September, 2022 Archives

For those not blessed with a walk-in closet, it can be tough to maximize your storage space — here’s a guide for how to organize and clean out your closet.

Closet space is a valuable commodity — one that many people don’t have, especially when the average person doesn’t have a walk-in closet. If yours is bursting at the seams, it might be time to reorganize, so that you can find things more easily and let go of what you don’t need anymore. With some inexpensive organizers or tools in hand, it’s easy to maximize your closet storage. Here are some tips to help you on your organization journey.

Take Everything Out and Edit Your Wardrobe

Step number one: pull everything out of your closet, so that you can take stock of what you have and what you’d like to keep. As you’re pulling, try to organize like items with like items, so that you’ll have, say, a sweater pile, and a jeans pile, and so on, which will better help you decide what to keep. Give your closet a nice cleaning and dusting while everything is out, too.

Once cleaned, go through your piles once again and sort your clothes and other items into the following categories:

• Keep: Everything that still makes you happy, fits properly, and is worn often, should be kept in your wardrobe. Unless the item is very sentimental, it’s best to keep the item out if it isn’t fitting this description and you’re trying to downsize.
• Donate (or recycle): Anything that’s gently worn and could still be loved by someone else should be donated, so that it makes someone else happy instead of ending up in a landfill. Some types of clothes can be recycled, too, so if you have some ripped denim, for example, find somewhere local to recycle it.
• Sell: Particularly if you have designer items, or trendy clothes in great shape, you could sell them either online or at a consignment store. You might even be able to trade with someone, if there’s a way to swap in your city.
• Garbage: Anything that can’t be sold, donated, or recycled should unfortunately go in the trash, or compost depending on the material.

Create Storage Zones

When it’s time to put your keep pile back into the closet, be mindful about where you’re placing things — it can help to draw up a little blueprint beforehand to help you keep track. One idea is to dedicate a section to shirts, one for shoes, one for jeans etc., so you’ll always know where to reach. You could also organize based on frequency of use. Not only will it look much cleaner, but it’ll be easier for you to find things when you’re in a rush. Don’t forget about your floor space, either — put in some baskets for shoes, or a small dresser if you’ve got one, to maximize storage.

There’s More to Vertical Storage Than Hangers

There are lots of ways to take advantage of your vertical space in your closet. You can attach shower curtain rings, for example, onto a hanger, so you have some additional room for hanging jewelry or scarves. You can also use a vertical hanging organizer, which will give you plenty of extra storage for things like shoes and folded clothing, maximizing your closet space.

When In Doubt, Vacuum Seal

If you’ve went through all the advice above and still have a stuffed closet, it might be time to invest in some vacuum storage bags. You can remove the air from most bags using a regular vacuum cleaner, and it can significantly reduce the amount of space your clothes take up. It can be a lengthy process to remove and re-store clothes this way, though, so it’s best used to store out of season clothing or stuff that you don’t wear often.

Photo credit: Africa Studio/Shutterstock