Nothing says “spring cleaning” like accomplishing the organization of your closet. In my case, we just moved into a new house, so I’m taking my time, trying to start off on the right foot. By the way, do you think starting to spring clean and wearing spring clothes will trick the weather into getting warmer? Cause that’s definitely my goal right now.

We have a cute little 1940s house, with a “master loft” that is essentially part of the attic that the former owners renovated in the ’70s. But, they did include this great, cedar, walk-in closet!

I’ve officially started the process of organizing our closet and getting everything settled. No longer scrambling to get outfits together by pulling wrinkled pieces out of boxes is a great way to finally feel like you’re at home.

Before I offer up a few tips I’ve utilized for organizing my master closet, I want to offer a disclaimer: I refused to buy any pretty organizational products to make my closet look Pinterest-perfect. Do you know those pictures I’m talking about? The ones with the perfectly white shoe boxes all in a row, with matching boxes, drawers, shelves etc. My closet is very organized, but it’s not necessarily pretty. My goal is to help you use what you have to get organized now, instead of waiting until you have $500 to spend on a beautiful closet organizing system.

Step 1: Pull out everything.

You need to start with a clean slate. Bring everything out of your closet, and spread it into pile categories in an open space (pants, dresses, tops, shoes, belts, etc.).

Step 2: Decide what stays and what goes.

Make a pile to donate, a pile to store, and a pile to go back into the closet. Try to still keep things organized by category to make it easier when you put things away. Put the “donate” pile into bags and the “store” pile into plastic totes. Take these items into a separate area. This way, you’re now only looking at the items that are going back into the closet; it will take away some of the mental clutter.

Step 3: Put your clothing items on hangers and back into the closet one at a time.

This is the one time that I will recommend making a purchase: having the same hanger for every item in your closet truly makes a huge difference. It automatically makes everything look cleaner, and it takes away visual clutter when you’re trying to put outfits together.

I used to sell LuLaRoe, and I bought these great hangers for hanging clothes at Pop-Up Boutiques that I now use in my personal closet. They are black velvet hangers. Clothes stay on them beautifully without any stretching or indentations. You can find the ones that I have by clicking here.

As I’m putting clothes back, I organize my pieces as follows (from left to right):

• Dresses
• Skirts
• Pants
• “Wear alone” tops
• “Layering” tops
• Sweaters/Kimonos
• Jackets

Within those categories, I like to organize by color. This makes it a lot easier when you’re trying to pair pieces together for outfits.

Step 4: Put back everything else.

Once your clothes are in, you can find a good spot for your other items. I like to organize shoes according to dressy/non-dressy and then by color. I have a pull-out, plastic drawer where I put all of my scarves, and I will place that on an upper shelf, along with any other belts, hats, or other accessories.

Good luck with all of your closet organizing ventures!