7 Ways You Should Be Organizing Your Closet

1. Donate or Throw Out

Before you can organize your closet, you have to figure out exactly what is worth organizing. Go through your clothing and separate anything that doesn't fit, that's worn out, or that you haven't worn in years. Then, determine which pieces are good for donation and which ones simply need to be tossed in the garbage. This will make organizing your closet all the more easy. Remember, if you donate items, keep an itemized list of what you donated for tax season.

2. Seasonal Clothing

Unless your closet is big enough to fit everything you own, you'll want to only keep the current season's clothing on hand. Pack the off-season items away until you're ready to changeover your wardrobe. Some items will stay out year-round, like clothing that you use for layering. Otherwise, stash it 'til you need it.

3. Shoe Boxes

Some shoes, like fancy high heels and leather boots, should be kept safe and sound in their original shoeboxes. You can stack these high above on a shelf to free up floor space. To make it easy on yourself, attach a photo to the front of each shoe box so you know exactly what's inside. Your other shoes can be hung in a shoe bag on the back of your closet door.

4. Arrange By Type

When you're rushing out the door, it's easiest to throw on a pair of jeans and a sweater if you know where they are. Group your clothing by type: tanks, short-sleeved shirts, long-sleeved shirts, sweatshirts, sweaters, pants, shorts, skirts, dresses, etc.

5. Sub-Categorize By Color

Once your clothing is arranged by type, sub-categorize your pieces by color. This will streamline your mornings by making it easy for you to pick out an outfit. If you want to really get organized, each section of clothing - pants, blouses, sweaters - should be organized by color in the same order: neutrals, reds, yellows, etc.

6. Fold

If you have space in your closet to keep folded clothing, utilize that space. Fold what you can, as long as the items won't get too wrinkled. Jeans, pajamas and tees are great to fold. Also, fold items that are hard to hang, like skirts and chunky sweaters. Often, big sweaters stretch out when they're hung up because they're so heavy. Also, some clothing takes up less space when it's folded and stacked on shelves instead of being hung up.

8. Utilize Drawers

If you have a large closet, there's probably enough room to put a drawer set inside. Put accessories like your scarves, winter hats, gloves and flat pocketbooks in the drawers. This will keep all of your clothing and accessories in one place while getting them out of the way until you need them.

If you keep these seven tips in mind, cleaning out your closet will be easy and stress free!