How do you feel when you go into your closet to find something to wear?  Do you feel excited or dismayed about going into your closet each day? My job is to help you achieve your lovely organized dream closet!  What we wear can determine our attitude and how we feel about ourselves, which is why it is important for a us to like what options we have and look forward to getting dressed in the morning.   I want to give you a few tips on how to make that closet a wonderful and inspiring place to get dressed and feel great every single day.

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Just by going through each item in your closet and determining whether or not to keep it is a great accomplishment. (see Closet Sanity post) The next step after the initial clean out is to organize and present your clothing in an appealing way.   In doing so, you will also need to think about your lifestyle and how you get dressed each day. When I organize a client’s closet I consider these things and it helps me organize it in a special way that works for them.

One client mentioned to me that she gets frustrated looking into her closet so she just puts on a t-shirt and yoga pants because it is easy.  Guess what?  Her yoga pants and t-shirts were all hanging in her closet with all her other clothes! It only made sense with this happening to take them out of her closet and move them to a dresser.  That way the comfy yoga clothing did not distract her from putting on her other clothing.

Your closet should be organized in a way that looks attractive and flows well.  I merchandised clothing in retail stores for years and I apply some of those same principles to a clients and my own closet. The more neat and organized it is the easier it will be to pick your outfits.

Separate your casual everyday clothing from your dressy clothing. This makes it easier to pick your items for different occasions when you get dressed. It also makes your closet more attractive to have your casual clothing in a section and your dressy clothing in another section. If you do not get distracted by your work out clothing by all means put it in your closet, but make sure it has it’s own section. You can also apply these principles to your shoes. Separate dressy from casual and put your most worn shoes in a more accessible place. Keep them neat and tidy so they look great in your closet.

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After this, determine what group the item will belong to.  Your tops should be all together and bottoms etc.  Within those item groupings sort them by color and sleeve or leg length.  I do not recommend hanging your outfits together in your closet. Having the pieces separated out in their own grouping will allow you to be more creative when you put your outfits together. Your shoes should also have groupings of boots, flats, heels etc.

Each item in your closet should be by itself on it’s own hanger. You may decide to put a camisole underneath a blazer on the same hanger and by doing this you could forget it is there. More than likely you will wear it with other things, so it is just best to have the camisole separated out on it’s own hanger or shelf.

It is also important to space things out enough so you can see them.  If you have a small closet you may need to move things to another closet or fold some things down to make room. Your hangers will also determine how much you can put in your closet.  I would recommend thinner velvet hangers for smaller closets and wooden hangers for larger closets.  Do not ever use wire hangers,  they can distort the shape of your clothing. Throw away all those dry cleaning hangers you have gathered over the years! Plastic hangers are not a great option either, but I would choose them over wire hangers.

One last thing I will recommend, if you have the ability to do so, is to display handbags or accessories that you love in your closet.  Put them on a shelf or hang on the wall.  Even a favorite picture or art piece on the walls can be uplifting and inspiring.  As women, we use our closets a lot!  Make it a place that you love to go!

 

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