Some people prefer to arrange their clothes by style while others sort their clothes according to season. Organizational experts will tell you that one of the best ways to coordinate your closet is by color. There are all sorts of benefits to organizing your closet by color, and it's a lot more than looking great!
Face all of the items in the same direction to create a streamlined look. Order from short to long (so start with short sleeves then move on to elbow-length sleeves, etc.) Fold longer garments over the hanger to prevent dragging and catching. Color code so items are easy to locate and put back.
Categories Are Key. "Hang clothes using simple systems that you can easily maintain. Group all tops together, all pants together, all dresses together, and color-code each category," says organizer Clea Shearer of The Home Edit. Aron suggests that you also break it up by season.
When you organize your closet by color, you're searching through a much smaller section of your closet. This makes it much easier to find that green top you need. Not only will color-coding your closet help you look better, you'll also save time!
If your closet's racks are arranged in a more modular fashion with less height, your jackets should go on the higher racks. If you only have one closet rack, you should add pantsuits, skirt suits and jackets after dresses. Tops: T-shirts and knits should be folded and placed in dresser drawers or on a shelf.
Arrange your wardrobe in a way that makes sense to you. You could arrange your clothing by garment type, colour group, or even by outfit combinations. If you want you can also have a designated section for your weekly outfits. This is especially helpful if you like planning out your outfits in advance.
The researchers found that a “sufficient” wardrobe consists of 74 garments and 20 outfits in total. As an example, they've suggested six outfits for work, three outfits for home wear, three outfits for sports, two outfits for festive occasions, plus four outdoor jackets and trousers or skirts.
When organizing by color, look to the rainbow. "Start with white, cream, pink, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet, brown, gray, and black," says Melanie Walker, the owner of NEAT Method. There are some other hues that are harder to place when working on the ROYGBIV system, like gold and silver.
The term for sorting items by color is called chromatic ordering.
Base Colors vs Statement Colors
These are typically neutrals like black, white, navy, gray, and brown. These will act as the base for your wardrobe and make it easier to mix and match pieces. If you like wearing cool-toned colors like turquoise and purple, then varying shades of gray are a good choice for base colors.
A few years back, I experimented with reducing my wardrobe by joining Project 333. The idea behind Project 333 is simple: Wear only 33 articles of clothing for the next 3 months.
The Institute describes it as a “sufficiency wardrobe”, and it should be made up of six outfits for work (with up to four items per look), three pieces for home lounging, five sports outfits, four outdoor jackets and two party looks.
A minimalist capsule wardrobe is a curated selection of clothes where (almost) everything mixes and matches. There's no magic number of items it should include, so don't stress about getting it perfect. Instead, focus on versatility.
Dressers don't usually go in closets but if it's best for your space and functions well— go for it! Working with small spaces you need to get creative and use every bit of space (floor included) that you can professionalorganizer.
Not only is organizing by color visually appealing, says Jessica Moskal, owner of Organized by JM in Buffalo, but it can also save you time and money by making it easier to find items. “The more you can see things, the more you're going to use them and know what you have,” she explains.
The underlying premise of the three colour rule is to not combine more than three colours in your outfit at any one time. The exception being black and white, which are technically not 'colours' but tones, and can be intermixed as a fourth colour in your outfit. An easy example is the outfit I'm wearing above.
One formula I've found helpful to add color while still looking chic and put-together is the 3-color rule. Aim for 3 colors in an outfit, and yes, your neutrals count. Above, I've used 3 colors: tan/camel for the pants and shoes, red sweater, and light peach blazer. (My personal preference is 2 neutrals + 1 color.
If you have to get dressed for work each morning at 6 a.m., make sure your work clothes are at the front of your closet. You should store lesser-worn items like formal wear and out-of-season clothes toward the back and on the upper shelves.
Factoring in plenty of closet storage for coats, bags and boots is an essential entryway idea if you don't have a boot room as it will help keep the hallway clear making the space feel calm, welcoming.
Jackets are large pieces—and if you try to fold them and put them in a dresser, not only will it cause wrinkles (and potential damage to the structure of the piece), but it will also monopolize most of your space. "Jackets of any kind should be hung," says Reynolds.
They say that the Pareto Principle, also known as the 80/20 rule, holds true with wardrobes: Most of us wear 20 percent of our clothing, 80 percent of the time. Why waste valuable space on the other 80 percent of your wardrobe that you rarely wear?