I have lived in four different houses over the past four years, and I am all too familiar with moving my clothes and other items from one closet to another. The good news, however, is that every move gives you a chance to: 1) Get rid of clothes you don’t wear anymore; and 2) Improve your organizational system. Here are ten tips for getting the prettiest, Instagram-worthy closet no matter where you’re living:
Keep a pretty hamper in your closet for donations. I always keep a spot in my closet for Goodwill donations, because it makes it likelier that I will purge the things I don’t wear anymore. Instead of a cardboard box or a bag, devote a pretty hamper to “donation items.” When it’s full, bring it over to your local donation center.
Get matching hangers. I can’t emphasize this one enough. Matching hangers make all the difference. If you are low on space, non-slip velvet hangers are a great choice. But if you have slightly more room, it’s worth the investment in good wooden hangers. I especially love how white hangers look in a closet (like a boutique). Make sure you’re also buying matching hangers for pants, suits, etc.
Use your shelves wisely. Almost all closets have some sort of shelves, and these can easily get messy and ruin the whole look of the closet. I love to use shelves to display my purses, but that’s because I don’t have that many. If you do this, make sure you stuff them so they can stand upright. if you don’t have a lot of shelf space, buy matching baskets or clear containers to store scarves and winter gear; gym clothes; or pants.
Hang as much as you can. When you stuff things into drawers, it’s easy to forget about them and never wear them. If you have the hanging space, use it. Hang pants, t-shirts, and even gym clothes (if you’ve watched Netflix’s newest show The Home Edit, you know that Eva Longoria even hangs her sports bras).
Put a dresser in the closet. Dressers don’t have to go in the bedroom. It will free up space in your bedroom and make it look less cluttered if you put your dresser in the closet. I don’t have a ton of horizontal room in my closet right now, so I used a vertical narrow dresser to store workout gear.
Display your shoes like a boutique. I love The Container Store’s 2-shelf white shoe stacker. You can stack two on top of each other or put them next to each other, and they really do make your closet look like a store. Make sure all the shoes are consistent in the way they are facing.
Buy a pretty filing box. I love to keep my files in my closet. I bought a nice, cloth-covered sturdy one and I keep all of my files on a shelf next to my clothes. It looks like an accessory, but really it’s full of papers and other boring stuff.
Store books in your closet. A lot of people don’t think of this, but a walk-in closet is the perfect place to store books. You can put in a small bookshelf or use your closet shelves. I personally don’t like displaying my books in a room because I like monochrome-colored rooms (and don’t want to turn the books around like a lot of designers do), so I keep them behind closed doors and I can access them whenever I want (I keep them in height order, by category, so they look nice).
Learn to fold. I love the Konmari file fold method, but I don’t it for everything. The important thing about folding is that you are consistent in how you fold when something is out in the open. A lot of people fold sweaters and put them on closet shelves – if you fold all your sweaters in the same way, this can look really nice.
Keep as much floor space empty as possible. This changes the whole look of a closet and makes it so much more put together. Don’t try to stuff an armchair into a small closet for a lounge feel if the closet can’t really fit in. Store your shoes in shoe storage (boxes or shelves) instead of directly on the floor. And don’t put your purses on the floor.
