It’s a new year! Are you ready to tackle your closet? Here are some of the best tips and tricks on how to organize your closet on a budget.
Be truthful, how is your closet looking right now? If you’re looking at this post, it may not be the cleanest…but that’s okay! We’re here to help. This post will help you organize your closet on a budget.
During this time of year, the last thing that people want to do is organize and clean, but what better way to start the year than with a nice, organized closet? It is so easy to accumulate a lot of extra things throughout the year and not even realize it or forget that one favorite shirt that is buried in the corner.
We will start with some basic decluttering tips and then round it out with some great organizing hacks that will help you in your day-to-day life, without breaking the bank. You don’t have to spend a bunch of money to get a nice, clean closet!
This post is all about organizing your closet on a budget.
Super Easy Ways To Teach You How to Organize Your Closet on a Budget
1. Find your problem area
You might not know what I mean by this, but what I’m referring to is what part of your closet or what type of clothing is the hardest for you to keep organized and clean? For example, are your shoes all over the place? Or do you have one earring hiding in one pocket and the other in your purse?
Whatever area that you select as your “problem area”, make a note of it. Most likely, this is your problem area because it’s what you wear or use most frequently. Knowing this will come in handy when you begin your organization process.
2. Separate your items into three categories
Before you organize your closet, your first step should be to declutter it. You need to know what you have in your closet before you can put them in their proper places. I would go through everything you have and separate it into three categories: keep, donate/sell, and trash.
If you have recently gone through your closet, you can skip this step, but it’s an important one. Getting rid of clothing items that either no longer fit or aren’t your style anymore is the easiest way to make organizing your closet more simple. When you’re separating your items, ask yourself questions – when was the last time you wore this? Being honest with yourself is only going to make your organization process quicker in the long run.
3. Use the hanger hack to help you decide
Are you having a little bit of difficulty saying goodbye to an article of clothing? Maybe it’s a piece that you have held onto since college or even that cute sweater that may or not have a hole under the arm. Regardless of the situation, I have a long-term solution for you.
When you hang your clothing items, make sure all the hangers are facing in one direction. It doesn’t matter which side, whatever you prefer or is easier to take off the rack will work. After wearing and cleaning that article of clothing, make sure to face the hanger in the opposite direction. This way you can tell if you wore that piece of clothing. And when you go back to the next time to organize your closet, guess which articles of clothing you should get rid of? You guessed it! Any of those that are still hanging in the same direction since the last time you did it.
4. Start with your least favorite first
Time to start organizing! Let’s go ahead and start with your least favorite items to organize first. I promise, you will thank yourself for this later. I can’t tell you the amount of times that I started with all my favorite items, like purses and shoes, and then by the time I got around to jewelry, I was so over it. I threw all of my necklaces into a big pile and said that’s a future problem.
Listen, no one wants to detangle fifteen different necklaces just to wear one. I promise you will end up not wearing them. I want to stop that from happening to you. So be good to future you and start with what you hate the most. Bonus points if you organize your items starting from your least to your favorite pieces, but you definitely don’t have to. We need to keep the morale up somehow!
5. Organize your items in a way that works for you
One of the most important things to keep in mind when organizing is that it needs to work for you. I could come on here and tell you exactly how I organize my closet, but that won’t be helpful longterm. Unless there is some huge coincidence, we probably don’t wear the same clothes or accessories on a daily basis. You need to take note of the items that you wear the most on a daily and weekly basis.
These are the clothing items that you are going to make the most accessible to you by either putting them at eye-level or somehow make them easier to grab in the morning and put back. Is there a bag that you always take to work? That bag needs to be the easiest to grab and the easiest to put away. Same with other items that you use, like a sweater or a piece of jewelry. Having your go-to items easy to take from your closet and easy to put back into your closet will lead to a lot less mess and will keep your closet organized longer.
6. Get yourself a fabric dresser
It’s obvious that not everyone can afford a huge closet with built-in drawers. So my favorite part of my closet are the cheap, fabric dressers that I got right after college that I still use to this day (let’s not do the math on the years…). People typically buy them for kids’ toy rooms or bedrooms, but it works just as well for adults. I will link ones similar to the ones I still use to this day.
Even though they seem a little flimsy, they have honestly held up so well over the years. They also come in different heights and lengths, which is perfect if you don’t have that cookie cutter dresser. Personally, these dressers have been so versatile that I have moved them around to wherever I needed the storage at the moment. I even have one right next to me as I write this post.
7. Buy drawer inserts
To go a step further, adding drawer inserts is another way to keep your closet organized by preventing mess. There’s different types of inserts depending on what you prefer. Below I have some ones from Amazon linked that are cheap but still get the job done. I love the dividers that I have for my socks and I highly recommend them.
These inserts aren’t just for clothes, but inserts can come in handy for jewelry as well. This is a great option for you if you need a designated area for jewelry, especially if you aren’t able to use a hanging jewelry holder if your door is already occupied by another storage piece.
8. Fold your clothes
This may sound so simple it’s stupid, but trust me, it really helps. The fabric dressers and inserts that are listed above are helpful, but it won’t be helpful if you’re just tossing your clothing in. This will make your life 100x easier when going to go look for that piece of clothing that you want to wear that day. If you’re horrible at folding or were never taught how, I’m going to link a cheap folder below:
The one I linked above is technically marked towards kids with all the different colors it comes in, but don’t let that fool you. It’s a great option for anyone. I would be super impressed if you could fold as well as these folding boards do.
9. Use the back (or front) of your door
If you have space in your closet, then you need to utilize it. Another great way to keep clothing items from piling up in unwanted areas is to add areas where you can store them easily. For example, a door is a great place to put a shoe or jewelry holder. Below are two links to my favorites that I’ve personally used in the past.
Not only do these help keep your items organized and clean, they also put them at eye-level so you don’t forget that you have the things that you do. I’m sure there’s been so many times where you finally start cleaning your closet and you realize just how many things you have “lost” in the past couple months. Having something like a shoe or jewelry holder helps you not have to rediscover those cute boots or perfect date night heels that you thought were long gone.
10. Put your favorites at eye-level
Have you ever been cleaning out your closet and you suddenly discover that one sweater or cute dress that you thought was long gone? I can’t count the number of times that I’ve been organizing a part of my closet only to find the article of clothing that I was looking for weeks ago.
This tip, although similar to making your organization work for you, focuses on all of your favorites in your wardrobe. Maybe you finally found that one article of clothing that you’ve been looking for and you want to make sure you don’t forget about it! Definitely put it somewhere that you can easily find it, such as at eye-level.
11. Organize by color
One way to make sure that you can easily navigate your closet is if you organize it by color! There is no right or wrong way to go about this. Whatever order of color you enjoy organizing your clothes in will be the most beneficial to you. A lot of people choose ROYGBIV if they have a lot of colorful clothing, which is definitely a fun way to go about it.
If you have a more neutral wardrobe, that’s totally fine! You do not have to have a very colorful wardrobe to organize your closet by color. Honestly, I have a lot of neutral colors, so a lot of blacks, whites, tans, etc. I think basics are a staple that should be in everyone’s closet – but that’s another article hahaha.
12. Organize by occasion
Another way to keep your wardrobe easy to navigate is organizing it by occasion. For example, what I mean by occasion is organizing your closet just like this: work, school, comfy clothes at home, date night, formal occasions/wedding, holidays, funerals, etc.
This is what I personally do because of how easy it can be to find clothes and to put together an outfit. You can just go to that section or area that’s been designated for that specific occasion and you know that you have to pick from those clothes alone (or take a trip to the mall hahaha).
13. Keep your laundry basket close
One of the most important ideas in this blog post is that what can really help you keep your closet organized is keeping it clean. Organization goes hand and hand with cleanliness. With that said, keeping whatever you put your dirty clothes into either close to or inside of your closet can be super helpful.
It doesn’t matter if you have a fancy, designated laundry basket or just a container that you throw your clothes into. Whatever you use should be at arms’ length of your closet so that your dirty clothes don’t end up in a pile on the floor.
Those were our thirteen tips on how to organize your closet on a budget. Although there are definitely some cute, expensive pieces that can help organize your closet, there is really no need for that. You can easily reorganize your closet the best way for you, all without breaking the bank. Happy organizing!
This post was all about how to organize your closet on a budget.
