I have over 15 years of experience organizing. I love to organize. I will come to your home and help you organize your dry storage in your kitchen or your shoe or clothes closet or anything else you need help to organize! I have been organizing for years and it is best to keep things in separate containers with labels according to a theme that works best with what you have.

These are the easy steps I follow:
1. Declutter your clothes by category.
A fast, easy way to declutter your clothes is to sift through them by type. Tossing every piece of clothing you own into a massive fabric mountain on your bed is overwhelming and inefficient.

Instead, separate your clothes into categories like pants, dresses, tops, outerwear, accessories, and undergarments. Then sort through every item in a single category before moving on to the next.

Why is this method better?

Because it’s way easier to compare similar clothes when they’re all grouped together in front of you, making it easier to get rid of the things you know you have too much of or don’t want.

As you go through your stuff, make a commitment to only keep the clothes you know you love and wear with frequency.

If anything gives you reason to hesitate, toss it in a pile for donation.

2. Empty and clean your closet.
Once you’ve made separate “donation” and “keep” piles for your clothes, shoes, and accessories, give your closet a once-over and pull out anything else still lingering inside it.

When only the occasional lone safety pin remains, dive in and give your closet a proper deep-clean. Vacuum the carpet, wipe down the shelves, and scrub any scuff marks or dirt off the walls.

3. Design your ideal closet space.
Within reason, obviously. If you have the time and money for a full-blown Carrie Bradshaw closet renovation, go for it.

If not, get creative to work with what you have (and yes, it’s possible to organize a closet without an actual closet). Take note of your closet’s best features: Maybe you have tons of vertical storage space, built-in shelving, or multiple hanging rods. Use these to your advantage.

For the areas of your closet that aren’t so great — your hard-to-reach upper shelves or total lack of shelves altogether, for example — figure out what you can do to fix these problems.

Kadi from Wizard of Homes used a hanging shoe organizer to store t-shirts, and large plastic bins to store beach clothes, bathing suits, and hats.

Maybe your open-plan closet would benefit from plastic rolling dressers or a small armoire tucked inside. If you have too many shelves and not enough hanging space, maybe you can remove a few shelves and hang hooks on the walls instead.

The possibilities are infinite.

4. Store your clothes by category.
This tip may seem obvious, but it makes all the difference when you want to locate your cozy gray alma mater sweater in a flash.

Keep like items with like items. Store all your belts in the same spot, hang your sundresses alongside each other, and keep your workout shirts separate from your pajamas.

5. Hang anything delicate, fancy, or sturdy.
Maybe you have enough space to hang every single T-shirt you own, but if you don’t, then stick with hanging the obvious stuff.

That means delicate items like dresses, skirts, and lingerie, fancy items like suits, and sturdy, structured pieces like coats and blazers.

Here’s a tip from Marie Kondo (the most organized person in the world) to give your closet a neat, happy look: Hang everything facing the same direction, with longer items on the left and shorter items on the right so the bottom of your clothes creates an upward sloping line.

6. Use coordinating hangers.

Nothing screams closet chaos quite like a collection of wire and neon plastic hangers trying to peacefully coexist alongside one another.

Limit the visual clutter and give your closet a sleek, streamlined look by using matching hangers for your clothes.

Just make sure you invest in hangers that actually work for what you have. Opt for sturdy velvet hangers over the thin plastic varieties if you have heavy suits to hang, for example, and steer clear of wooden hangers if you have lots of slippery silk blouses.

7. Stack thick items like denim and sweaters.
Save yourself precious drawer and hanging space by stacking bulky winter sweaters and stiff denim jeans (in separate piles, of course). These items make perfect stacks for your shelf space because they’re sturdy and thick, meaning they won’t slump, crinkle, or lose their shape when you stack them.

Not only that, you’ll be able to see each item in a stack clearly, making it that much easier to find what you’re looking for.

8. Roll t-shirts, pajamas, and workout clothes into storage boxes.
Things like cotton shirts, leggings, and polyester shorts tend to be thin and pliable, making them perfect candidates for the roll and tuck technique.

This technique is a major space-saver if you do it right. Rather than folding and stacking your softer, thinner clothes, simply fold them in half and roll them into neat little tubes.

Tuck your rolled clothing into shoe boxes (great for sliding into drawers), or use wire baskets or clear bins (perfect for shelves).

9. Store your most used clothes at eye level.

Keep everything you wear on a regular basis in the middle of your closet at eye level so it’s easy to find and grab in your early morning pre-coffee haze.

Put lesser-used pieces directly above or below your most popular clothes, and relegate your least-worn items to the top shelf.

10. Color-code your wardrobe.
It’s true — organizing your clothes by color can be tedious, but the end result will make picking out an outfit so much easier, especially if you’re a visual person.

No need to drive yourself crazy trying to remember the exact order of the colors in the rainbow (but it’s ROYGBIV if you want to be precise). Even creating the most general color distinction will make your closet totally Pinterest-worthy and easy to navigate.

11. Maximize your vertical storage space.
Every closet has a secret storage weapon that, when used properly, changes the entire layout of your closet: vertical space.

This means walls, top shelves, doors, and even that dead space between your floor and the hems of your hanging dresses.

How do you take advantage of your vertical storage space?

Hang an over-the-door shoe rack over your, ahem, door, or hang it facing sideways on a tension rod. You can also use extra wall space to install DIY shelves that hold jewelry boxes or handbags.

12. Use drawer dividers for your undergarments.
Drawer dividers are the key to getting dressed with a smile on your face — and to knowing exactly when you need to do laundry.

To maximize space in the compartments and make everything easy to see, roll your socks, tights, underwear, and belts.

Aesthetically pleasing and functional.

13. Hang scarves on hangers.
Sure, you can roll them up or stack them if they’re really thick, but tying your scarves on a hanger is a way better option for organizing them.

Hanging your scarves keeps them wrinkle-free and easy to see and access, meaning you’re more likely to actually use them on a regular basis.

14. Utilize empty wall space for hanging jewelry and accessories.

Got a few spare inches of wall space? Get creative and use this area to hang accessories like belts, jewelry, hats, or ties.

How do you hang everything?

You can use nails or towel hooks, or opt for a more personalized approach like a stylish coat rack or LEGO key holder.