Clothes Organization can make an important impact in the ease of your daily life. It can start your day off with simplicity and aid you in making the most of your wardrobe. Longer-term, using good clothing organization ideas make what you own more visible. This visibility helps you to make the best decisions on what items are missing that could power-up your wardrobe or that you already have enough of. Simply organizing your clothes well can mean improving the quality of your wardrobe, help you complete your wardrobe and encourage you to save money by buying clothes where you have needs and avoiding items you have enough of.

Clothes Organization Ideas

For about 30 years, I have been honing my clothes organization. There are some organizers and recommendations out there, that don’t really help much and are actually more trouble than they are worth. The three key principles that really work that make the biggest impact are:

1. First, classify clothing by type
2. Organize clothes by color
3. Keep all clothes visible

Using these three clothing organization ideas are very easy to implement and will benefit you in many ways.

• Support you to dress appropriate to the occasion and your needs by first choosing by type and use of clothes
• Styling, made fun and fast, because coordinating colors and clothing options are already grouped
• Quick and easy to find every individual piece of clothing at any time
• Clothes are visible and highlight where your wardrobe has gaps or too much of a similar item
• Make wise buying choices for new clothes to “complete” your wardrobe for more fashion options
• Silly easy to keep organized over the long-term
• Closet is beautiful and makes dressing a pleasurable experience to start and end every day

So how do you do it? Keep it simple. Don’t use too many convoluted organizer products. Hang things; put items in drawers. Easy peasy. The thing that will make the difference is how you organize your items, ensure they are easily in view, and low maintenance.

1. Classify Clothing by Type – e.g. work trousers vs. casual

The most important step is to group like clothing types together. First major classification level is broad – tops (shirts/blouses), bottoms (trousers), socks/stockings, shoes, undergarments, etc. This first classification will help you to more easily put an entire outfit together. You will naturally develop the ritual to find the top, bottom, socks, etc. to make a complete outfit. The second benefit of this first classification is storage. It is easiest to use your space well, if all the items are of similar size and shape. Thus, if you haven’t already been using this classification, you will suddenly “discover” space in your closet when all the shirts are together, leaving space below. Many of you would likely already be classifying by this broad clothing type, so importantly let’s take it one step further.

To really ramp up the easy of styling and preparing relevant outfits fast and easy, classify your clothing one step deeper – usage occasion. Think about your own life and choose the relevant types of clothes groups. For me, this means work/weekday clothes as one group, workout clothes as a second group, weekend/work around the house clothes, sleeping/lounging clothes, and special occasion (formal). For you, it could be quite different, so take a moment to think about the relevant types of outfits you put together.

That is all you need. Two classifications:

• Clothing type
• Usage occasion

2. Organize Clothes by Color and Pattern

To build in the benefit of super easy styling, buying new clothes even more wisely, and having a beautiful closet experience each morning, organize those clothes by color.

At first, this may seem overly fussy. But once you do it once, I bet you will never go back. Why? Well, you will likely have an “ah ha” moment when you first organize your clothes by color. The first time I did it, I organized my hanging shirts by color. Shocking to me was that more than one third of all my work shirts were light blue. I never noticed that when all the shirts were hanged together but not in color order. Clearly, I had been overlooking other colors, and that could really ramp up my style quotient! And, no need to buy any more light blue shirts, even if apparently I am drawn to them in shops. If someone would have asked me at that time, what is your favorite color to wear, I would have answered “green to match my eyes”, but in reality I wore blue … too much blue, and not enough green. Try it. You will be surprised by what you find out about yourself.

Color scheme to choose

Color order is important. Two things to consider for the color order you choose are:

• You can remember it
• It separates those colors that are sometimes difficult to tell from one another – navy blue and black; rich brown and deep purple.

There is a whole movement of people who use the rainbow (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet) as the color organization. It is easy to remember. BUT, I offer one clarifying point. Don’t put your black at the end of the rainbow (blue, indigo, violet, … black … NO). The aim of organizing by color is to make it immediately simple to grab clothing that coordinates. Putting all these similar colors together is just asking for mistakes to happen. And not fun to find out once you get out and about in the sunshine that you are wearing a black skirt with blue tights. Put white, gray and black at the start of the rainbow.

I don’t use the rainbow color scheme. Instead I use one that I learned when I worked in an upscale retail clothing store as a teenager. They designed their color organization for maximum beauty in the retail store. I already had it memorized, so it has been easy for me to continue with it. It is not much different to the rainbow, but does move blue forward to just behind white. This helps to keep blue away from black, which I have near the end, after green. I share it here, but want you to choose whatever works best and easiest for you. I think the rainbow color scheme would work just as well, as long as you keep navy away from black.

One note about these colors. Obviously, there are other colors … tan, brown, for example. I recommend to insert these near yellow toward green. And if you have other colors that don’t quite fit, just insert them where they feel most natural as a spectrum of color. For example, teal may squeeze nicely between green and blue in a rainbow scheme, or in my scheme above it slots in naturally between the lighter blue and the dark blue.

Solids, textured solids, stripes, repeating patterns, complex patterns, multi-color patterns

The beauty of fabrics is in their nuance of color shades, richness of textures, and ability to be a beautiful single color block to glorious patterns. So for organizing, as you do for color, tuck in the in-between shades where they fit in your color spectrum. It is visually easier to see your clothes well, if you start with light shades and go to deeper shades. In practice this simply means put all your light blue clothing together followed by your dark and navy blue items. Similarly, put pink items grouped before red, followed by dark burgundy/maroons grouped.

Honestly, it makes it easier when you are putting clothes away and also when you choose outfits. The closet becomes a clear color spectrum, and it will soon become second nature to tuck each item into its place in the color spectrum.

But not all fabrics are the same (light, heavy, textured), and not all clothes are made with solid colors. Keep it simple. Color first and then lighter weight fabrics progressing to heavier ones. All plain textures followed by textured. Solids first and followed by simple patterns (like a stripe) progressively getting more complex and more colorful.

It sounds like a lot to remember, but it really feels natural as you place things. Solids are easiest to put in, then after those you put the items solid but with texture and then with more and more complex patterns. Natural classification for our brain.

You may have an item that has pattern and you are not sure of which color it belongs to. Well, don’t worry. Keep it simple. What color stands out most to you? That’s where it goes. Done. For example, in the above picture there is a red floral design on a black background. It could have gone in the red section. That is fine. I placed it in black because of the background and that I normally pair it with black trousers. So, that is fine, too.

Don’t panic, you can’t get this wrong. You are doing it for yourself. And, if there is something that doesn’t work for you. Don’t do it. 👍

3. Keep all Clothes Visible

When I say keep all clothes visible, I definitely don’t mean keep your closet doors open or that you can’t use drawers. What I mean is when you are looking in the closet or into the drawer, that you can see everything you have that is placed there.

Why? Items get lost or forgotten when they are at the bottom of a pile in a deep drawer or smooshed together too tightly on a hanging rail. Even if you feel you don’t have enough storage space, you can organize things so you can see them more visibly and use everything you have more readily.

Drawers are easy! Roll things so you can see a “slice” of the item from the top. Never bury items under other items. Instead stand them vertically. Roll tee-shirts or fold them into thick, small squares, so you can see them from the top of the drawer and taken them in and out of the drawer easily. You will find that it is much neater over time, too, since you do not disturb other clothes when you take things out.

Closet hanging rails are even easier! Once you organize by type, you will “discover” more room because similarly sized items are together. You may be able to add a second hanging rail or chest of drawers below your hanging shirts, for example. And importantly, you will be able to see your items better once they are organized by color. Take a look at the picture of the long scarves that show my color organization. Now imagine that same rack and same scarves but in random order. Which makes it easier to actually “see” each scarf and find it easily.

Good color organization, actually means you can place more items together and still be able to see your clothing well. It works with how our brain works.

Now that items are classified into smaller groups, you can also be more deliberate about how you store things, so they fit into the space you have. Separating my weekday work clothes from my workout wear, gives me new smaller chunks of clothes to find space for. I could choose to hang workout clothing (like pictured) or to roll it into drawers (which is something I did in a former home that had less hanging space). So as you organize your clothes, rethink how you store them and how they will best fit into the storage you have.

3-Steps to Implement

Now you’ve read the theory, there is no time like the present. Let’s do it! Three steps.

1. Clear closet and re organize clothes by type, grouping each type together (broad type and usage occasion)
2. Organize each type of clothing by the same color scheme, do this simply as you put the items away
3. Notice gaps and revise your wardrobe and storage accordingly

1. Clear closet and reorganize clothes by type, grouping each type together

It really helps to just pull everything out. Start fresh. Then quickly sort by clothing type and usage occasion – work tops, work trousers, sport tops, sport bottoms, formalwear, loungewear sets, etc. – whatever makes sense for your lifestyle.

As you sort, are there items you realize you no longer love or haven’t worn in donkey’s years? Place it aside. Bag the pile of the unloved & unused so they can have a more useful life elsewhere. Take the bag of the unloved & unused to the donation center where they can find someone who will love it and use it.

Now notice the size of each of the piles. Are there clothes that you should change how they are stored? Do you want to move suit jackets to the coat closet? Are there sweatshirts that are on hangers that may fit better rolled up in drawers. Make a quick assessment. Don’t obsess; you can always tweak it later.

2. Organize each type of clothing by the same color scheme

Now, as you put the items away, place them in by color. Take each item and place it in its “new home.”

Taking this deliberate step will not only result in you creating a neat and tidy space now, it also embeds the habit of putting things together in your new color scheme. You may still need to be deliberate about it after you do the laundry the next couple times, but it will soon seem natural. I hang and fold my clothes in a laundry area and just hang the items in color order there as I place them on hangers. Makes it even easier as the clothes are in order to put away as I place them into my closet.

3. Notice gaps and revise your wardrobe and your storage

Once you have everything put away. Take a moment to notice your clothing with this new visual perspective. What do you notice? Like me in my twenties, do you have too many blue shirts? What are you missing that would make your wardrobe better? What do you have enough of? Even today, after a good Spring Clean clear-out, I still find ways to optimize my wardrobe to raise the style, utility and harmony of my wardrobe.

Also notice how your organization is working. Would it work better to put some items in drawers or hang more items? Do you have too many socks smashed into one drawer, so it should be split into two. One hack that may help is choosing your hanger type to suit the clothing. I prefer large wooden hangers for coats and dressier blouses, but for everything else, I prefer ultra-slim hangers with non-slip velvety material on them (to really pack in the maximum amount of clothing). Choose the right hangers for you. Consider if other baskets or dividers may also help. Don’t make things too complicated; keep it simple to just what works most easily for you.

Make it a habit

Keep it going for three weeks – common wisdom suggests that it takes 21 days to build a new habit. You will already have a head start, having trained your brain your new color scheme as you put your clothing away. Simply deliberately put your clothes away in the same color scheme for the next three weeks and it will become second nature before you know it.

You may start organizing other things in this way because it works so well for you. Below is a picture of the right side of my coat closet … those are my doggy’s sweaters and jackets. Perhaps that is a bit too much, but I love it and it makes me happy! So it’s fine.

What’s Next?

Try other organizational tips and tricks. Check Ready and Thriving site Organizing for Readiness and Simplicity page regularly for more ideas and inspiration. If you are ready for Pantry Organization, go to the Pantry Prep to Thrive Every Day page. And feel more confident by having a smart Emergency Kit specific to your needs, which you will find various topics on Emergency Prep to be Ready for Anything page.

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