Tina Priestly, founder of Virginia-based home decluttering company Ready, Set, Refresh!, recommends using the “Five Outfit Rule” to make hard cuts: “If you can make a minimum of five different looks with a piece and will wear it, then keep it,” she advises.
She also says you can reflect on the last time you wore the item. “Ask yourself if you’ve worn the item in the last 90 days or expect to wear it in the next 90. Except in the case of seasonal items, if the answer is no, it’s time to let it go,” she says.
If you still have a mental block around decluttering, the available space should help dictate the amount of stuff you should realistically keep. “If you have a small closet, you have to live a small closet lifestyle,” Julie Purpura, owner and design director of Avenir, a Chicago-based design firm, notes.
Categorize by type and color
Once you’ve finalized your “keep” pile, you can arrange the items into categories. Put boots with boots, sandals with sandals, button-up shirts with button-up shirts, and so on. This will give you a nice dopamine hit—and, also, a sense of how much space you’ll need for each type of item. “It is much easier to find your favorite T-shirt if it is with all of your other T-shirts,” Courtney Cummings of The Stylish Organizer in Dayton, Ohio, notes.
You can also take it a step further and organize each category by color. “When it comes to figuring out the best system for your closet, you need to be aware of the way you function best. Many of us are visual creatures,” Cumming says.
Determine your zones
With everything sorted, you can now begin putting things back into your closet and, if applicable, into drawers. “Items should be placed in zones for each access,” Finn recommends.
To create zones, hang items by style: shirts by sleeve length and skirts by hem length. “When like-items are organized together it makes it easier to put an outfit together,” she says.
You may also want to consider the way you prepare to operate while getting dressed. “When it comes to figuring out the best system for your closet, you need to be aware of the way you function best,” Cummings says. “For example, if you always wear a cami with a blazer, put those items together. If you always wear a dress with a hat, put those items together. Everyone uses their space differently, it’s about finding what will work the best for you.”
