Trendy bins, cool containers and color-coordinated hangers may help our closets look great, but what do we do with all the stuff we’ve shoved and crammed into our closets since the last seasonal purge? It’s a proven fact that we wear 20 percent of the clothes in our closet 80 percent of the time. The challenge is how do we decide what that small percentage actually is and how do we organize it so we can wear all the clothes we have in our closets? Grab a couple of garbage bags (one for donate and one for consignment) and be ready to ask yourself some tough questions.

  • Start by evaluating every piece in your closet. Do I like this? Did I wear it? What can stay in the closet and what needs to be moved out due to the seasons? Some clothes are definitely seasonal while others are considered year-round.
  • Try it on. Many times our closets hold clothes and shoes because we didn’t want to take the time to try something on. Sometimes you won’t have to decide what to keep; the answer is made for you when you look in the mirror.
  • Invest in good hangers. “Flocked” are space efficient, sturdy and perfect for those garments that just can’t seem to “hang on.” You can almost double the space in your closet by using the same hanger style throughout.
  • Hanger trick. Start the season by hanging all of your clothes with the hanger head pointing “out.” After you wear it, turn the hanger head as you normally would with it facing “in” towards the wall. At the end of the season you can easily see what you did or didn’t wear. What is still facing “out”…goes out for good.
  • Organize your closet with “like with like.” Group blouses and pants together. Then organize by color; think ROYGBV. Hang the garments all facing the same direction, putting the “front” of the clothes facing you as you open the closet. It is easier to see what you have when looking at the front of the garment versus the back.
  • Enough is enough. Consider adapting the “one in, one out” rule. Before you buy another pair of shoes, which pair will you move out of the closet?

Did you know that Steve Jobs wore jeans and a black shirt every single day in order to limit his daily choices so he could spend that time on more important things in his life? Don’t be the person who spends time wondering what to wear that day. Instead, organize your closet so that anything you pull out will make you feel fabulous. It’s that simple.