8 Closet Organization Ideas When You Have Way Too Many Clothes
Is your closet out of control?
getty When you live in a small home and have small closets, it’s very important to control clothes clutter. Typically, clutter (any type of clutter) is the result of delayed decision making.
There are many reasons clothes accumulate and cause clutter, no matter the size of the space. If you follow some simple closet organization ideas, however, you'll find that getting organized doesn't have to be so difficult.
Clothes clutter happens for a lot of reasons — that's why closet organization is so important.
You can hide clothes clutter if you live in a large enough home with multiple walk-in closets, but when you live in a small space, your closet is probably also small.
It’s necessary to make the best possible use of the space available. Even more importantly, you want to have terrific solutions and strategies for controlling your clothes clutter.
OK friends. Let’s tackle these closet organization situations one at a time.
I’ll give you realistic steps to control clothes clutter, so that you don’t find yourself buried by clothes.
Here are 8 closet organization tips to help get clothes clutter under control, especially when you have too many.
1. Stay honest with yourself about the clothes you have.
Be ruthlessly honest with yourself. When you get dressed and look at yourself in the mirror, you want to receive affirmation that the clothes you put on make you feel great!
Even if you are putting on a T-shirt and sweats or yoga pants, you want to look fine. If you don’t like the way you look, or if you don’t like the way something feels on your body, resist the urge to put it back in your closet.
Answer these questions: Is it too big, too small, or too baggy? Is it itchy or uncomfortable? Do you not like the color?
Answering these questions will help you decide what to do with the garment. Chances are, you'll remember how that article of clothing made you feel, and you probably won’t want to put it on again.
2. Keep a donation bag handy.
Control clothes clutter by getting rid of clothes you don't like anymore. You don’t want to keep clothes around that you don’t want to wear. My recommendation is to put clothes that fall into that category in a donate bag.
Keep a donate bag nearby. Have it either in your closet (if there is room) or in a corner of your bedroom.
It needs to be somewhere accessible, so that you can easily put clothes you don’t want anymore in the bag. When the bag is full, take it to your favorite donation place or consignment store.
3. Under-bed storage.
Use the space under your bed to store out-of-season clothing. The Container Store has a wide variety of storage containers that will probably fit under your bed.
As the seasons change, schedule time with yourself to go through the recent season’s clothes. Remove anything that you don’t want anymore.
This may include garments that you have grown tired of, that you didn’t wear at all during the last season, or that need repair. Sorting through your out-of-season clothes this way helps to control clothes clutter.
Donate or sell the things that you don’t want. Use under-bed storage containers to hold the rest.
Take the time to make sure the clothes are clean and folded nicely so that when the seasons change back, you aren’t pulling out wrinkled clothes or clothes that need to be washed.
4. Check your hangers.
Sometimes, small closet spaces appear to be overstuffed because they are full of thick wooden hangers or empty wire hangers from the cleaners.
When you go to wear clothing that was hanging on a wire hanger, take the hanger out of your closet. Have a shopping bag dedicated to wire hangers. When you take something to the cleaners, take the bag of wire hangers also.
This helps to keep clutter from accumulating in your closet.
If you can afford to replace your hangers, consider buying slim hangers. There are lots of different slim hangers. Slim hangers help you make the most of the space you have available.
5. Use a door organizer.
Use your closet door as extra storage space. You can put hooks on the door and hang your comfy pajamas or robe there.
You can also hang a clear plastic shoe holder on the inside of the door. Control clothes clutter and use the clear plastic spaces to hold scarves, gloves, and wooly hats in the winter or bathing suits, tank tops, and gym shorts in the summer.
6. Use your vertical space.
Take advantage of the shelf above the clothing rod and use it to corral bulky items. Keep the garments tidy by using a shelf divider, baskets or bins. This will keep the piles contained and easier to access.
If you have lots of shoes, consider storing them in clear plastic shoe boxes. Make good use of the vertical space by stacking the boxes one on top of the other. Because the boxes are clear, you’ll be able to see the shoes you want to wear.
Keep the shoes you wear most often on the floor of the closet on a shoe rack.
7. Employ space-saver bags.
If you change sizes often and you want to keep the next size or two up or down, consider investing in space-saver bags.
To save space in your closet, control clothes clutter by removing clothes that are too big or too small. Make sure they are clean, then fold them nicely, and put them in a space-saver bag.
You can keep these bags under your bed or at the top of a closet.
8. Sell your expensive clothes.
Are you keeping some clothes because they were super expensive? If you don’t like them, sell them.
Sometimes you say to yourself: “I spent so much money on this, I should wear it and get my money’s worth.” If you don’t like it and don’t feel wonderful wearing it, just sell it.
Wearing clothes that don’t make you feel good is not worth it, no matter how much they cost.
According to the Pareto Principle, most of us probably wear 20 percent of our clothes 80 percent of the time. This is a fact.
Control clothes clutter by evaluating what you wear. Keep some dressy garments for those times you get dressed up. You're likely wearing more casual clothes on a regular basis.
Take these closet organizational ideas, apply them to your home, and see if that helps you to control the clothes clutter in your life.
Diane N. Quintana is a certified professional organizer who focuses on chronic disorganization. She’s also a master trainer and the owner of DNQ Solutions, LLC based in Atlanta, Georgia. Diane teaches busy people how to become organized and provides them with strategies and solutions for maintaining order in their lives.