Like many of us who are stuck inside during the winter months - I want something productive to do, but struggle with the initial kick-off to actual start doing it. Starting a new organizational project can feel overwhelming, and sometimes even defeating. Well luckily, I just organized my closet with this blog in mind and learned some stress-free tricks for having (and keeping!) the tidy closet of your dreams.

1) DIVIDE INTO SECTIONS

You are completely allowed to decide how you would like to group your clothes - it is of course YOUR closet after all! But I have discovered over many years of trying different types of grouping that the one that I think works best is grouping by style.

In my closet I go by sleeve length and season. For example from left to right in my closet is sleeveless tops that go all the way to long, heavy-weight knits. You don’t have to think very hard when you are putting this back into it as you just have to find the right sleeve length and hang it up!

Plus it just looks so tidy that it makes you feel so accomplished when you are done!

2) GET RID OF THINGS THAT DON’T BELONG.

Are there shoes on the floor, or stacks of books in the corner? Try to take make sure that everything in your closet it making the most of the space. Try moving the things in your closet that aren’t for everyday wear - to another space. If space is an issue and you need to have these things in there, invest in some cute & practical storage bins so they can be out of the way.

3) GET SPACE SAVING HANGERS

Nothing will help you save space in your closet than getting rid of bulky hangers. The slim velvet lined hangers work great for keeping your garments from falling off while also being quite a bit thinner than most others.

Multi-hangers are great for pants and scarves too. They only take up the same amount of space as one single hanger and can fit multiple pairs of jeans on one hanger.

4) FOLD THINGS THAT DON’T NEED TO BE HUNG

Jeans, pants and bulky sweaters don’t always need to take up that precious space in your closet. When you are organizing, start making a pile of clothes that can be folded neatly on a shelf or into a storage container. Personally I like to have my folded clothes visible or I forget about them until I re-organize again!

5) THE UGLY HANGER TRICK

This is something that you can do all year and will be the most helpful thing when deciding what goes and what stays.

Step 1 - Take the ugliest (or most memorable hanger in your closet) and hang it at one end of your closet. If you don't have any strange hangers that come to mind, tie a ribbon around the top of the hanger so you can identify it.

Step 2 - Every time that you wear something place it on the opposite end of your “ugly hanger”.

Step 3 - After a year (or what ever time limit you would like to set), you will be able to see which clothes you have worn over the last year and which ones you haven’t.

Step 4 - Go through the ‘unworn’ section decide which pieces you can donate and which ones you still can’t part with.

Then just start the process over again for another year!

Organizing your closet does not have to overwhelming. I grabbed two black garbage bags for donations and just started making those hard choices right off the bat. It really does make you feel so refreshed and proud of yourself. Depending on the size of your closet this can be done in just a couple hours or less. You will feel like a superhero of your own life when you’re done!