Five useful tips for an orderly closet

I don’t know about you, but personally, I can’t stand chaos. It makes me desperate and prevents me from functioning normally. Being a psychologist by education, I honestly cannot go past the fact that a messy home is always a reflection of a messy life, so I usually pay extra attention to the nooks and crannies, which store all the useless stuff. Energy experts tell us that a house wants to communicate with us that we have a problem in this particular area. It’s not difficult for me to admit that I can go on the wildest shopping sprees when my morals and energy levels are low. I have an excellent excuse, of course, because I need all the accessories and clothes for work, but it’s actually an instant gratification of love and a lack of attention, which just happens to echo in the form of a new skirt or a bag. Too bad that the feeling of joy and satisfaction doesn’t last forever. But that’s a theme for another time, today I’d like to share with you five crucial tips for an organised closet; nothing is worse than the kind that’s full of everything, but nothing seems right (sounds about right, right?), because on top of it all, it makes us sad. But fear not, all you need is some patience and moderate organizational skills, no magic, just roll up your sleeves and start sifting through ‒ it will make your life easier.

Image source: Pinterest

Image source: Pinterest

Organise selectively

As the master of this field, Marie Kondo, says, the first thing you should do is pile everything of a kind together: shirts with shirts, lingerie with lingerie, jackets with jackets, and so on, to be able to even see what you have. This probably means, you’ll spend three days organising, but never mind that: you will be pleased in the end. Marie also has an interesting folding technique, but you can keep your own, if you prefer, because it’s all about the selection. We all have some things that we haven’t worn in years and still refuse to give them up. Just give them away without feeling guilty, especially, when they’re in some way linked to the past, because it’s the only sensible thing to do.

Start with the shoes

It’s unbelievable, really, the way it all comes down to them! When you’re at the store wanting to buy a new dress, you’re at the counter and you can already see yourself wearing it, don’t forget about the shoes, and always ask yourself, if you have appropriate ones at home. If you don’t, you have two options: you either buy them (which is an extra expense) or you won’t wear the piece. Your closet will appreciate it as well, because we often buy things that don’t match, thus piling items we will never wear, simply because they don’t match our style, but we were drawn to them and we keep them at home. So, shoes are the key and they can guide your shopping process: this way you’ll spend less and keep a tidy closet.

Image source: Pinterest

Get rid of duplicates

Because you don’t really need ten pairs of jeans ‒ you’d never be able to wear them all. I know all about it: I end up wearing my favourite pair all the time, and forget about the rest. So only keep the most recent pieces, and give the old, and the special ones away. Don’t think there are “special occasion” clothes, because every day is a good occasion, if you are only able to see it. So don’t hold back, when you go somewhere, but dress nicely every day, because nice clothes give you a boost in confidence, which is not to be dismissed. Don’t go overboard with leisure wear: sweatpants, slippers, thick socks … I don’t believe any of us want to be Cinderella, always a rag in hand, on her knees, so keep less of these type of clothes; they’re not your style.

Two pieces per hanger at the most

This is one of my golden rules, otherwise I wouldn’t know at all, what’s hanging in my closet. Keeping more than two pieces on one hanger will confuse you. It’s best to hang your things in a logical order, so your shirts together, perhaps a shirt with a blazer, skirts with dresses. When you start organising, you will realize there are some long-forgotten pieces in your closet. Give them away without a second thought about how much they cost, or that “maybe they’ll come in handy”, because you know just as well as I do that they won’t. Clothes have a date of expiration and, unless it’s a Chanel bag, nothing lasts forever.

Image source: Pinterest

Mind the lingerie

Keep it in a separate drawer and tidy. Lingerie requires special attention, because it shapes your body, and at the same time, they’re pieces that you wear directly on your skin. I always feel that lingerie can embrace me, so I’m extra kind to my collection of “bodies”, and I always sort things according to colour. This makes it so much easier: a drawer for black lingerie, one for white, one for the colourful pieces, and a compartment for the rest of the things. Lingerie doesn’t last forever either; it mostly stays ok for a year, and then you should change it. There are some exceptions, but they are few. The washer makes panties unseemly, and the elastic bands are usually the downfall of bras. There’s no way around it, give it away. Or you can stick to hand washing, which is an excellent habit, it takes up more of your time, but the results are significantly different than machine washing.