closet organizing 101

The closet...
we love it, and loath it.
I have always been one to organize my closet and once a year pull out a few things I could live without.
This time it's different. We moved into a tiny house with tiny closets.  My closet here is at LEAST half the size of my old closet {which was filled to the brim}.  So, I had to do some serious re-thinking when it came to my clothes and how to store them.  I thought I'd share my organizing tips with you, since we could always use more space for our clothes!

1) Purge! Yup, get rid of it!
If you haven't worn it in a while...it's gone.
If it makes you feel uncomfortable... it's gone.
If you've been saying 'I just need to take it in here, or add something here' for a year... gone!
When you really think about it if you aren't using it, it's just taking up space!

2) PURGE! You know you didn't get rid of everything you don't use! Get critical! Simplify!

3) Sort. I like to sort my clothes by purpose... tanks, tee's, sweaters.
Then I color block them. To some this might be too much, but if you are looking for a black tank and they are all together, how nice would that be?!

4) Fold it.  I know it's nice to have everything hung up nice and orderly, but you might not have that option. I don't.  So, I folded up all my pants, sweaters and long-sleeve shirts and stacked them nicely.  It saves a TON of hanging space, and you can still see what is there.

5) Keep it where you can see it.  Are you really going to wear something if it's shoved in the back of your closet or in the bottom of a bin? NO. So show it off! Think about your shoes: you could have them in bins {or worse in a pile} or have them lined up beautifully on a shoe rack where you can see each one.

6) Use all of your space. Need more room? Go high! Most people don't use their whole space. Add another shelf, or an extra clothes rail. Don't let whats already there limit you.

7) Use hooks, boxes and organizers.  There are so many great products out there to help you organize your clothes. Some of my favorites are:

This scarf hanger from IKEA

This set of boxes to organize your drawers IKEA

Expanding shoe rack The Container Store

8) Light your space.  This is probably the one thing that will make your life so much easier. Add a light in your closet. It doesn't have to be fancy or big, but it does wonders! I added a plug-in under cabinet light above my closet door and it lights everything! No more squinting and pulling out something then realizing it's not what you thought.

 Well, I hope that helped. Heres a peek at my very full, but organized, tiny closet:

And yes, I do have a curtain over my closet, it had no doors!

Have fun getting organized! It feels great!

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