Yes, I know it sounds crazy, but you can give your closet a little smidge of organization with just ten minutes to spare. Obviously, it’s not going to be the super-organized closet of your dreams, but it will be slightly less scary, and definitely a bit more efficient the next time you need to get dressed.
First, let me begin by saying that I love to organize, pretty much anything, and I admit that in order to get yourself 100% organized you will need to set aside time and energy to do it properly. However, I also am now the mom of a three-year-old. Translation: I only get to do things in quick bursts of time. Therefore, I have adapted my expectations of what organized looks like to fit in with my new schedule. Right now, whatever works, well, works.
So, if your closet is a jumbled mess of hangers, clothes, shoes, and the random box of “I don’t even know that that is,” then a quick ten-minute taming can be the perfect way to make your beast of a closet a little easier to handle. If anything, it will certainly make your space less overwhelming, and hey, after a few ten-minute sessions, you might actually see a glimmer of hope that you didn’t have before — a closet that is organized, functional, and beautiful — but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
10 Quick Tips To Tame Your Closet
Before you get started, you might want to take a moment to decide what your favorite kind of hanger is and make sure you have enough to go around, because there’s just something about a mismatched, jumbled mess of hangers that isn’t very appealing to the eye. I love using a non-slip option, like these velvet hangers, to keep clothes in place. The slim design creates extra space in your closet, plus the 360° swivel makes hanging your clothes the right way a complete breeze.
Aside from the hanger issue, there’s no need to go buy a bunch of cute little baskets and bins for this particular project, you might not even end up using them. Remember, this is just a quick “taming,” not a complete revamp.
Ready to get started? Good! Now use these ten tips to get your closet a little more manageable in ten minutes!
- Assess Your Situation — Take a minute to look at your closet and decide what about it bothers you the most. Is it the fact that you can never find what you are looking for? Is it the visual clutter that smacks you in the face when you open your closet door? Whatever your biggest issue is with your closet, that is where you want to devote most of your time.
- Power-Purge — Set aside about two minutes you can devote to, what I like to call, a power-purge. Basically, this entails zipping through your clothes at breakneck speed and pulling out all of the items that immediately scream, “Get rid of me now!” In an ordinary organizing session, I would be telling you to start by taking everything out of your closet, but this is the quick version! We all have that handful of clothes that we know at a glance will never again go on our bodies, either because they don’t fit, they’re past their prime, or we just no longer like them. Ditch them without a second thought and instantly get more room to breathe!
- Sort It Out — Okay, so now you’re about three minutes into the process; it’s time to rearrange your items into a more visually appealing manner. Before you begin, read through the next steps because you’re going to be doing several at once during this sorting process. Start hanging your clothes together based on like items, and then within those categories, sort by color.For example, long dresses may go towards the back of your closet (make sure you allow ample floor space below them), then you might have long-sleeved shirts, followed by short-sleeved, then sleeveless, and so on; the point is, hang your clothes in a way that keeps similar items together. This method makes things easier to find, plus it looks nice too. While you are sorting your clothes, do a quick assessment of which clothes fall into the categories mentioned in the following steps and pull them out of your closet.
- Maybe, Maybe Not — If you come across an item that you start to second-guess, don’t waste time thinking about it. Pull it out and start a maybe pile that you can devote a little extra time to later. Stopping and agonizing over every single item just eats away at your time and energy.
- To Fold Or Not To Fold — When you come across items like T-shirts, sweaters, and some shorts and pants, you may find that these clothes are better off folded. Folding certain items helps them wear better. For example, it’s not advisable to hang sweaters because you end up getting unsightly shoulder bumps where the hanger has stretched out the material. Put these items in a separate pile, you can have a folding party later.
- Hassle-Free Hangers — As you sort, pay attention to how you hang your items. Visually, your closet will look better, and be more efficient, if your hangers all face the same way, which should be the open part toward the back of the clothing rod. This allows you to access items more quickly. Using easy-swivel hangers like the ones I mentioned earlier makes it super-easy to make sure all of your clothes are facing the same way.
- Go Elsewhere — Somehow, we always end up with things in our closet that do not belong there. These items rob us of valuable storage space that we need for our clothes, so if you come across them during your sorting, pull them out right then and there and toss them in an elsewhere pile. For example, the suitcase that never made its way back up into the attic after your trip two months ago, or the pair of rain boots that should be in the front hall closet, or maybe even your kid’s jacket that has somehow managed to find its way into your space, all of these items need to be returned to their proper homes. However, don’t return them as you find them, this wastes too much time, just gather them in a pile and return them all at once.
- Don’t Get “Hung Up” — (No pun intended…okay, maybe it is) You can expect to spend most of your time on the whole sorting process, but it only works if you press on and resist over-thinking. Do not stop to have dramatic debates with yourself about the comfy hoodie that got you through college (twenty years ago) or the collection of maternity clothes that you hung onto, just in case (for four years).
- Get Spacy — You’re in the final minute now, step back and look at your work. Space out your clothes a bit; a little space lets your clothes (and you) breathe easier. Resist the urge to fill up every nook and cranny with stuff; allow for some space every time you tackle an organizing project.
- Live with It — You’re done. Whew! Now it’s time to live with your results and see how it goes. You might find that you can get ready in half the time now, and you might even be motivated to do a little bit more. Maybe in a week or two, you’ll attempt another 10-minute taming to get your closet even more organized!
There you have it, a tamer closet in 10 minutes (give or take). Of course, you will need to take about five extra minutes to return those elsewhere items to their rightful places and fold any items you decided to not hang, but you can wipe that out in no time. As for your maybe pile, before you go through it, look at your calmer, neater closet. Ask yourself, is there really anything in that maybe pile that’s worth messing up your new and improved space? The answer is most likely a resounding, NO!
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