California Closets, New York experts, reveal their tips and tricks to getting the most use out of your closet and wardrobe this spring.
Hello Spring!
Spring is here, and with it comes swapping out your winter wardrobe for your spring fashion attire. You are not alone in feeling that annual urge to update your seasonal apparel and start fresh. A disorganized wardrobe can lead to frustration, stress, and oftentimes running late. To guide you to organized bliss, our experts at California Closets share ideas and tricks to make your spring cleaning go by like a breeze. Styling that perfect outfit will feel effortless!
Embrace the Purge
Start off your closet organizing journey by doing the most dreaded task there is; purging. To take full advantage of doing this the proper way, completely empty out your closet and create three piles: keep, toss, and donate.
Take inventory, get rid of the obvious apparel first. You should ask yourself four main questions when deciding the fate of your clothing piece. Does it fit? Am I holding on to this for sentimental value? Have I worn this in the past year? Does it need a repair? For example, if you are holding onto that one pair of jeans that fit perfectly in college, but you have not been able to squeeze into since 2018… it is time to donate. Still have that white blazer with the coffee stain you swore you would launder one day but never got around to? Time to toss. It is extremely important to try things on during this process. An item that fit seamlessly last spring, may not suit your style or figure quite right this season. Keeping something out of sentimental value or because you splurged on an expensive piece may bring on anxiety and a sense of disorder.
Purging helps your overall wellbeing and peace of mind. Donating something that brought forth such joy for so many years, can provide you with a sense of calm knowing you are giving it to someone who will enjoy it as much as you did. Take the advice from a professional organizer, Marie Kondo, by asking yourself if that piece of clothing brings you any joy and makes you feel good while wearing it. If it doesn’t, it has no place in your closet.
Practice Smart Storage
Once you weed out what clothes are keepers, it is time to properly store your winter wardrobe. This requires some prep work to make sure your clothes look and smell as fresh as when you had them safely in your closet. It is imperative to first launder everything. Even if it does not seem dirty, give your items a good cleaning before storing them for the season. It can make a huge difference when it comes to keeping the pristine condition of your clothing.
A rule of thumb when packing is to roll it, don’t fold it! All fiber fabrics should be folded in general, however, when you use the “rolling” method, it conserves a vast amount of space and accounts for no wrinkling over the winter. Tissue paper is also your friend. Use acid-free tissue paper to store delicate items, or stuff your shoes with it to keep their shape.
Be sure to invest in clear storage bins for several reasons. Making sure your bins are sealed and in plastic is essential to prevent mishaps such as mildew, water damage and pests getting to your clothes, shoes or accessories. Using clear bins vs. colored or opaque offers more visibility so you can see all of your inventory. If your bins are going to be exposed to sunlight, opt for darker bins to avoid any color fading. Before sealing everything up for the summer, deodorize. Add in some layers of dryer sheets or a few drops of an essential oil such as lemon or lavender. Finish up by storing your bins in a cool, dry, and dark setting to prevent any damage to your clothing.
Sort, Group, Categorize
When beginning to introduce all of your items back into your closet, keep things simple, and ready for use. Arrange pieces by item, style, length, and color for full visibility. When you group like-minded apparel together, it makes it that much faster to locate exactly what you are looking for. Start with sorting out the obvious categories like pants, tops, dresses, shoes, and slowly move into sub-categories as you go such as formal, casual, and business attire. Assessing these designated spots for types of clothing makes your closet easier to navigate.
Going even deeper into your grouping strategy, you can organize by color coordinating. Try grouping the same colors together, and going from light to dark. While this makes for an aesthetically pleasing closet, it also allows for easier matching purposes. A quick glance of the eye leads you to all of your white blouses immediately. Organizing your closet by color, and type is the key to success in making your daily routine go by effortlessly.
While organizing by type, and color is helpful, it is also crucial to categorize strategically. Place items that you wear on occasion towards the back of your closet, or harder to reach spots. While clothing that you wear frequently like everyday tops, and dresses, should be in an area that is most accessible.
Invest in Closet Organization Tools
It is time to invest in some life-changing organizational tools! These small closet accessories make a big difference in optimizing your closet space, and ensuring your spring-cleaning tactics stick all year round. Start off by making sure everything has a home. This should be an easy task after your sorting, grouping, and categorizing is done. Consider shoe storage options. Nothing is worse than searching endlessly for your matching shoe that is buried deep underneath the growing shoe pile on the floor of your closet; making it almost impossible to find, let alone finding it quickly. Creating a custom shoe wall not only displays your shoe collection beautifully, but keeps every type of shoe from high heels to sneakers, sandals, and boots neat and organized while keeping your floor free of clutter.
Elevate your morning routine by incorporating a jewelry draw organizer. Dividers can organize every piece of your jewelry, making it an easy process when choosing the day’s accessories. California Closets’ new Everstyle drawer collection features a jewelry organizer that easily adjusts to the perfect width, storing small items such as earrings, and bracelets one moment, then quickly can be adjusted to store larger items such as sunglasses, belts, or long necklaces. Another simple addition to your closet that makes all the difference is shelf and drawer dividers. Dividers are an effective tool that is cleverly designed to keep items separate, organized, and easy to access. Go a step further, and purchase clear dividers to blend into your space while providing the separation needed between your stacks of clothes.
Add in hooks where you can. Multifunctional hooks can work for an array of items ranging from coats and hats to purses and scarves. Utilizing your free wall space with hooks opens up more storage space for your clothing. We offer a complete system of tie, belt and scarf racks, valet rods, pull-out mirrors and more. These cleverly designed accessories are easily hidden within your closet system for a seamless design and functionality; holding many items while taking up minimal space. Our array of accessories works together to meet everyone’s unique storage needs.
For more tips and inspiration for your custom storage solutions contact us today at californiaclosets.com or 914.592.1001.
Photography by Stefan Radtke.
Contact: Masha Alimova, Director of Marketing
E. marketing@caliclosets.com T. 914.592.1001
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