You've seen how crazy my closet gets and it's really an effort to keep it neat and tidy. When it's well maintained, it looks pretty decent for such a small space. The key is to keep all of the clothes off of the floor. If you've been grappling with how to organize your closet, here are some methods you may want to consider.
Categorize - Most people group their clothes by type (i.e. all the pants are together, all the shirts are together, dresses, etc.) This method is the easiest way to find your favorite pair of pants without ripping your closet apart.
Color code - I wouldn't be able to find anything in my closet if I didn't group everything by color. I actually categorize everything and then put like colors together like you'd see on a color wheel. It sounds time consuming but for me, a visual person, this process is necessary for me to conceptualize outfits.
Activity based - Another option to consider is grouping your clothes by the various activities in your life like work and weekend wear. I don't use this method because I pretty much use all my clothes for all areas of my life. But the good thing about sorting your wardrobe this way is you will easily see which areas of your life are missing items (i.e. if you have 10 pairs of casual pants for the weekend but only one pair of dress pants for work.)
Seasonal - For those of you who have extensive wardrobes, you may want to sort your fashions by the season. Basically, you keep all of the clothes for the current season in your closet. And you would store the rest of your wardrobe until it was time for that season. Removing the unused clothes will free up space in your closet and eliminate unnecessary alternatives when you're trying to get dressed.
Nosh, My bigest issue is shoe storage. I have approx 85 pairs of shoes:-) and currently they are all hanging in those hanging shoe racks and taking up all the space in the back of the walk-in. I'm not sure I'm ready to invest $150 in those box containers as I like being able to see what I have an grab and go literally. How do you like the boxes as a storage means? Another question, have you seen/heard/used those thin huggable hangers? I bought a set of 20 hoping to re-coup some closet space, which it did, but I find that the clothes cling to the velvet which is a little like static cling on the hanger, your thoughts?
Posted by: Mo | February 04, 2009 at 02:50 PM
Whoa, Mo. 85 pairs of shoes?? You know the first thing I'm going to say is that you need to purge some of those shoes! Ask yourself, do you really need that many? Are these 85 pairs the best shoes you could possibly have? (I think I see a separate blog post coming on.) I recommend that you get rid of some of them. And then pick a storage solution for the rest. I love the clear shoe boxes. They're neat and they're a little more grown up to me than the cardboard boxes or other shoe storage alternatives. And you can see all of your shoes at a glance to they're perfect for the grab and go approach you like.
As for the huggable hangers, I've never tried them. I'm partial to the wooden hangers. They may use more space but they sure are pretty. :o)
Posted by: STYLEnosh | February 04, 2009 at 04:59 PM
Hey girly! Your closet is OFF THE CHAIN! LOL Dang girl, I like only have like two pairs of shoes. All I need is a like a little corner to pile ALL of my clothes in because I have so little. LOL Anyway you are very organized. I'm loving it!
Posted by: Beverly | February 04, 2009 at 06:04 PM
See what had happened was that I kinda had had a lot of shoes right, and then I had bought more, but then I had got rid of some, but then I had bought more:-) So yes needless to say I am trying to purge down, but I really do wear a lot of them all the time so I'll keep the best pairs and donate the not so best ones.
Posted by: Mo | February 04, 2009 at 07:00 PM
LOL Thanks Beverly! I have to really work hard to keep my closet maintained. Man two pairs of shoes. I guess we're seeing everything from all perspectives. You have a few pairs of shoes and Mo has 85!
Posted by: STYLEnosh | February 04, 2009 at 11:45 PM
Okay Mo, sounds like you have a good plan. Just make sure you don't buy some more the next time you see a great pair of shoes and they start calling your name saying, "buy me, please buy me". LOL
Posted by: STYLEnosh | February 04, 2009 at 11:48 PM
What a great blog! It's a pity that i can't find your rrs address. If you can offer rrs subscription service, i can track your blog easier!
Posted by: christian louboutin | January 12, 2010 at 01:44 AM
Thanks Christian Louboutin! My RSS feed was listed. It was just buried on my site. I moved it to the top. Thanks for the reminder!
Posted by: STYLEnosh | January 12, 2010 at 09:29 AM