Deciding how to organize your clothes and establish a system for your closet can be a daunting task. With so many items, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. However, taking the time to group your clothes into logical categories will make getting dressed each day so much easier. Here are some tips on how to best organize your clothes into useful categories.
Sort by Clothing Type
The first step is to separate your clothes by basic clothing type. Go through everything in your closet and create piles for:
- Tops (shirts, blouses, sweaters, etc.)
- Bottoms (pants, skirts, shorts)
- Dresses
- Outerwear (jackets, coats)
- Undergarments
- Athletic wear
- Accessories (belts, scarves, hats)
This gets all your clothes into broad categories so you can see how much you have of each item type. From there, you can further organize each pile.
Organize Tops by Style
For your tops, you can divide them into more specific groups depending on your needs:
- Casual shirts
- Nice blouses for work
- Tank tops
- Turtlenecks
- Cardigans
- Hoodies and sweatshirts
Fold each top neatly and arrange them so the ones you wear most often are the most accessible. If you’re tight on space, use divider shelves, hanging shelves, or rolling racks to nicely display all your folded tops.
Divide Bottoms by Use
For your bottom pieces, consider splitting them up by when you wear them:
- Casual pants and shorts
- Work/business pants and skirts
- Formal pants or skirts
- Athletic shorts and leggings
- Jeans
- Pajama bottoms and lounge pants
Hang pants and skirts close together to maximize space. Use pant hangers or install a second bar in your closet for more room.
Categorize Dresses by Style
For dresses, you may want to organize them by style and occasion:
- Cocktail dresses
- Casual day dresses
- Formal gowns
- Work dresses
Use dress bags to store special occasion dresses to keep them clean and wrinkle-free. Install a special hanger pole or rack just for dresses to keep them neatly arranged.
Sort Outerwear by Season
For jackets, coats, and other outerwear, dividing them by season makes the most sense:
- Winter coats and jackets
- Lightweight spring and fall jackets
- Raincoats and trench coats
- Formal blazers and suit jackets
If space allows, store bulky winter coats in a different closet during the warmer months. Use wardrobe valets or garment racks to store off-season outerwear.
Divide Undergarments Into Types
For undergarments like bras, underwear, socks, and shapewear, you can organize them by type:
- Everyday bras
- Fancy lingerie
- Shapewear
- Socks and stockings
- Slips
Use lingerie drawers or designated bins or baskets for each category. This keeps all your intimates and underwear neatly stored but hidden away.
Designate an Athletic Wear Drawer
Activewear like leggings, shorts, sports bras, and sweatshirts tend to get messy fast. Contain it all in a designated drawer just for athletic apparel. You can use shelves or dividers to neatly stack and file everything.
Utilize Accessory Organizers
Accessories like belts, scarves, and hats are easy to toss in a pile, which leads to wrinkling and damage. Use wall-mounted or hanging accessory racks to nicely display these items. You can also store jewelry in a dedicated armoire or jewelry box.
Add Dividers to Drawers
Sliding dividers or compartments are useful for organizing folded clothes like t-shirts, undergarments, and socks inside drawers. This prevents a jumbled mess and makes locating specific items fast. Label the compartments for easy identification.
Designate Space for Off-Season Clothing
Don’t let out-of-season clothing clutter your closet. Store bulky sweaters and coats you won’t need for months in under-bed storage containers or a secondary closet. Use vacuum storage bags to compress off-season items to save space.
Establish a Laundry Area
Rather than piling dirty clothes on the floor, use a laundry hamper, basket, or bin for each family member. Have a designated laundry zone with enough capacity to hold several loads. This keeps dirty clothes contained until washing day.
Add Sturdy Shelving
Upgrade to strong, high-quality shelving to effectively use all the vertical space in your closet. Adjustable shelves allow you to customize the heights. Make sure shelves can handle the weight of densely packed clothing without sagging.
Incorporate Hanging Storage
Install additional hanging bars or rods at various heights to double your hanging space. Hang pants, skirts, and delicate tops on lower bars and dresses, coats, and long garments on higher bars. Use sectioned hangers to hang multiple items.
Maximize Door Storage
Use the back of closet doors to install over-the-door racks and organizers for shoes, accessories, underwear, and more. Hang a storage caddy over the top of the door for odds and ends.
Add Drawers for Folded Items
Drawers are great for neatly filing away folded garments like t-shirts, socks, athleticwear, and pajamas. Label drawers and use dividers to separate types of clothing. Under-bed drawers are another option for extra storage.
Hang a Valet Rod
Install a valet rod or towel bar near your closet to hang tomorrow’s outfit or recently worn clothes that aren’t dirty yet. This saves you from rummaging through the closet multiple times.
Use Clear Plastic Storage
See-through plastic bins are great for accessories like hats, mittens, belts, and scarves. Clear shoe boxes allow you to neatly store shoes while still being able to identify them. Labelling bins helps too.
Add a Clothing Rod or Rack
Install a freestanding clothing rod or garment rack for hanging overflow that doesn’t fit in your closet. Place it right outside the closet door for easy access. Use sectioned hangers to maximize space.
Invest in Sturdy Hangers
Replace flimsy old hangers with higher quality wooden or velvet ones that hold the shoulders of tops and dresses in place. Non-slip hangers keep silky garments from falling onto the floor.
Keep Frequently Worn Items Handy
Place clothing you wear most often in the most accessible areas of your closet. Keep work clothes near the front for easy grabbing on weekday mornings. Store out-of-season items up high or in the back.
Use Baskets for Small Items
Wire baskets are perfect for corralling smaller articles like undergarments, socks, accessories, and pajamas. Stack baskets to save space while keeping items sorted and visible.
Hang Longer Garments on Lower Rods
If your closet has double hanging rods, use the lower rod for dresses, long coats, and other lengthy items. The higher rod can hold shorter pieces like shirts, jackets and blazers.
Add Shelves Above Hanging Rods
Install shelves above your hanging clothes for storing folded sweaters, jeans, pants, and other items. This utilizes wasted vertical space while keeping items off the floor.
Use Breathable Garment Bags
Store special occasion dresses or delicates in breathable fabric garment bags. This keeps them clean, protected, and organized together. Hang them on a separate rod or rack.
Designate a T-Shirt Folding Method
Neatly folding t-shirts makes them easier to file away in drawers. Use a consistent folding method like the KonMari or Army roll so you can find shirts fast.
Add Sturdy Storage Cubes
Modular storage cubes neatly contain folded clothes, shoes, accessories, and more. Stack them to maximize vertical space. Use different sized cubes as needed.
Hang Items by Color
Hanging clothing by color groups similar tones together for a visually pleasing effect. Arrange lighter to darker colors or rainbow order. This also helps you locate a specific color fast.
Purge Unworn and Ill-Fitting Garments
Clutter accumulates when you hold onto clothes you never wear. Be ruthless and get rid of pieces that are unflattering, don’t fit well, or are out of style. Donate or consign quality pieces.
Conclusion
Organizing your closet by clothing categories takes time upfront, but saves you effort each day getting dressed. Limit categories to avoid overthinking it. Focus on separating by broad clothing type, then season, style, or occasion. Use storage accessories like shelves, racks, and bins to neatly contain everything. Arrange clothes so the most used items are easily accessible. Purging unwanted pieces routinely keeps your closet clutter-free.
| Clothing Type | Organizing Tips | Storage Solutions |
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| Tops |
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| Bottoms |
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| Dresses |
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| Outerwear |
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| Undergarments |
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| Athletic Wear |
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| Accessories |
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This table summarizes tips for organizing different clothing categories along with storage solutions to consider for each type. Find a combination that suits your needs and space. Consistency in folding, hanging, and storage containers makes retrieving clothes simple.
