Hi again! This is Debbie with another Blog Takeover. What do I consider one of life’s biggest luxuries? Besides a REALLY good bottle of Cab and Filet cooked to perfection, it’s a well designed closet. If you think about it, what do most wealthy people have besides money? Large homes with lots of closets! Well, we all need to make the most of our own storage space.

Luxury defined: A well designed closet.

Growing up in a military family, I was somewhat brought up organized because the Army had us move- A LOT. Imagine changing closets every two years? It’s now a habit- I do a closet purge on a monthly basis. Most people don’t have this compulsion, so I’ll share some easy and affordable closet organization tips to help get any closet in order.

To get started, don’t freak out and try to do all your stuff at once. Clothes tend to be the hardest items to keep organized. First things first- sort items by type THEN by color.  Yes, it is a crazy concept but I promise it will save your time and energy figuring out what to wear in the morning. It’s pretty easy to find the right white blouse when all the white blouses are in the same spot! When I say “item” I mean specific item- sleeveless tops, short sleeve tops and blouses. Next, sort them by color. When you pick something to wear,  PUT THE HANGER BACK IN ITS SPOT! After it’s clean you know exactly where to return it. When you pick up clothes from the Dry Cleaners, take them out of the bag and put them on your own hanger, ASAP! Most cleaners recycle them so DON’T HANG THEM UP IN YOUR CLOSET-  put them aside to return to the cleaners. Next, move on to  pants, skirts, dresses, etc- and use the same sorting formula.

Here is Matt’s golf shirt collection- why does he need so many? You can see the empty hangers saving the spot for the shirt in the wash- now he understands that it IS possible to live this way! Using the same type of hanger not only looks good, but adds more consistency to spacing of items. DONT FORGET!  Keep a donation pile of things you no longer wear, don’t fit, or definitely wont be back in style. Then make a list to get that tax deduction!

Sort clothing by color to keep your closet neat and tidy.

Shoes. I can’t exactly complain about having 50+ golf shirts when I adore shoes and never seem to have enough shelf space for them. I used to stack flat sandals on the shelf or floor, but the OCD part of me couldn’t handle the look. Now I stack them vertically in bins. I take the bin off the shelf, and I can see all my sandals and just take out the pair I want to wear- and yes, they’re color coded. For larger shoes, I alternate how I put them on the shelf to fit more- it works because the heel, in most cases, is narrower than the toe part of the shoe. A shelf that used to fit three pairs of heels can now fit four.

Alternating shoe direction means more storage space.

Bins are a way to store a lot of stuff, but also hide things that don’t exactly fold neatly on the shelf.  I  am a (sometimes) cyclist, and if you’ve ever tried to fold a pair of bike shorts with a padded seat, you know what I mean. I keep all of my cycling items (socks, bike shorts, jerseys,, gloves, band aids, hehe) all in bins in my closet. I just slide the bin out and pick what I want to wear for that ride. Bins work great for workout clothes, too. You don’t have to worry about them being folded neatly because most leggings  and sports stuff don’t really wrinkle.

If you hate to fold, toss your stuff in a storage bin!

Storage bins can add personality and style to your closet. THIS is a cute little navy Ikat design I recently spotted, get it? Spotted?

Ikat Dot Storage Bin | Wayfair

Finally, one of the things I have the most trouble storing are handbags.  I collect them like I collect shoes, but the tend to be the most difficult to store neatly .  If I had Beyonce’s closet, I would have them neatly arranged behind custom cabinetry. But we all can’t be Beyonce… I came up with a way to store my bags but also display them. First, sort them by color. Next fold the smaller bags and neatly put them in the largest. One purse can hold about 3 or four smaller ones.  You are literally using your smaller bags to replace the stuffing that comes with it from the store. The “stuffed bag”  should be able to stand up beautifully now. When I need that color bag, I simply take the big one down and choose which one I want. Viola!

Beyonce’s Closet… oh to dream!

Just trying one of my personal tips should help add more space to any size closet. Check out Michelle Lynne’s favorites for a tidy closet HERE.  An organized closet can save time and money. No need to rush in the mornings searching for a particular shirt or pair of shoes when you know exactly where they are, and if you know you have 15 blue and white striped golf shirts, you can pass buying another one at the pro shop and take the woman in your life out to dinner instead.

Happy Organizing!

Debbie Pratt

P.S. I am also on Instagram and Houzz if you want to follow me!