Q+A: How To Organize Your Closet

One thing I've noticed over and over as a truism when it comes to my closet- out of site out of mind. If I don't see it, it often remains (hidden beneath of clothes? Sitting in the laundry room? Wherever it was I last had, suppose) less worn than items I see hanging in a closet. So I asked turned to some experts- style bloggers, that is!- and asked them what their tips and tricks were when it came to organizing a closet. Plus, we get a sneak peek at where the magic happens and they make those outfits you see on their blogs each day! Read on and don't forget to share your own tips in the comments below!

Q+Acloset

Suzanne Carillo :

My closet has grown in leaps and bounds since deciding to blog about style. I've had to come up with some innovative ideas for keeping it contained. When you go into a storage solutions store keep your mind open. Think about other possible uses for the products in the store. I have used an over-the-door shoe organizer for my vast jewelry and scarf collection. This works brilliantly since I can see everything I own.

Never throw away any of the storage solution pieces you buy. They will always work somewhere else in the house. I'm now using a the old jewelry storage solution for some of my scrapbooking brads in my home art studio.

P.S. Suzanne has more information on closet organization here!

Amy of A. Loos' Closet:

I know it's probably hard to believe, but even as a personal style blogger, my wardrobe is not very extensive. Growing up, we would pack up and/or pass down our summer clothes and stock our closets with winter-appropriate clothing and vice versa. Truth is, I haven't practiced that type of organization since childhood when my mother made me do it. This is partly due to the fact that I don't have enough clothes to do that; I've learned to be creative when styling spring/summer pieces for the cooler weather so I get to keep ALL my clothes in my closet!

Our bedroom gives my husband and I each a small, walk-in closet. I have three racks in my closet -- one long rack and two short racks. I use the long rack for my tops, and I organize them by type and sleeve length. My tanks and t-shirts are first, blouses next, then sweaters and cardigans, followed then by blazers and jackets. On my higher short rack, I have my bottoms organized by type and length. I hang my jeans and pants folded neatly over a shirt hanger, which begin my line of bottoms. After pants and jeans come my shorts, shortest length to longest, and then my skirts, shortest to longest. On my lower short rack, I have my dresses (a couple of rompers and overalls are in there, too) organized by sleeve length . It's just easier for me that way, just as organizing by color might be easier for another ( I tried that, and I had a wretched time trying to figure out which color green went before that other color green, and I almost lost my head.)

October Rebel:

I'm very weak when it comes to organization. I'm a messy person – even my art is messy. Over the years I've come to embrace that my type of creativity also comes with the inability to be neat. But I still try, and I do have a system for keeping my wardrobe in order – some of the time! I should start by explaining my space. My husband and I share a chest of drawers (three drawers each), I have a tiny end table with two small drawers for knits and accessories, and a shallow closet of my own that's 60 inches wide. There's also a wall where I can hang hats, and a small hat rack for draping scarves and more hats. On the bottom of my closet is a shoe rack. All of my clothes and accessories live here year 'round. I know a lot of folks store their winter clothes in summer and summer clothes in winter, but my clothes never move – including winter coats. This actually works out well for me. There's just enough space for everything, I more or less know where everything is. When I receive something new, something old or worn out usually goes. I've never been able to focus on many things at once, so I make sure my wardrobe has a limited number of clothes I love, rather than an unwieldy number of clothes I like. Keeping things simple is a system that works for me, but I believe everyone has to find their own way of wardrobe management.

Ashley of Southern California Belle:

Ashley's closet.

Her daughter's clothes are below her own.

Since moving from a two bedroom apartment to a four bedroom house I've had the pleasure of organizing my clothes into two closets. I share the first one with my husband so I keep "less important" clothing like jackets, fancy tops, skirts, and the few pairs of pants I own. The second closet is twice the size so I obviously saved it for my true obsession: dresses. I love having them all together in clear view so I can choose my outfit with ease. I also put my everyday wear shoes on the floor below for the same reason. I still haven't decided if I'm going to keep it like this, but it's been working quite well so far!

Elana of Room 334:

If there's one thing most people would probably never guess about me, it's that I'm actually a really messy person. I try to do a good job of keeping my life in order, but when it comes to things like my living space or just eating in general, I'm a bit chaotic. That said, the one part of my room that actually has some organization to it (aside from my movie collection) is my closet. With so many clothes, I feel like I have to be particular about how they're stored in an effort to making getting dressed in the mornings a little easier. I have everything separated by style (dresses together, sleeveless tops together, sweaters together) and then by color. I live in a tiny dorm with an even tinier closet, so I use skirt hangers and and hanging closet organizer to make the most of my space. The only problem I have? Finding space for all of my shoes. It's a constant struggle.

P.S. Don't forget, if you would like to share your insight on a future Q+A post, give me a holler via comment, tweet, email, FB message or even the pony express. I'll get right on it!

16 comments

Suzanne Carillo Style Files November 11, 2013 at 8:51 AM

Thanks for featuring me Kristian! And thanks for introducing me to a couple of new bloggers : )

bisous
Suzanne
Love November 11, 2013 at 10:16 AM

I wish someone i know could learn something from you, it could make our life easier :D ... Thanks for sharing your experience
Priya November 11, 2013 at 1:25 PM

Brilliant idea for a post, Kristian! I always enjoy reading the variety of topics you cover on your blog. This one is especially great because what bigger issue do girls (esp fashion bloggers) have than closet space (ok was that totally shallow or just kinda shallow)? I recently went through my closet the very best I could (I am terrible about getting rid of old stuff) and though I have more closet space now (in a house) than I have in years (in a dorm room) I still feel pressed for space! I am trying very hard to adopt the principal "if you're not gonna wear it, get rid of it". There are several items in my closet I promised to keep only if I wore it in the near future. This kind of "dressing with a mission" actually makes getting dressed in the morning a little easier. Also like the "one in one out" principal. Woah, sorry for the super long rambley comment! Enjoyed reading this. That is all.

One more thing: would LOVE to participate in a Q&A post!

perfectly priya

Priya November 11, 2013 at 1:30 PM

Also- I responded to your comment on my blog but in case you don't see that:

the company I work at makes an email application. I work in operations though so I'm not actually coding or creating them :)

perfectly priya

Eli November 11, 2013 at 5:13 PM

You know, you've just given me an amazing idea - I think I'm going to raise the pole where I hang my clothes to maximize space. I think part of the solution is getting rid of stuff you don't wear and don't fill it in with more junk! I just cleaned out my closet yesterday and am so anxious to organize it even more. I highly recommend slim hangers too!
Ashley of Southern (California) Belle November 11, 2013 at 6:32 PM

Thanks so much for including me! But I now realize that I'm not as organized as some of the other ladies here lol!

xo

Ashley

Southern (California) Belle
Marisa Noelle November 11, 2013 at 8:38 PM

I kind of live for organization...though with two tots and a messy hubby in the house, I feel hopelessly unorganized...or more like organized chaos I should say. Loved this post so much Kristian. I never thought of organizing dresses or skirts by length...right now everything in my closet is by color.
Marlen November 12, 2013 at 12:32 AM

Helloooo skirt hangers- why have I never been introduced to those?! I feel like that would solve most of my life's problems. My closet is pure chaos most of the time because it's so small, but like Elana I have to have things in a particular order in order to get dressed easier. I actually have things organized by layers (haha) where I have collared tops in one section, collar-less tops in another, layerable dresses in another, and so on :)

xo marlen
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Carol@Self Storage And Removal Wiltshire November 16, 2013 at 2:11 AM

Wonderful ideas to stay organised. I liked all that. You have compiled great list of ideas to make home organisation easy. Thanks for sharing such unique and informative ideas.