My closet is (was) overflowing with stuff to the point where I could never find anything to wear, and every time I looked at it, I got frustrated.   So I consulted my friend and organizational expert Beth Levin, The Closet Queen for help.  Here’s what she had to say:

Get Your Closet Organized This Spring

By Beth Levin, The Closet Queen, http://www.closetqueen.com  305-674-1657

As a professional organizer, I go into many closets and find the same issue. People have too much. If your closets are overflowing, the only way to make room, besides breaking through walls, is to get rid of stuff.

A lot of people find getting rid of their belongings daunting, but as we begin working together, they find the process freeing.

To start, have large garbage bags designated for: charity, consignment and toss. Leave the items you’re keeping in the closet. Many of us have a hard time giving our things away, but if you try items on and they don’t look great on you, it’s time to get rid of it. To find out what you wear, a neat idea is to turn all your hangars backwards. (with the opening toward you) Each time you wear an item, turn the hangar in it’s regular position. At the end of the season or year, you can easily see what has been worn.

Charity items are those which are in good enough shape that you think someone less fortunate could wear and enjoy them. As for consignment, I see people getting the most money from vintage and high-end designer items, which is perfect for Back-In-Style.

Once you’ve determined what you want to keep, put all like-items together in your closet: jackets together, skirts, pants, shirts, etc. You can even organize by color if you’re so inclined.

Get rid of wire hangars – they tangle and harm clothes. Huggable hangars are awesome and truly increase closet space because they’re so thin. Also, you’d be surprised how hanging pants and skirts on pants hangars give you more room than folding them over regular hangars, especially if you have long hanging space. I’m not a fan of mutli hangars or tie hangars; they’re too cumbersome.

If you have wall space, you can hang belts, umbrellas, purses and even, necklaces on attractive belt racks you can find at the Container Store and stagger them on the wall.

Shoes kept on the floor of the closet tend to get dusty and take up too much room. Instead, I like stackable covered shoe racks by Closet Maid that you can get at Target. By placing several pairs of shoes on one rack, you can maximize floor space and will find that the room you save can be used for other items.

If you wear a lot of clothes for dry cleaning and you pile them up until you take them in, buy a pretty hamper or wicker basket especially for them so they’re not in piles. Get rid of dry cleaner packaging right when you get it back & toss those wire hangars.

Store accessories like scarves or smaller items in see through containers, like plastic shoe boxes and label them with their contents. For really small items, like jewelry, use smaller see-through containers.

I tell all my clients that maintenance is key. Each day, put everything back where it belongs– either in the hamper, dry cleaning basket or re-hang. It will take only 5 minutes a day and keep you organized. When you buy new items, put them in their proper category space when you get it home.

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