Closet Style

I’ve had “Reorganize Closet” on my To-Do list for far too long. Especially since we are officially into summer and I needed to put summery clothes front and center. God help me if I needed to find a pair of shorts. I also knew that I needed to go about my clothes storing a little differently because what I was doing just wasn’t quite working. My drawers were overflowing & I couldn’t see what I had quick enough. #BusyMomProblems

Here’s a quick look at the mess:
We have a super long, i.e. 4” shy of 12 feet, closet that Hubby and I split. No fancy walk-in in this little hovel we call home. And we have a 6 drawer dresser that we split, so 3 drawers each. That’s it for clothes. I almost forgot to take Before pics for you, hence my shoe shelf already moved to the left. It was right up against the wall. 

Step #1, go to Target. That seems to be the 1st step in A LOT of things in life. It’s also Step 1 in “Getting your sanity back”, especially if you get to go to Target sans kids. But I digress… So I went to the closet organizing section and looked at a few of the hanging basket thingys. I even opened up two others before deciding on the Michael Graves one.

The Room Essentials one and the other one…sorry, can’t remember the brand name, had flimsy shelves. These were nice and sturdy. I didn’t want any bowing shelves. That just looks sloppy and makes for wrinkly clothes. Can’t have that! So $16.99 it was for this little dude despite my best efforts to try the cheaper ones first.

Then it was time to get to work. As I was finishing up the laundry, I scooted my shoe shelf to the left to make room for this hanging shelf on the right next to the wall. I am/was a jeans & tee kind of girl. It’s quick and easy and fairly brainless. Over the last couple of years, I’ve become more aware of my style thanks to watching too many What Not to Wear episodes, Lani (and her new mom-fashion blog) and my sister who can put together an outfit like nobody’s business. Maybe add a dash of having a boy that is SUCH a boy, which has caused me to become a little more feminine in my clothing choices. I’m growing up…my style is too.

I have always had my closet organized by color, first. And then by type – tanks, short sleeves, 3/4 sleeves, long sleeves, you get the picture.
But new closet organization meant maybe trying something new… So it’s now organized by type and then color. Logically, this makes perfect sense because you usually know what KIND of shirt you’re looking for, first. As a whole, it’s not as aesthetically pleasing to me. I guess that’s my random OCD tick. I’m going to stick with it and see how much easier getting dressed is before I change it back.

I know… it’s not incredibly exciting in pics, but let me break it down for you. The pic on the left, you can see the hanging thingy, which I’ll break down in a minute, but the non-ribbed tanks are hanging, followed by short sleeve shirts, 3/4 sleeves, long sleeves, cardigans, and blazer. Then they are organized light to dark, per Lani’s suggestion.
The pic on the right has skirts, capris, and dresses organized by sleeve length again. I was never a dress person. I wore dresses for special occasions and that was about it. But after watching WNTW and finding a few I actually liked and that fit, I’m a dress addict now. The sheer ease-factor is my major selling point. You only have to think about one piece of clothing…the dress vs. jeans+shirt+maybe cardigan etc. Throw on a dress, some sandals, and I’m out the door! Bonus points for not having to worry about things being too tight and muffin-topping (depending on the dress).

Now for the hangy thingy. As you can see by the quantity, I’m still a tanks & tees kind of girl. I had forgotten about some of these because they were shoved in drawers or double hung because I ran out of room. Now they’re all front and center. And all of these fit. I weeded out a few that didn’t that either get put away for when I lose a few lbs, or get donated. It’s just like when I was pregnant with Will, having clothes I can see that fit eliminates dressing stress.

Here’s the 2nd half – Jeans have been taken from hanging to folded. Now I’m really glad I made sure I got a sturdier hanging cubby because jeans are heavy. I also folded them so that the butt pocket is facing up that way I can easily identify what jeans are what. Light-weight sweaters and a zipper hoodie live in the 2nd from the bottom because I won’t be needing those very much during the summer except on the rare cooler days. And then sweaters on the bottom for now since they’re not in season, but they take up a LOT of drawer space. I’m going to pick up one of the drawer bins to put the sweaters in, just so they’re more protected during the off-season.

My last stop on the clothes organizing train was the dresser.
OMG. You just saw my underwear! Ha Ha! Don’t worry…they’re all clean. I picked up these drawer inserts from Ikea (SKUBB from Ikea for $7.99 for a set of 6) a long time ago and really like them. They keep my unmentionables drawer from being a massive wreck.
Next I’ve got my pj’s drawer. I put all of the lightweight stuff towards the front, and the heavier stuff that I won’t be wearing anytime soon, in the back on the bottom.
The bottom drawer has shorts, work out clothes, and leggings. It used to also house sweaters and tees that didn’t have hanging room. This is way more manageable and again, I can see what I need right away.

Phew!
It really didn’t take that long, it was just a matter of doing it. Now I just need to tackle the upper shelf:
I think some more cubbies might be in order for purse storage…

Are you on an organizing-spree? Any new tricks you’ve found particularly life changing? Or are you making your Things-To-Tackle list? I feel like my list is a mile long…