I can’t bare it when I see a closet crammed full of clothing and accessories and half of it’s clinging onto hangers for dear life or is scrunched up in a ball on the wardrobe floor. You’ve worked hard to pull together a great collection of clothes so why wouldn’t you look after them so they work hard for you?! Closet organizing is crucial if your clothes and accessories are to last and it really does only takes a handful of changes and a few pennies to make a lasting difference.
Here are my top 9 tips to creating an organized closet that will look after your clothes and ensure that they last you for years to come.
1. Use old magazines as shoe trees
Ideally, boots should be stored lying down in their boxes but most of us don’t have that kind of space available so instead, I recommend using old magazines as shoe trees to help your boots stand up and maintain their shape.
2. Store your jewellery in drawers.
Necklaces stretch if hung so I try to keep mine lying flat as much as possible. Drawers are a great place to store them as they’re super easy to access and you can see everything at first glance. I keep any little boxes I get and use them for storing jewelry in.
3. Use buttons to keep your earrings in pairs
I used to keep my earrings in a bowl in my draw but it became impossible to find pairs…then I spotted this idea on Pinterest. It’s brilliant!
4. Store bags in the dust bags they come with.
And if you don’t get a dust bag with your bag, use reusable shopping bags instead. I have a growing collection of fabric shopping bags that I’ve accumulated over the years and I use the spare ones to protect my shoes and bags from dust.
5. Roll your scarves
Scarves are messy to store so I like to roll them up and keep them in a box on a shelf in my closet. If you don’t have shelves in your wardrobe, then this is a great way to store scarves.
6. Hang knitwear and delicate tops on non-slip hangers.
Delicate fabrics and knitwear rarely stay put on plastic hangers so I like to use non slip hangers which are rubbery. These ones are thin so they take up less space on the rail.
7. Hang trousers from the hem
If you drape trousers over a hanger they will get a stubborn crease across the leg which is very difficult to remove. Instead, hang them from the hem using a clippy hanger, this way they weight of the waist band will pull out any light creases and they will take up less space in the wardrobe too.
8. It’s a good idea to store your shoes in the boxes they come with
If you have lots of them, write a small description of what shoes are inside, or better still, photograph the contents and stick this onto the box. This way you won’t have to rummage around to find what you’re looking for. For all the shoes that don’t have boxes, I recommend purchasing some inexpensive storage boxes. I like to use these ones from IKEA that have a clear front.
I found this shoe rack in a local vintage store, it’s a great way to store flats!
9. Store leather with extra care.
If you have shelving, then I recommend rolling leather with a sheet of tissue paper. If this isn’t possible then hanging leather is fine, but just be sure to protect the leather from being damaged by sandwiching tissue paper between the hanger and leather.
Check out some more ideas for looking after and storing your clothes, over on my closet maintenance Pinterest board!
