How To Tackle Organizating Your Closet

Who doesn't wish for an organized {and beautiful} closet! My personal favorite in blogland is Megan's from Honey We're Home. You know the closet I'm talking about. But don't despair, even if your closet isn't as chic and spacious as Megan's, it can be more organized and functional by following the tips shared by San Francisco organizers, Ashley Murphy and Molly Graves of Neat!

Honey We're Home

Neat

With only two short weeks until the official start of summer, it’s time to get a jumpstart on the season by giving your closet a fresh summer look. Summer is a time where bright colors, fun florals and carefree dresses hold precedent over boots, sweaters and hats. If your closet looks more like a spring tornado hit, it will be hard to find your favorites and flaunt those great summer trends. Here are five quick tips to give your closet the visual appeal it deserves and to make your clothes feel new again.

Tip Number One: Purge

The best place to start freshening up your closet is to get rid of the things that you no longer wear. Did you wear it last year? If the answer is no, it is time to part ways. Not only do these clothes take up valuable hanger space, but they also distract your eye from picking the clothes that make you feel great. A tip that NEAT gives all of their clients is to pick a place to donate that inspires you to get rid of all unnecessary items.

Tip Number Two: Store Out of Season Clothes

Even the summer months can have some cold weather days but that is not an excuse to wear your favorite wool sweater and corduroy pants. Storing out of season clothes can accomplish two important things. First, it can help you to wear only what is appropriate for the season. Second, when clothes are stored in bins for the season, they tend to feel new again when they are brought back out. Nothing beats that “new clothes” feeling especially when it is with clothes that you already own.

Tip Number Three: Matching Hangers

NEAT insists that every client have matching hangers in their closet. It is important to make your closet a place that you are proud of and enjoy opening or entering. The right hangers can have a larger impact than most people think. We prefer, “Huggable Hangers” because they are thin and their velvety texture keeps clothes hanging. When all clothes are on matching hangers it begins to give your closet an unbeatable visual appeal.

Tip Number Four: Color Code Your Clothes

Color coding your clothes may seem like an over the top type ‘A’ thing, but it will help you to find your favorite green shirt much faster than before. NEAT prefers to have whites first, then the good old ROY G BIV and finally grays, browns, and finish with black. If you are really feeling good about the way your closet looks after your color-coding, take it one step further and organize within the color. For example, put tanks first, then t-shirts and finish with long sleeves. NEAT prefers to keep all dresses, suits, and pants separate so that clothes that are typically the same length stay together.

Tip Number Five: Treat Yourself

When NEAT organizes a client’s closet, nine times out of ten the client finds something that they either forgot they had or swore they lost. We hope that by organizing your own closet, you rediscover your favorite top that you haven’t seen in a while. After some hands-on organizing, the NEAT team LOVES to get a good manicure. We suggest you put on your favorite outfit from your newly revamped closet and treat yourself too! Have dinner with friends, go out for a drink, get a manicure, you look good, and you deserve it!

For more information on where to find some of NEAT’s favorite organizing solutions, follow the links below. To learn more about NEAT San Francisco, please visit our website here.

Places to Donate: Goodwill, Soles 4 Soles and the Salvation Army

To Store Your out of Season Clothes see the Container Store's Clear Storage Boxes here.

For the Hangers NEAT Loves see the Container Store's Huggable Hangers!

If you are a Costco member, they can also be found for a great price in boxes of 50 at their site.

Thanks Ashley and Molly! And while my closet is currently a bit of a disaster, I completely agree with the matching hanger tip! I saved a large number of hangers from the boutique I had when living in San Francisco myself, and they really do make a tremendous difference! Janell