How to Organize your Closet

2 weeks ago I hopped over to one of my favorite blogs I Heart Organizing to look for an organization tip she had posted for art supplies, when I stumbled upon a challenge she was currently running. That day the challenge happened to be in the closet. Well, on my to do list was "organize our closet" so thank you Jen for giving me the little push I needed to finally weed through and find a home for everything. See how ADHD I am I totally forgot why I went to her blog in the first place. If you're looking for organization tips she's got an idea for everything! 

 After moving in to our home we had a master bedroom that was way too big. We put a wall up and turned it back into 4 bedrooms but we made the 4th bedroom a walk in closet since these don't exist in older New England homes.  My husband installed a closet system from Lowe's that works great for us for now.  Yes, I'd love a nicer looking one but would rather finish rooms that are actually seen. This serves its function for now. 

Here are the Steps to getting Organized:

De-clutter time: 

Create a donate, sell, keep and trash bin. I started emptying out the closet of things that hoarded their way in there. I will frequently evaluate what I wear and don't wear and then sell on eBay or poshmark but then I have bags and bins of clothing being sold that tends to take over my closet (see before pic below) So I created a bin for stuff that is already listed and a bin for things that need to be listed. They're currently sitting in my hallway until I find a home for them. 

In order to attempt to stay organized everything needs a space and everything needs to be put back in that space (repeating this last one to myself over and over so it sinks in) you know, clean up after yourself. 

Finding a home for everything:

Once everything is out you can access your space for where you would like to keep everything. Sort what needs to be folded vs hung and categorized by item. I have half my stuff in dressers in our bedroom so I had to also include those as well. Write your plan down. 

Once you have a home for everything you can envision where everything can go. What do we access the most, what can we store on higher shelves, etc. you don't need to have everything out all at once. Unless you live in a Kardashian Kloset and you can. I took some tips from the Magic of Tidying Up and organize my hanging clothing by categories and hang heaviest to lightest. This is new as I usually color coordinate so we'll see if I stick to that. Find what works well for you and stick with it. 

Once all of our hanging items were sorted I made sure we had the same color hangers (next will be switching to the skinny velvet ones) and everything was in order. Shelves and shoes were then sorted as well as seasonal items that went on upper shelves.

Bags & Scarves: I finally found a storage solution that works well for me for my clutches. This happens to be an old baby basket but now used for access to clutches. I hang my bigger bags on hooks. Do you own a ton of scarves like me? I store seasonal ones on a shelf and keep the ones I use hanging on hooks in my closet so I can see them. 

Shoes: this has been a tough one for me to figure out and stick to. My husband hates the one hanging over the door because he thinks it's ruining the door but honestly it holds the most amount of shoes without taking up a lot of space. I love seeing pretty shoes on display. If you have the space create floating shelves to display your prettier shoes. We currently have a cabinet that I'm using for now that I store my heels in. It puts a smile on my face when I open it and see them so neatly organized. We spend a lot of money on these shoes, they should have their own little space. 

Jewelry: I've been a stylist for Stella & Dot for the past 5.5 years so I've accumulated a lot of jewelry. We've made our display pieces available for our customers to buy and they are a great way to display your accessories and prevent them from tangling. Hanging frames on the wall also helps take up less storage space on your dresser. Jewelry is so pretty too why hide it. Bowls are great for storing bracelets and I use a little vintage soap dish for my studs and rings. 

Last Step-Make it look pretty: once you have a home for everything and everything is put back where you'd like It update the room with a new rug or pretty light fixture and enjoy! 

Yes we have a coffee station in our closet. It ended up here during the kitchen remodel and has remained here since my husband is the only one who drinks coffee. 

Before: (can't believe I'm posting this) 

After: