A friend wrote to me and asked now to go about organizing her bedroom closet. She feels overwhelmed with all the stuff packed into the closet and isn’t sure about what to do, where to start and how to go about taking care of all the items in the closet. This is the short version to organizing a closet. Normally, the quick fix for anything isn’t adequate, but this method will help you get started and give you a way to get the job done to a degree that is satisfactory.
Quick Steps to Organizing a Closet:

1) Completely empty the closet, put the contents on your bed and on the floor.

2) Sweep the closet out, clean as needed. If you have a plan for a closet organizer, put it in now, other wise just clean it out.

3) Go through the clothes. Be tough on yourself! If you have not worn an article of clothing in 2 years…… toss it. Give it away or sell it, but get it out of sight. Put the clothes in a large bag and take them away immediately after you have cleaned the closet. Its wise to limit yourself in your wardrobe. Not only does limiting your wardrobe save space and finances, it teaches you to not to be greedy and self gratifying.
4) Same with shoes. Limit the number of shoes you own especially if you have little room to store them! And think about getting an over the door rack for the shoes you keep. Getting them off the floor is very helpful for making space.

5) Think about storing sweaters in sweater boxes, stacked in the top of the closet. Boxes save the shoulders of sweaters and keep the closet rod free for other clothing that must be hung. Get a hook that attaches to the inside of the closet door or closet wall to hang belts on.
6) Look through everything you took out of your closet. What doesn’t belong? Get it stored and organized and placed where it truly belongs in the house. This may mean that you have to organize other areas of your home. It may mean that you need a big-time decluttering in your home. Take it one area at a time, relax, no one is timing you.
7) The main problem with most bedroom closets is that they are too small. Modern homes have larger closets, but we tend to fill them with things that don’t really belong in a clothes closet. So be sure you don’t fill it back up with things that are not clothing.

Limiting yourself to an amount of clothing that will easily fit into your closet will provide you a break in the stress associated with finding clothes every day. It will ease the strain on your budget and it will help you to see that less truly can be more.

© 2000 Sylvia Britton

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