12. An article of clothing that makes you feel super-sassy. Maybe it’s a killer dress or a pair of cutoffs. But you know the feeling when you’ve been slacking or you’re kind of sad and it shows in your clothing? That’s when you put on this magical item – and then bam! You feel amazing once again.

The Great Closet Clean Out...

If you are like most women, your closet is way too full and you probably wear only 20% of what’s in there. It’s true, most women have their closets packed way too FULL--yet have nothing to wear!


What's the 80%? It’s mostly clutter taking up precious space. If you don’t love it and don’t wear it, it has to go! (Out of season or special occasion outfits should be moved to the back of the closet or better yet, another closet all together).

• By only having clothes in your closet that you wear—you will have a lot more room and a sense of peace....
• It's funny, when you remove the clutter and have LESS in your closet, you will actually find more to wear!!! Potential outfits are now revealed!

Ready to start your closet clean out? Start by making 3 piles…
The give away pile. These clothes are in still good condition but you aren’t wearing them. Ask yourself these questions as you examine at each item:
• Does it fit well? Signs of poor fit are buttons pulling open, horizontal creases and puckering. Either alter it or give it away.

• Does it look good on you? If it looks horrible on you--you have no intentions of ever wearing it. Don’t feel guilty about not wearing something that is not right for you.

• It was on sale and it seemed like a good deal—at the time. But you don’t like the color, style and it just doesn’t make you feel pretty. Again don’t let guilt overcome you because you bought something you have no idea why you bought it in the first place! You are better off letting go and give it to charity where it will do more good than give you guilt each morning!

FOLD your sweaters, don't hang 'em!



The throw away pile. Put clothes here that have seen better days. These items are too worn for anyone else to wear. Think about it: would you purchase these questionable items at a second-hand store yourself? If the answer is “No” then deep six ‘em.

• If it is pilled and faded in color. If the buttons are missing/cracked and stitching is coming undone. Also, if the fabric lacks body because it’s too worn out.

• Stained and dirty? If you are keeping 15 crewneck tees permanently stained (just in case you decide to wash the car by hand) forget about it! No one needs that many “junky” tees in their closet.

• This one is my pet peeve…perspiration stained tee-shirts. C’mon, no one wants these! Throw these in the trash. Realistically you may only be able to get one season out of most tees (especially the white ones).

The last pile is for alterations/dry clean/fix. These are clothes you would definitely wear with some minor alterations (some you may do yourself). Remember good FIT is essential to great style. Don’t skimp here! If you sleeves are too long or your pants are too short, you will look awkward and out of proportion.
• Buttons are loose and need reinforcing.

• Hemlines coming undone or minor underarm holes need repair.

• Shirts too long (most often the case). Have your shirt length raised if it is at the area that cuts your body visually in half. Your best shirt length is generally the top 1/3 of your body’s total length.

• Sleeves on shirts (and jackets) too long or too short. The proper length is at the wrist bone. When wearing a jacket the sleeve will peek out beyond the jacket sleeve.

Organize what’s left. How you organize is up to you. You may want to keep work clothes together and weekend-wear together. However, I prefer to organize my closet by item—then color. I find this way works best because I’ll try new combinations when it looks like a boutique.

For example, take all shirts and organize them by COLOR: creams, camel, browns, peach, pinks, reds, blues, purples and so on. Start the process with the long sleeve shirts, then short sleeves, then sleeveless.

Your shirts will begin to look like crayons with the many colors of the rainbow. By organizing by sleeve length and color you will begin to see if you have any duplicates! Do the same thing with your skirts, pants and dresses.



Bonus Tip: Your closet will really look like a "boutique" if you match all your hangers. Buy a dozen white (or other color) plastic tubular hangers each week. Purchase all the same color and get all your hangers facing the same direction.

This little bit of order will make getting dressed a breeze and finding new wearable combinations so much easier! "A place for everything and everything in its place" means you'll FLY when it comes to improving your style too!

Love, Leslie

Check out my Closet Purge for more closet organizing tips: http://www.missussmartypants.com/