There are plenty of beautiful closet organization systems out there.
Matching bins. Matching hangers. Color-coded sections. Labels. Seasonal rotations. Apps that catalog every piece you own.
Some of them are wonderful.
But if organizing your closet creates another job you have to keep doing, I’m not sure we’ve actually solved the problem.
Your closet has one job: help you get dressed.
And this time of year is when mine can start working against me.
It’s September in Minnesota. I’m not ready to put away everything from summer because we could easily have another 80-degree day. But I’m reaching for denim, loafers, sweaters and richer fall colors more often.
If I just keep adding fall without moving anything else, suddenly there are a LOT of clothes staring back at me every morning.
I Like My Closet About Two-Thirds Full
This is one of my personal rules.
I like my closet about two-thirds full.
Two-thirds isn't some scientifically proven magic number. It's simply where I've discovered my closet works best.
I can move the hangers.
I can see what I own.
I can put the laundry away without having to rearrange six things to fit one shirt back in.
And, maybe most importantly, I don't forget about perfectly good clothes because they're buried between everything else.
There actually is some research behind why this matters. Studies on clutter have found that our experience of clutter is associated with well-being. There isn't one correct amount of stuff for everyone. What feels comfortable and manageable in your own space matters.
Research on choice has found something interesting, too. More options aren't automatically bad, but too much choice can become harder when the decision is complicated, we're uncertain about what we want or we're trying to make a decision without using much mental energy.
That sounds an awful lot like getting dressed at 7:15 in the morning.
I'm not trying to create a minimalist closet.
I'm trying to create an easy closet.
I Let My Laundry Tell Me What I'm Actually Wearing
This is one of the easiest ways I've found to keep my closet from becoming an overwhelming project every season.
When I'm putting laundry away, I pay attention.
What keeps coming through the laundry?
And just as importantly:
What hasn't moved?
If I notice the same things sitting untouched in my closet for a few weeks in a row, I start paying attention to them.
Maybe the weather hasn't been right.
Maybe it's something I only wear occasionally.
But sometimes I realize I keep moving past a piece because it just isn't part of how I'm dressing right now.
That piece hasn't necessarily earned a trip out of my wardrobe.
But it may not have earned prime real estate in my active closet, either.
Doing this a little at a time means I don't have to wake up one Saturday and announce:
TODAY I SHALL ORGANIZE THE ENTIRE CLOSET.
No, thank you.
Laundry is already something I'm doing. I can make a few decisions while I'm there.
Not Everything I Own Needs to Be in My Active Closet
I'm fortunate because my kids are adults now, which means I have access to some extra closet space.
Those extra closets have become my temporary holding areas.
Something doesn't make sense for right now? It can move there.
Not sure whether I'm ready to part with something? It can move there.
Very seasonal? There.
But you absolutely don't need an empty bedroom to do this.
Bins under the bed, overhead shelving or a couple of clearly marked storage bins can do exactly the same thing.
The important part isn't where you store it.
It's recognizing that storage and your active closet don't have to be the same place.
I think of the main part of my closet almost like active inventory in the store.
The things that make sense right now get the best space.
Don't Do the Great Fall Closet Switch
Minnesota doesn't flip from summer to fall because the calendar says it should.
So I don't think our closets need to, either.
Instead of taking everything summer out and putting everything fall in during one giant project, I transition gradually.
The pieces that scream July and can't realistically be layered can move first.
But tanks? Keep some.
Button-ups? Absolutely.
Denim? Of course.
Dresses that work under a cardigan or jacket? They can stay.
Then heavier pieces come in as I actually need them.
Let the weather change your closet instead of the calendar.
That's less work.
Clean the Sandals Before You Forget About Them
Here's another little job I'd rather do now than later.
Before I store my true summer shoes, I clean them.
Nothing elaborate.
Then I look at them and make one decision:
Keep. Repair. Replace next spring.
That's it.
There's nothing fun about opening a bin on the first beautiful spring day and discovering the sandals you were excited to wear are dirty, worn out or need a repair.
Take care of it before you store them and you're done.
Future you will be very pleased with September you.
Keep a Little Warm-Weather Escape Plan
Those of us who live in Minnesota know what happens.
We pack away summer.
Then February or March arrives and suddenly there's a warm-weather trip on the calendar.
Now we're digging through storage looking for the swimsuit and the one pair of shorts we actually like.
I keep a small group of warm-weather clothes accessible.
It doesn't need to be an elaborate vacation capsule. Just enough that I could pull together a warm-weather suitcase without excavating the entire summer wardrobe.
A swimsuit. A few tops and bottoms. A dress. Sandals. Whatever you know you'd actually pack.
The rest of summer can be stored.
Again, I'm trying to create less work later, not a prettier storage system today.
Put the Outfit Helpers Where You Can Actually Find Them
Last week, I worked with a woman who wanted to keep wearing her favorite light-wash summer jeans into fall.
We didn't change the jeans.
We changed what was happening around them.
A brown belt. Loafers. Gold jewelry. A cream sweater. A button-up.
The same jeans suddenly had several more weeks of life simply because we changed the supporting pieces.
That's why I don't think closet organization stops with clothing.
If my belts are buried, my necklaces are tangled somewhere else and the shoes I actually wear are hiding behind six pairs I don't, I'm making getting dressed harder.
Your accessories don't need a Pinterest-worthy display.
They need to be where you'll use them.
When I Buy Something New, I Play Dress-Up
This is probably one of the most useful things I do with new clothes.
When I bring something home, I don't just hang it in the closet.
I have a little try-on session.
Sometimes my husband even gets recruited to help decide.
I take that one new piece and put together three or four complete outfits with things I already own.
Not imaginary outfits.
The actual pants.
The actual shoes.
The belt.
The jewelry.
The jacket or sweater.
I want to know how this new piece is going to live in my wardrobe.
And that little try-on session usually shows me combinations I hadn't thought of in the store.
Maybe the new top works with three different pairs of pants.
Maybe changing the shoe completely changes the look.
Maybe a jacket or sweater I already own suddenly has a new purpose.
That's when I know I've added something useful—not just something new.
My version is simple:
New clothes don't get put away until I've figured out at least three ways I'm going to wear them.
Then, the next time I'm standing in front of the closet wondering what to wear, I've already done some of the work.
Your Closet Doesn't Need to Be Pinterest-Worthy
I don't think organizing your closet magically makes you happy.
And I certainly don't think everyone needs a beige closet with 42 identical baskets and handwritten labels.
But I do believe the spaces we use every day can either ask more from us or make our lives a little easier.
I want easier.
I want to open my closet and see what I own.
I want enough room to move a hanger.
I want the things that fit my life right now in front of me.
I want to notice what's not being worn before it becomes a giant seasonal project.
And when I buy something new, I want to know it actually works with the wardrobe I've already paid for.
That's really what organization means to me.
Not creating a perfect closet.
Creating one that works.
So don't tear your closet apart this weekend.
Pay attention the next time you put away laundry.
Move five things that haven't earned prime real estate.
Clean the sandals you're finished wearing.
Put the clothes you need right now where you can actually see them.
And the next time you bring something new home, play dress-up for ten minutes and see how many outfits you can make.
Little jobs.
Done as part of things you're already doing.
Because your closet has one job:
Make getting dressed easier.
