What I Found In My Closet, and How to Get YOUR Closet Organized

Not my actual closet. Although good lord I wish it were.

The Great Closet Clean Out is FINALLY finished, and after all these days I know you are expecting me to say that I have ten bags for Goodwill, at the least. Instead, I have two bags for give away (which includes some things from my husband's wardrobe), a Sterlite box of things I'm thinking about (all from Old Navy; I wonder what we should make of that?) and a jacket and sweater that need to go to the tailor. Everything that is left is hung by style (jackets, dresses, skirts, pants, tops) with winter things in the back of the closet and summer things close to the front. Pieces are organized by color (Roy G. Biv) with prints and solids alternating (two print shirts together make me dizzy). Sweaters are folded and stacked by weight (light sweaters on top shelves of the sweater rack, cashmere on the lower shelves) and color (again, Roy G. Biv).

It is possible that my own anal retentiveness slowed me down the most.

I don't have all that many clothes, really. My entire wardrobe, winter and summer and everything in between, lives in one half of our walk in closet (three bars and two shelves) and in one chest of drawers (four drawers, one of which holds my jewelry). In general, I do a good job of choosing pieces that work and getting rid of what doesn't.

But I've been feeling like I could do a better job. I've been wondering, in fact, just how few things I could get by with.

I have things in my closet that really ARE wardrobe basics: pieces that I have owned for years, and that have been the starting point for more than one outfit. I have a violet J. Crew cashmere twin set, a black boucle skirt from Ann Taylor, a skinny jean jacket from Old Navy. I have a black cashmere turtleneck and a tailored white shirt and a pair of khakis that fit perfectly.

I also have some funkier pieces--lime-green cropped pants, for example, and a pink brocade jacket with a bow on the front, and a chocolate brown suede skirt with a flouncy hem. These pieces work because I can mix them in with the staples, which tones them down a bit at the same time that it makes my jeans and black skirt and white shirt seem a little more interesting.

How is YOUR closet clean-out going? I have three suggestions for you, if you're still staring at the mess and wondering what to do.

1. End segregation. Don't separate your clothes by destination or event; instead, organize them by kind or style. A fancy jacket can be great with jeans, and a beaded skirt can go to the office with a fitted tee, but if you've got your dressy clothes hanging off by themselves, you won't ever think to mix them into your everyday wardrobe. Get everything in one place (at least all the seasonally appropriate pieces you own) and then wear everything.

2. Face your hang ups. As you move from summer to fall/winter, hang everything backwards (with the hook of the hanger on the wrong side of the bar). When you wear a piece--actually WEAR, not just try it on--flip the hanger around. At the end of the week or the month or the season, you will be able to see what you have worn, and what you have not. Think carefully about the pieces you have NOT worn. They are taking up valuable real estate in your closet.

3. Get hooked. Install a valet hook outside your closet (or, if you have a walk-in, on a blank wall inside the closet). Real Simple suggests that you use the valet hook for "hanging dry cleaning before it goes into the closet or to plan outfits for parties, vacations, or the next day's work." I like the last suggestion, as it eliminates that part of the morning where you are standing in the closet in your underwear swearing at your clothes.

I've cleaned out my closet--now it's your turn. What are you finding, what are you tossing, and what are you storing for later? And how are you planning to keep it all from turning back into a jumbled mess?