Clothing Care + Closet Organization Tips
People often ask me when I wear years-old pieces if they’re new. It’s easy to keep clothes you’ve worn 100 times looking brand new if you take care of them the right way. For me, it all ties back to closet organization. It’s important to keep your clothes stored away properly, so when you go to craft the perfect look, everything is in great condition. Today, I’m sharing my tips on how to organize your clothes and, in turn, keep them looking fresh + ready to wear.
1. The Closet
I’m not going to lie… I have a lot of clothing. While I fully plan on jumping on board with the KonMari method thanks to Tidying Up with Marie Kondo, until I set aside time to sort through my clothes, I do my best to keep them all neat and organized. When I moved into my current place back in September, I experienced a serious closet downgrade. My previous apartment had a walk-in, but this one does not. I share a room with my boyfriend as well, so I knew I was going to have to invest in a wardrobe when we moved.
I decided to go with the BRIMNES Wardrobe from IKEA. It’s super affordable, yet really high-quality. It’s big, but not overwhelming for our space. Two doors open up to a hanging rack + shoe shelf. The other door opens to four shelves. I love that one of the doors has a full-length mirror, so there’s no need to take up space on our wall for one. I’ve been using it for over four months now and it fits my needs perfectly.
2. Hangers
The #1 thing I can recommend for keeping your clothes nice and making your closet look organized is to use matching, non-slip hangers. Ultra-slim, velvet hangers keep tops and dresses hung securely without leaving unflattering bumps or snags. They also maximize space in your closet and allow you to store way more items than thick, plastic hangers. I found this black set with rose gold hooks at HomeGoods, but you can purchase similar sets from sites like HSN, Walmart, and Amazon.
For nicer pants and skirts, I use tiered hangers with rubber-tipped clips, so items don’t slip. These 4-tier skirt hangers from Bed Bath & Beyond are the exact ones I use. The tiered style is another major space-saving trick. I’m able to store twice the bottoms in half the space!
3. Folding
For more casual items such as sweatshirts + leggings, I recommend storing them folded rather than hung. I keep all my folded items on shelves and in a bucket next to my wardrobe. I also store pajama pants + graphic tees in the shelving section of my wardrobe. For bottoms such as jeans, sweatpants, and leggings, I fold in half along the zipper seam, meet the hem with the waist, then fold in half a final time. When it comes to sweatshirts + fashion sweaters, I fold in half lengthwise, fold the arms over diagonally, then fold in half again with the arms on the interior. However, I also like the logo-out method that’s often used in stores; whatever you prefer is just fine as long as it’s not crumpled in a ball in a drawer!
4. Shoes
I keep a few pairs of shoes below the hanging rack in my wardrobe, but the majority are stored on a separate shoe rack. I bought this 8-tier shoe rack from Wayfair (now sold out), but a similar version is available on Amazon. My method for fitting as many pairs on the rack as possible is to alternate the direction of each shoe in a pair. This way, I can fit at least four pairs across each bar. I also recommend leaving laces tied or tucked into the shoe, and any zippers zipped up to keep your shoes in the best condition.
In the wardrobe, I mostly store boots and flats that I couldn’t fit on the shoe rack. My biggest storage recommendation for boots is boot fillers! I typically keep the cardboard inserts they come with, but you can also by a variety of different kinds from Amazon. This is essential for keeping boots, especially suede ones, from looking droopy or creased.
5. Color Coordination
Once everything is hung and folded as desired, you can play around with order and color coordination. It’s a little easier to tell in person, but I have my closet organized first into sections then by color and sleeve length. When you look at my closet, the categories move (from left to right) from tops to dresses to jackets to bottoms. Within each category, they are organized by color: black, gray, purple, red, orange, pink, navy, light blue, green, white (for those of you who caught that yellow is missing from this list, apparently it’s not a color I gravitate towards because I have zero yellow pieces right now). Finally, each color is sorted by sleeve length, from long sleeve to strapless. I have found this is the easiest way for me to build an outfit, but it may take a bit of trial and “error” before you figure out what works best for you.
I hope these tips have been helpful, if not interesting. I’d love to hear some of your methods for keeping clothes neat and organized. Use the comments below to let me know!
Outfit worn in photos: Aerie Hometown Sweatshirt (sold out) // Primark Skinny Jeans (available in-store) // Target Fox Socks (old) // treStique Prime + Color Lip Glaze in ‘English Rose’
