The first days of spring each year finds us filled with hope for positive change.  A wonderful way to mark the passage is to bring order to your clothes closet.  If you get dressed with ease all year, you will save time and energy.  You will also save money.  How?  When you see those beautiful black pants in the boutique window, you won't be tempted to buy them.  You will remember you already have 3 pairs at home.  

Here are some tips and tricks professional organizers use to make closets not only organized but beautiful.

1. Group clothes by type. You can save time if all of your slacks, jeans, blouses and suits are together in one section.
2. Within the clothing categories you create, keep everything in the same color order. I use: white/off white; beige/brown; blue/purple; pink/red; green/yellow; and grey/black.  What order will you use? Be creative and consistent.  
3. Get your shoes off the floor!  Use a shoe rack for every day pairs; hang sports/exercise shoes in an over the door canvas shoe holder and store dress shoes in an acrylic shoe drawer. These can be kept on a shelf or stacked on the floor, depending on the number of shoes and the available space.
4. Use one style hanger.  I prefer wood myself but plastic, tubular and the hangers from the Home Shopping network all have their place.
5. Toss the plastic cover and the wire hanger your cleaner sends home with you.  The former takes up room and seals in potentially carcinogenic cleaning agents.  The latter quite simply destroys your garments.
6. Line your purses in color order on your closet shelf.  A little tissue paper inside will help them keep their shape. Store your evening purses in an acrylic container.  They will stay clean and you can admire them all year long.
7. Separate the items you keep on your shelf with a shelf divider. You don't want your sweaters falling onto your purses.
8. Sweaters can be stacked by color on a shelf, folded in a dresser drawer, tucked into sweater bags or stored in stackable acrylic shelves.  It all depends on how may you have and how often you wear them.  Don't forget a few cedar or lavender chips to protect them. Avoid moth balls at all cost.
9. Finally if you have a huge space between your existing shelf and the ceiling, pop in another shelf.  It can provide a convenient area for off season storage.

For detailed instructions on how to organize your closet, pick up a copy of my New York Times best seller, One Year to an Organized Life. Looking for a specific type of tip for future newsletters?  Send your ideas, comments or queries to me from my website: www.reginaleeds.com. 

Regina Leeds
'The Zen Organizer'
www.reginaleeds.com
www.oneyeartoanorganizedlife.blogspot.com
Find me at Facebook and Twitter!

Professional organizer since 1988.
Author of 7 books including New York Times best seller
"One Year to an Organized Life."

Organizer/Author/Speaker

My Ten Essential Closet Maintenance Habits

1. Stop and hang things up regularly.
2. Put your shoes away each day.
3. Have a regular “hanger rotation process” back and forth to the utility room.
4. Fold and put away all of your clothing after washing.
5. Straighten and refold stacks as needed.
6. Straighten and arrange drawers as needed.
7. Have a designated place to collect items ready for donation.
8. Change out clothing seasonally (as needed for your climate).
9. Practice the "One-In-One-Out Rule:" For everything you buy, one old thing has to go. 
10. Use our monthly project model to keep your wardrobe maintained ongoing. We suggest these monthly master closet projects to members in our Clutter Diet virtual consulting program, and the whole Closet Maintenance Calendar plan is enclosed in the packages of our Simple Division® Garment Organizers product. For example, one month we may focus on swimwear and exercise gear, and another month you would organize your jewelry. A little over time is better than a giant overhaul all at once!