Shortly before Christmas, I sat looking into my closet. My goal was to get it organized in one day. It wasn’t a big project (my closet isn’t that big) I hadn’t bought anything for this project, as I was just going to tackle it as quickly as I could. I could think about purchasing products afterwards if I so decided.
In the middle of organizing, I realized I was out of good hangers to use. Instead of stopping, and running out to get more hangers, I just kept on going through the clothes. I found more hangers from clothes I was no longer keeping.
I have written other posts about organizing on a low income or while being on a budget. I thought this is the perfect time to talk about how you can organize with out having to buy a thing! You do not always have to purchase supplies, you can just use what you have on hand.
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Clear out the closet.
Clearing out the entire closet is always the very first step I do. I do this because once you can actually see the pile of clothes you own, you are more likely to truely evaluate what you have. And I found, I have a much easier time to part with things because I see how much I actually have.
Take everything off of the shelves and make sure there is nothing left hanging in the closet. If you have room, I would even recommend taking all the other clutter out of the closet! That includes shoes, purses, belts, accessories.
Starting your organizing with a clean space can help you visualize how you want the space to look, how the space can work for you, and how you can best use the space. Because you are no longer limited to a system you currently were using.
Down the road, in the future, you may want to consider heading over to EasyClosets for easy affordable ways to help maximize your closet space.
Declutter all your clothes.
Now comes the fun part…decluttering your wardrobe! I know, you think I’m crazy for thinking this is fun. But it really can be! Let me explain…
Start by sorting your clothing into categories, such as shirts, pants, dress, jackets, ect.
Once all the clothing is categorized, then you will be holding up each individual piece of clothing. Ask yourself, do I love how I feel when I wear this? If the answer is yes, out it in the keep pile. If the answer is no, put it in the donate pile. If the answer is well… or ummm…. or I guess…. then put it in the maybe pile.
After all the clothes have been put into piles, its time to go back to the maybe pile. Start by turning on some music and trying on each piece of clothing you have in the pile.
Be totally honest with yourself when you look in the mirror. Only keep clothes that you love to wear, because why would you want to keep something that doesn’t make you feel good.
Put away clothing by type.
Get piles of unwanted clothes out of your space. Put them in your garage or your car to donate and/or sell. Only keep the clothes that make you feel great in your space before you try to put those things away. It will give you a clear visual for what actually should go there.
If your closet is on the right side of the room when you are standing in the doorway, you should hang your clothes from left to right. If your closet is on the left hand side, hang your clothes right to left. I know it sounds funny, but think of it like this: you are hanging all your clothes so they face the door. The are some exceptions to that based on the type of closet you have. And set up of your closet, but for most closets, this system seems to be the most effective.
When hanging up your clothes, start by putting away all your pants. Try to use the bottom hanging space for your pants. I recommend going from dark to light. Then move to your dress pants.
Hang your tops by color, but sort by type of top with in each color. So an example would be to grab all your white tops. Then, hang your tank tops first. Then t-shirts, followed by quarter sleeves. Long sleeves are next, followed by jackets and sweaters. Continue this until you have gone through all colors of your clothing.
Dresses should be hung in the space where you have ample space for longer hanging clothes! And keep belts and scarves on hangers, preferably near where the dresses are hanging because there will be room for the length.
Use what you have.
While I love using beautiful organizing containers and bins from Dollar Tree. Sometimes, budgets, or space don’t allow for them. If that’s the case, I’m pretty sure you might have something around your house you could use.
Shoe boxes
I really love using shoe boxes to organize almost anything. All my kids drawers have their shoe boxes holding all their clothes. I will cut the shoe box lid to use as drawer dividers. If I need to make it sturdier, I will cover it with duct tape. And I love all the colored and decorative duct tape that you can find at Dollar Tree. So you can even spice up your space with some colorful tape.
Hangers
While I love using velvet hangers, sometimes the investment isn’t feasible for your entire wardrobe. That’s perfectly fine. Just use what you have. The biggest thing about organizing your closet is to make sure that you can see all your clothes, and that you feel good about every item you own. That’s how you will be able to keep and maintain an organized closet.
Organize your closet with you spending anything!
I have some super random tips. Some you might laugh at. But once you follow them, you will no longer laugh. So give some of these tips a try. And I promise, if you laugh at them, I wont be offended. I mean, I talked about how to set up your closet based on where it was in your room. If you weren’t laughing at that, well, that is pretty silly to think about at first.
- The curve of the hanger should be facing you.
- All your clothing should be going the same direction.
- Make sure your clothes are not inside out before you hang them up.
- Hang your pants with the butt facing towards the wall.
- Set up your closet so that all your clothes are facing the doorway, unless you have a walk in closet with a U shape. Then all clothing should be in the same direction all the way around.
- Make sure you can reach everything you hang up in your closet.
- Try to keep seasonal clothing in your closet all year long. It gives you a better visual for what you have.
- Store a bag for dry cleaning in your closet or near your laundry basket. This makes it easier for you to collect your dry cleaning with out it piling up on the floor.
Color coding
*Start with lighter colors then move to darker colors
*When color coding your closet follow this color system
- white
- pink
- red
- orange
- yellow
- green
- blue
- purple
- brown
- gray
- black
Now it’s your turn to get your closet organized with out spending anything. Take everything out of your closet and declutter all of your clothes. Put things back in your closet by category and color code your closet.. Use what you have to help organize your space, and don’t forget to follow my random tips for keeping your closet organized.