Assess and Purge Your Closet System

The first thing you’re going to need to do if you want to take control of your closet in the new year is to empty everything from the space. Just pile it up on your bed or anywhere else in the bedroom. Once everything is out, give the closet a quick vacuum and dust, then direct your attention to the pile of clothes, shoes, and other items you’ve pulled out.

Briefly pick up each item and decide if you need or want it. Some items will be easy to discard or donate. If you haven’t worn it in a few years, if it doesn’t fit, or if you have always hated it, just let it go. Other items might take a little more time to think about. You can set up a “maybe” pile to go through later, if needed. Just don’t let it get too big! Most items need to be in either the “keep” or the “discard” pile.

Group Remaining Items by Category

Once you know what you’re keeping in the closet, sort them by category. You can put all of your tops together and all of your bottoms together, then separate them from there. Put blouses in one pile, t-shirts in another, and sweaters in a third. For your bottoms, you might put jeans in one category, work pants in another, capris in a third, and shorts in a fourth. 

Now, decide where each of these items will go in your closet. Many of my clients like to hang tops on a top rack and bottoms on a bottom rack, but others like to do the opposite. If you have dresses, pants hung by their cuffs, or long jackets, you will need to put those on a top rack with nothing below it. InStyle discusses ways to style the closet as you put items away – using neutrals and colors strategically.

Some items, of course, will need to be folded. Sweaters are a prime example; jeans and t-shirts can also be folded if desired. Use your closet drawer space or shelves. If you don’t have enough room for these items in the closet space, you may need to add a chest of drawers to your bedroom or invest in under-the-bed drawers.

Invest in Custom Closet Organizers

Once all of your clothes are hung up or put in drawers, you’ll likely still have an impressive pile of belts, shoes, jewelry, and other various wardrobe accessories. This is where closet organizers come in. 

My team can make recommendations based on what you’re storing, but some popular closet organizers include shoe racks, valet rods, tie and belt racks, a jewelry drawer, and hooks to make the most of the wall space. Look at what you have to store, then decide from there which additional storage pieces you need. Call my team, and we’ll help you out.

Plan for Seasonal Rotation

Depending on the size of your closet and the size of your wardrobe, you may want to rotate your clothing seasonally. By taking a portion of your clothing out of the closet, this will give all of your items a little more breathing room and will make getting ready and finding what you need simpler. 

I recommend leaving quite a few items as both winter and summer options since the weather here in the L.A. area is so mild. You probably won’t be wearing any heavy sweaters, scarves, or boots in the summer, though, and your sundresses and sleeveless tops won’t get much use over the winter, usually. It might help to mark target switchover dates on your next year’s calendar now. You may also want to read up on good storage practices for seasonal clothing. The Spruce has some good tips to consider.

Conclusion

Having a streamlined and stylish custom closet system for the coming new year can be your new reality if you just take a few steps to get it organized toward the beginning of the year. Remember to keep up with regular maintenance; in between your seasonal wardrobe switches, I recommend weekly straightening and monthly dusting and purging as needed. Happy New Year to you, and I look forward to sharing more tips in the coming months.

Sources

• https://www.instyle.com/fashion/color-coordinated-closet-ideas 
• https://www.thespruce.com/storing-seasonal-clothing-1900114