One of my first signs that I need to do a major closet purge is when I run out of my hangers. I’ve never counted, but I know I have more than enough to house a full wardrobe of options. So, when laundry needs to be hung, and I can’t find any hangers, I know I have too many clothes.

Why not buy more hangers, you might ask? I know if I buy more hangers, all of these unworn clothes will just hang out in my closet forever and become so crammed that I don’t even know what clothes I own. I know because it’s happened, and I swore - NEVER AGAIN. My goal after I’ve gone through all of the clothes, is that I’ll have a nice tall stack of empties to hang back up in my closet. 

5) ARRANGE BY CATEGORY

You’ve started. You’ve got your piles. You’ve done the “wear it around” test. You’ve assessed your hanger situation. Now it’s time to go back through what you’ve kept and arrange it by category. I always have visions of Pinterest closets in my head once I get to this point.  I’ve learned that no amount of scarf hangers and fancy organizing tools are going to fix a messy closet…only I can do that with regular clean outs and maintenance (keep an eye on those hangers!).

This is actually my favorite part of the process: putting each clothing item in their own group on the rack. I usually group items by category and type of sleeve.

For example, tops start with camisoles and tank tops and move into more fitted short sleeved shirts and into looser, casual t-shirts. I keep my long sleeve items on a separate rack and arrange them by weight with lighter tops on one end all the way down to my heaviest sweater.

I fold all denim now and place them on a shelf in my closet, and I keep all workout pants in a drawer together in my closet. 

Dresses get their own rack and are arranged shortest to longest, with pantsuits at the end of the long dress section. 

Jackets get their own little area and are arranged by weight also, the lighter on one end all the way up to my heaviest coat. 

There’s a special little category in my closet that I save for special occasions. My Christmas sweatshirt lives there - this beauty was hand painted and sequined by my sweet grandmother, and I wear it as many times as festively possible during Christmas time. My old high school uniform is also there along with my middle school cheerleading uniform which my daughters think is so funny. These aren’t everyday items or even completely necessary, but they’ve provided some great memories and entertainment thus far, so they’re staying tucked back there for now.

SHOP YOUR CLEAN CLOSET

Take a step back and admire your hard work! There's nothing quite like a freshly purged and rearranged closet. This always inspires me to start shopping my own closet again to find new ways to wear my tried and true favorite clothing pieces. Happy closet cleaning to you!