Tips to Organize Your Closet

Better Homes and Gardens posted a great article on tips to organize your closet.  Here are some of my favorites:

small section of my temp closet

-Keep out-of-season clothes, shoes, and accessories in the back of the closet or in another closet; same for those "wish clothes" that don't fit but you can't bear to get rid of.

-Also, professional organizers suggest turning all of the hangers in your closet the opposite way. Every time you wear an item, turn the hanger around. After a few months, you can clearly see what clothing items you could live without.

-Organize your own closet -- or a child's -- with a combination of double hanging rods, drawers, and shelves. Drawers corral small items such as socks while cubbies hold folded items. Upper shelves can store out-of-season shoes and clothing in clear bins with lids.

-If your closet is also your dressing area, make it more functional by hanging a large mirror on the wall behind a dresser. Or consider hanging a floor-length mirror on a door.

Tip #4- I can not stress enough how important a full-length mirror is.  You can't get the full effect of your outfit if you can only see the top half of it.

I started this hanger trick fresh one month ago.  Wow, I wear such a small percentage!

Tip #2- I also do this hanger trick myself.  Being able to see what you do and don't wear plain-as-day in front of your face, makes it much easier to self-edit when you are ready to shop for the upcoming seasonal changes.  Start with all of the hanger facing forwards towards you (being hung from the back).  As soon as you wear something, not just try it on, hang it back up facing the wall.  So when you decide to go clean out your closet again, first take a look at all of the items still facing you, and ask yourself why?  Is it too big/small?  Is it out of season?  Does it fit my current lifestyle?

Consider putting unwanted items in consignment to earn some money for future clothing purchases.