With fall upon us, and as we swap out our sun dresses for sweaters, our closets have become virtually overrun with clothing, shoes or accessories that we just throw in because we don't have time to properly put them away, or we are just too lazy.While we all dream for the day that we'll have an enormous walk-in sanctuary in which to house our clothes like Big gave Carrie, we'll have to figure out what to do in the meantime. Whether you've got a mini-sliding-door or a narrow hall closet, veteran contestants of HGTV's Design Star have eight unique and budget-friendly solutions for getting that clutter under control.
1. Organize By Type and Season
First things first, remove all of the clothes and shoes from your closet to clean out the space and see what you're working with. Then think about how you get dressed, to figure out how your closet should be organized. “The simplest way to break down your closet is by type and season,” says Design Star's Michael Moeller. “Grouping by color is always a mistake. I'm not sure about you, but I open my closet doors and say, ‘Today I have a meeting and it's 75 degrees out, I need a pair of khakis and a light weight button down.' Not ‘Today I'm feeling bananas, where is my yellow cardigan?'"
2. Edit Your Wardrobe
After going through your clothes to separate the winter knits from the summer frocks, get ruthless. Toss that old bridesmaid dress, those too-small jeans and that flannel shirt from the '90s. If you haven't worn an item regularly in the past year and you don't plan on wearing it, give it to Goodwill or have a yard sale. “Lack of editing is one of the top reasons behind a cluttered closet,” according to Emily Henderson, a Los Angeles-based design consultant and stylist. “If you always opt for the same 3 pairs of jeans and neglect the other 10, get rid of them. It feels amazing to purge what you don't use.”
3. Wrangle the Shoes
A common source of clutter (and those embarrassing tumbles in the closet) is shoes strewn about the floor. Stop tripping over your pumps or crawling around searching for that left sneaker by using shoe boxes and … Polaroids. Design Star contestant Courtland Bascon advises, “take a Polaroid picture of the shoes and stick it to the front of the box so you don't have to open every one looking for the right pair of shoes.” If you want a more uniform look, he adds, “clear shoe storage boxes from the Container Store or Ikea are great.”
4. Rework the Shelves and Bars
Don't be afraid of a little elbow grease and a tape measure. Often times a closet is configured in a way that does not maximize the space, or you find that you need more hanging room. Installing an extra hanging bar or putting in shelves is an easy DIY closet fix. “Remodeling your closet has never been easier,” says Bascon, who suggests the Elfa system at the Container Store, which can be customized to the exact measurements of your space.
5. Choose Different Closets for Different Items
Break out of the one closet in your room by utilizing the hall closet as a logical extension of your wardrobe. “Keep coats, shoes and outer wear in the entry closet, keep your daily wear in your bedroom closet,” suggests Moeller, who is used to getting creative with small New York City apartments and closets.
6. Buy Organizing Essentials
Get out and shop for the tools of the trade. Toss those wire hangers (yes, Joan Crawford was right), and opt for velvet slimline hangers, says Henderson. “You have a ton of space because the hangers are so thin,” she adds. “It's also amazing how compartmentalizing all your accessories can clear up space,” says contestant Alex Sanchez. “Use tie hangers, handbag organizers and belt trays.”
7. Get Your Friends and Family Involved
Just because it's your junk, doesn't mean that you've got to tackle it alone. Recruit some help and lure them in with the promise of free clothes. Friends are great style advisers and will let you know whether a dress is still cute or whether it would look better on someone else. Pass things on to your niece and give away those never-worn shoes to a girlfriend. Another trick: “Play the ‘Who can Organize Mommy's closet the fastest' game with your kids,” jokes Henderson.
8. Be Creative and Clean
Closets don't have to be perfect, they just have to make sense to you. So have some fun and don't take it too seriously.“I use a hanging shoe bag to store my jeans. I can store up to 12 pairs of jeans taking up minimal space,” says Bascon. A final plea: “Do me a favor, keep the laundry basket in the laundry room. We don't want our clothes to smell like wet towels or dirty clothes,” he encourages. Opt for cedar panels to keep the closet fragrant and inviting.
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