How to Clean Your Closet: Organizational Tips and Tricks

For a lot of people, clothing is emotional. It represents a time or memory in life, and it’s only natural to want to hold onto that. You wore that pair of (now) ragged blue jeans four times a week during college, that green skirt reminds you of your first job in the city, and those tennis shoes have taken your beloved dog on many an afternoon walk. All great memories, but they create some not-so-great clutter. Keep reading for our best tips on how to clean your closet!

If you’re one of the people who associate your clothes with emotions, it’s likely your closet is overfilled, chaotic, and unorganized. Getting dressed in the morning shouldn’t consist of digging through a pile of clothes you haven’t worn in 6 months to find that one striped shirt you left lying who-knows-where. If you can clean out the clutter, you will find more peace and joy in your items of clothing. 

Make the Time (You Might Need a Full Day)

First things first, you’re going to need to schedule a day to commit to cleaning out your closet. Sorting through all of your items will probably take a while, and that’s before you’ve even thought about how you’re actually going to organize those in the “keep” pile. Take the time to do this for you and your peace of mind. If you’re worried about getting distracted halfway through, you could hire a babysitter or hide your phone to really get things done. 

Take Everything Out 

Find every single piece of clothing you have, and sort it into piles of categories: a pile for jeans, a pile for work blouses, a pile for t-shirts, and so on. Your bed is a great place to make these piles, ensuring you have to finish the task before you can go to sleep! Even take all the hangers and other random accessories out of your closet and make a pile for those (we’re talking shoes, belts, puses, etc.). 

While this may seem a bit daunting, it’s the easiest way to get your closet as organized as it can possibly be, and can give you a reality check on how many pieces of clothing you’re hanging onto that you probably don’t need, or want. 

It’s a good idea to get out the multi- purpose spray and clean your shelves when your closet’s completely empty. You may be surprised at how much dust has accumulated over time. 

Loving learning how to clean your closet? Ready to spring clean? Check out our guide here!

Decide What to Keep, Donate, Give Away, or Recycle

This step seems pretty obvious, but can be hard to actually do. Like we said before, clothing can be an emotional item, and giving away something you used to love can be hard. If you’re wrestling with keeping an item or not, ask yourself these questions.

• When was the last time I wore this?
• Does it reflect my style today?
• If I saw this in a store today, would I buy it?
• When will I wear this next?
• Is this item too small? Too big?
• Do I have a lot of similar items that I wear more?

If you haven’t worn the item in forever, you wouldn’t buy it if you saw it today, you can’t figure out how exactly you would style it, or where you would wear it to — donate, give it away, or recycle it. Chances are you won’t remember you had it a week from now. 

Recycling your clothes is an environmentally- friendly alternative to throwing them away! Learn how to recycle your unwanted clothing items here. 

Keep the Basics

When deciding how to clean your closet, it’s usually smart to include basic, staple pieces in the “keep” pile. We all know how useful a white blouse, black t- shirt, and beloved blue jeans can be in the midst of an outfit crisis. 

Don’t Let Unwanted Items Hang Around

It’s easy to keep the “donate,” “give away,” and “recycle” piles on that one chair in the corner of your room. Don’t let all your hard work go to waste: put the clothes in your car as soon as you decide. You can drop them off at your local thrift store or recycling bin the next time you’re out running errands. 

Organize Your Closet

Now that you’ve officially decided what you’re going to keep, it’s time to put it all back in your closet! There are many organizational methods you could go for. Here’s a few to consider.

Hangers

If you’re willing to invest a little money, buying hangers of the same size, type, and brand will make your closet more beautiful than ever before. All your items will hang at the same level, helping to avoid unnecessary tangling. 

Sections

Organize your clothes by item types. For example, hang all of your work shirts next to each other, fold all your jeans along a shelf, and so on. Categorizing your items and then sorting them in the same way is a great way to keep track of everything you have and keep it sorted neatly. 

Color Coordination 

Much like many clothing stores, you can place your items in sections, and then organize by color. This is super aesthetically pleasing, and makes putting away piles of  laundry a tad more fun.

Store Out of Season Items

When spring and summer roll around, you probably don’t need your collection of cozy sweaters and heavy jackets. Store them under your bed in bins or hang them in a spare closet or basement to really cut down the closet clutter. 

Looking for more solutions to storing out of season clothes? Check out all our tips here!

Thanks for reading! We at Albuquerque Self Storage hope you found this article on how to clean your closet helpful. With spring cleaning right around the corner, now’s the time to revamp your closet organization. Contact us today to rent a storage unit or give us a call at 505-431-6747!