Feeling overwhelmed every time you get dressed? Have no fear because this simple process can help anyone conquer the closet and reduce the stress! During COVID I developed a love for organization. This new found passion made me realize how much harder our day to day lives can be just because of an unorganized space. The space I first worked on organizing and decluttering was my closet. I decided to write a guide for the closet because it is a space every person undoubtedly uses every day. This space can create a lot of stress and can be the trigger to the classic phrase "I have nothing to wear" however most of the time this is untrue and derived from a place of pure unorganization. So I took it upon myself to find an easier way for closets organized through testing, trials, and many errors.

Supplies

Basic cleaning supplies
Storage bins
Hangers
A good attitude!

Step 1: Take Everything Out!

Because we are working with a relatively small space you will want to take out everything (YES EVERYTHING)! Either put it on a bed or floor (floors can be dirty and because you are dealing with clothes it's nice to keep them clean). I also encourage you to take out old boxes & other papers/things that might have wandered into the closet.

Step 2: Analyze Each Peice

Look at each piece of clothing and decide whether you need it or not. If you are struggling with identifying what you wear and don't wear I would encourage you to read "Tidying Up" by Marie Kondo. Here are a few tips I have, Don't hold on to anything that doesn't fit and won't fit in the next year. Get rid of pieces that don't look right or make you feel uncomfortable. And lastly throw out anything that is stained or unmedable.

Step 3: Clean the Space

Now that you have a blank space and you know what you are putting in it you should clean it! Our closest collect lots of dust and rarely do we think about cleaning them. I recommend wiping down all the shelves and vacuuming

Step 4: Create a Plan of Where Everything Will Go

For this step you want to think about how you get dressed and what takes the most time. Is it finding the perfect shirt, or deciding on which jeans? I like creating a diagram of my closet and then deciding what would make the most sense. For example you wouldn't want to have your socks on a top shelf next to some tee shirts. For my closet specifically I utilized the center shelves for the things that don't really have a big impact on my outfit because the bottoms and tops are what I am looking at the most in the mornings.

Step 5: Put the Clothes Back in the Closet

As your putting your clothes back in the closet you might realize that things don't work as well as you thought they would on your plan. It's completely normal to have to move stuff around and try different layouts.

Step 6: Maintain the Space

It can be hard to maintain your closet and the folding techniques you might of tried in the beginning so if you find that you are just throwing things in a bin rather than folding it try and find a different method for those items.

Step 7: Some Extra Helpful Tips

Watch time lapse videos of people decluttering that show the before and afters (It will really get you in the mood and help motivate you to get started!
Declutter at least once a month- decluttering isn't something you only do once, in order to maintain any space you should go through it monthly to ensure that you are still wearing it and that it still is adding value to your wardrobe.
GET MATCHING HANGERS!!!- I can't stress enough what this does for a closet before I redid mine I had all sorts of different colors, shapes, and sizes of hangers. To me this really made my closet look messy and unorganized even when it was at its cleanest! I bought my hagers off amazon for really cheap and I love them. link
Measure your shelves and buy bins/baskets that fit accordingly- My shelves have very weird dimensions so going to the store to pick up some rando bins wasn't really an option it did take a little bit of time to find ones that fit perfectly but it is totally worth not having bins hang over the edge or wasted space because they were not long enough.
Lastly in no way is your closet going to be perfect, I mean even in my done photo I still have to many socks and a basket of laundry waiting to be put up. But that is the way life is, you can never truly be done. You should always be trying to improve your life and find ways to make things more manageable.