The easiest DIY closet organization tips ever!
Do you ever find yourself scrolling through photos of organized closets on Pinterest? There’s just something so satisfying about seeing everyone’s clothes neatly stacked and put away.
Fun fact, I actually once applied for a part time job with a local closet organization company here in Tampa! (I quickly realized I didn’t actually have time for it but it seemed like a fun job in the moment!)
I love organizing but it can get expensive so I want to share my favorite DIY closet organization tips and steps towards an organized closet!
Related Content:
The Benefits Of A Clutter-Free Closet
Decluttering your closet can bring forth lots of benefits. It can help you get ready for work faster since you know exactly where everything is. It can also help you notice your style preferences and will make shopping easier. By seeing your clothes organized by style and color, you will be able to recognize what your wardrobe is missing and what you have excess of.
A clutter-free closet creates a more stream-lined process to choosing outfits and packing for trips. If your closet is currently disorganized and messy, it might feel overwhelming to do a huge closet purge but it will be worth it. Trust me.
The Closet Purge
One of the best things you can do for your wardrobe is a massive closet purge at least twice a year. By rummaging through everything you own, you’ll be reintroduced to pieces you had forgotten about, and reminded of items you no longer plan to wear.
This is pivotal to reorganizing your closet. Everyone’s style is constantly evolving and what you liked wearing last year might no longer fit your current wardrobe. Rotating your clothes year over year will also feel like you are getting a brand new wardrobe and will make getting dressed more exciting!
So no more lollygagging, let’s start purging!
Take everything out of your closet, pile it onto your bed and start sorting! This should include your shoes, accessories, jewelry, and hats as well! Organizing a closet becomes much easier if you have fewer items! We will tackle the clothes first, but you can skip to the end of the article for tips on sorting shoes, accessories, jewelry, and hats!
You’ll need to make 3 clothing piles:
- Seasonal clothes that you do not currently wear
- Clothes that you have not worn in 6 months (if they are your seasonal snow pants, put them into the seasonal pile! But if it’s a pair of jeans you never like wearing, place them in this pile!)
- Clothes that you have worn in the last 6 months
Once you have your three piles, take your seasonal clothes and place them into a plastic bin and put them out of sight! I also like putting a bar of soap in the bin to keep the clothes smelling fresh and keep moths at bay! (You can also get rid of moths with dried lemon peels!)
Take your clothes that you have not worn in the last 6 months and place them in a separate plastic bin. Keep these out of sight for 6 months and if you never feel inclined to wear any of them, donate them or sell them online! These are the clothes that are causing clutter in your life and that are unnecessary. If they have sentimental value or you cannot bear the thought of throwing them away, then just keep them hidden away in the plastic bin. Call me a hoarder, but I never donate clothes that I receive as a gift because of the sentimental value.
Now you should be left with only the clothes you regularly wear! This is where the organizational closet hacks come in to play!
Organize Your Clothes By Style And Color
First things first, you will have to organize your clothes by style! Getting dressed for different occasions will be much easier if your clothes are separated accordingly. Here are the categories I use:
- Professional blouses
- Further separate these by sleeve length
- Professional bottoms
- Separate by skirts, pants, and shorts
- Dresses
- Separate by formal and informal
- Informal tops
- Further separate these by sleeve length
- I keep most of these folded up on my shelves. They are stacked based on style and color.
- Informal bottoms
- Separate by skirts, pants, jeans and shorts
- Athletic wear
- Separate this by tops and bottoms
- Underwear & pajamas
- Place these in a bin. I keep mine in a 3 drawer bin – one for pajamas, one for underwear and bras, and the third for socks!
Once you have separated all of your clothes based on the styles, separate each category by color! It may seem overwhelming but it will be extremely helpful when you’re rushing in the morning for work.
In order to preserve more space, purchase the tiered hangers that can fit multiple jeans on them at once. These are a lifesaver for pants. For shirts, you can stack your hangers by either purchasing ones with hooks, or DIY ones using soda tabs!
This DIY organized closet system will help you pick your outfits quicker and see what clothing staples you’re missing. When I first did this I realized I have way too many white tanks and blue tops and not enough color variety. Knowing this helps me shop in a more meaningful and valuable way.
Organize your SHOES
After the closet purge, instead of throwing all of your shoes into one bin where they get mismatched and forgotten about, use old shoeboxes for seasonal shoes. This will allow you to stack the ones you currently use directly on top of the boxes!
Label each shoebox with the type of shoe it is and it’ll make it much easier to find them. You can even take pictures of each shoe and paste that onto the boxes so you can jog your memory faster!
Organize the shoes by the following styles:
- Formal heels
- Casual heels
- Sandals
- Sneakers
- Flats
- Pumps
- Boots
One of the coolest DIY shoe storage methods I have seen is a lazy susan for your shoes! Dress it up with some nice accessories and your closet will feel classy and chic!
You can also take old pallet boxes and create shoe racks out of them, or purchase a hanging shoe organizer for your closet door.
organize your ACCESSORIES
It’s easy to get your accessories all jumbled up and disorganized. But, just like with all of our other items you can organize these as well. My top categories are:
- Jewelry
- Sunglasses
- Purses
- Belts
- Hats
I personally like keeping my jewelry in a few different jewelry boxes but there are massive jewelry organizers that you can use to simplify things. There are also clear containers that help you see all of your jewelry at once but still protect it from dust!
You can either keep your sunglasses in a drawer with dividers, or string them up on a wire and have them on display! I only have two pairs so it’s easier for me!
If you have a huge purse collection, you will love this closet organization hack! You can hang your purses on shower hooks! Attach the hooks to a shelf or to a rod you install on your closet wall or door! This will keep them from collecting dust on the floor or from taking up valuable shelf space.
If you have room for a bulletin board/ pegboard, it’s the perfect way to organize your belts and hats! These can easily get forgotten but it makes a huge difference in your closet organization to have them displayed neatly.