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Last updated on March 1st, 2023 at 07:07 pm
One of the most awesome organizing projects I ever worked on was an enormous closet that included unique, designer bags and custom-made designer dresses. (But the coolest part was my client —she’s really cool.) It was a serious challenge to declutter and organize that closet.
Decluttering and organizing ANY closet is a serious challenge.
An organized closet is an essential piece of your day. For a lot of us, the closet is one of the first places we go in the morning. And seeing a mess first thing every morning doesn’t make the day feel too promising. So that’s something we want to fix.
I have worked with clients who felt completely defeated by their closets. But the interesting thing is, they knew exactly what they wanted their closets to look like and feel like. What they needed were direction to get there.
Today I’m going to walk you through the process I use to create a plan to declutter and organize a closet.
Step 01: Closet Goals —What do you want?
Write down or speak aloud your goals for your closet. Do you want to cut your wardrobe down in size? Create a system to rotate clothing? Turn part of your closet into an office?
Writing it down makes the goal clear, especially if you’re getting assistance on the project.
Step 02: Inventory
Make a list of the items that are currently in the closet. Note what needs to come out and what needs to go in.
For instance, if you’re turning your closet into a partial office, you’ll need to store paper and office supplies in your closet in addition to your clothes. Take note of everything.
Step 03: Divide
Each time I create a plan to organize a space, I focus on smaller sections instead of looking at the whole space. If we did step 1 right, then the big picture has already been established. We know the end goal. Now we can focus on each of the smaller sections of the closet.
I divide closets by shelf arrangement or by wall if it’s a small closet. Decluttering section by section gives you little wins throughout the project, encouraging you keep going.
Step 04: Declutter!
Now it’s time to declutter. With this step, remember that it’s going to get messy. In fact, it might get scary. But it always looks worse before it gets better. It’s part of the process.
Make sure you have plenty of time to declutter. You don’t want to have to leave and come back 4 hours later to a mess.
To declutter random items in the closet, use the post, “The Simple Step-by-Step Framework to Declutter Any Room in Your Home.”
To declutter your wardrobe use the post, “10 Questions to Purge Your Closet.”
If you REALLY want to make sure you’re keeping the right clothing for your body type, go to www.evawalkerstyle.com to take the Body Type Quiz!
Step 05: Arrange your space
This step can be tricky. It’s a balance between: where does it make sense for items to go? And where does everything fit?
For this step, I like to go on Pinterest to look for ideas. I’ve found that baskets and learning to fold clothing in different ways are key to keeping a closet organized.
Those are the 5 easy steps to declutter and organize your closet. Each closet is unique, however, so this is a basic outline of a plan.
If you want a step-by-step plan that is personalized to YOUR closet, that is one of the things I do! I create Organizing Action Plans, specific to each client’s space. Each plan includes an Action Plan, a Start-Up Session, personalized product recommendations, and organizing checklists, cheat sheets, and frameworks.
Find out if a DIY Virtual Organizing Plan will work for you >>>
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