Fashion: Tips for Organizing your Closet

If your like me you've got a lot of clothes and shoes with limited space. If things are not organized correctly, they take up more space than they should and you run the risk of not knowing what great items you already own. Here are some of my simple tips for organizing your closet: 

1. Buy better hangers: I used to have the cheap plastic hangers but they took up so much unnecessary space. My future mother-in-law gave Jay and I some thin felt hangers for Christmas last year and it's amazing how much more room we now have in our closets. Worth every penny. 

2. Organize your clothes by color and type: I can't say this enough. By organizing your closet by type -- tank tops, short sleeve shirts, long sleeve, sweaters, etc. -- you can easily see what you have available. I then organize each section by color so if I'm looking for a short sleeved black shirt I can find it right away. This also helped me see how many duplicates and similar items I had (oops) and lets you see what you're missing.

3. Go through your closet and drawers each season: This is a hard one for me that I need to get better at. By going through your closet and eliminating items you haven't worn in the past season you can get rid of a lot of unworn items to make room for new items you'll actually wear. Stop at each item and ask yourself "when did I last wear this?" if the answer is more than 6 months or you can't remember it's time to pitch it. 

4. Check items for stains, holes and other signs of wear: Fix items that you can to ensure continued use. If it's beyond repair it's time to toss it and replace it with a new item. It sometimes is hard to let go of your favorite sweater but think about how much better you'll look with a new one. 

5. Check items for fit: Try items you're unsure about on and ask yourself how you feel while wearing the item. Is it flattering? Does it make you feel good? If not don't let it take up unnecessary space in your closet. If you're waiting to lose some weight before you can wear the jeans that have been in the back of your closet for years it may be time to toss them and get a good pair that fit now. You want to invest in pieces that make you feel great. 

6. Make sure your clothes are facing the same way and are not inside out: This seems like a silly tip but it makes all of the difference. It can be a pain to set up your closet this way but when you're quickly searching for a shirt the last thing you want is to have it facing the wrong way or not have the right side out. It will make for quicker dressing, too! 

These are just a few tips I use to maximize the space in my closet to ensure I have a current wardrobe that I love. It not only eliminates clutter but makes picking out outfits much easier knowing everything in my closet fits great and is in good condition.

Do you have any tips for streamlining your closet? We'd love to hear them!