Five steps to your most-organised closet

You know what feels 100 x better than rustling around in too-cramped drawers, trying to find something clean to wear that preferably won’t require ironing? Going into your closet and seeing all your options at a glance. Having your jewellery blissfully untangled. Having your laundry neatly tucked away in a chic, aerated basket. And the good news is, you don’t need to splash out for a walk-in-robe revamp. A few easy tweaks to your existing closet sitch can make a big difference. Try these five steps to create your most-organised closet yet…

Step 1: Declutter, declutter, declutter.

Fun fact: The average person only wears 20% of their clothes on a regular basis. That means 80% of your precious wardrobe space is being clogged up by one-wear wonders. Bag up anything you haven’t worn in the last 12 months and send it straight to The Salvos. Then consider pulling out a capsule wardrobe of the items you have on high rotation right now (we’re talking that golden 20% of basic tees, jackets, jeans, skirts and shoes) – you want your most-used items to be accessible. If you have the space, hang these items on a clothes rack to make it easy for you to pick from your favourites in a pinch.

Step 2: Place like with like.

Getting dressed is like an equation: one top + one bottom + two shoes + accessories = a complete outfit! And because we hate maths around these parts, we like to make solving the equation as simple as possible. How do we do it? By placing like with like and pulling together items in key categories (tops, pants, skirts, dresses) and sub-categories (long-sleeve, short-sleeve, tees, blouses). If you’ve got an old tee you’ve relegated to ‘house’ status, keep it stashed away with your loungewear and PJs so it’s not getting in the way of your workwear.

Step 3: Find a spot for everything.

Some things are fine in drawers – undies, T-shirts, jeans – but other items don’t play so well cramped up with each other (we’re looking at you, tangle-prone necklaces). Invest in a few handy hooks for your bulky jackets and coats, a jewellery hanger for those delicate chains and dangly earrings, and some bag hooks for your handbag and clutch collection. They might take up a bit of room on your hanging rack but they’ll save you oodles of space (and stress!) in other parts of closet. Speaking of making space in your closet…

Step 4: Get creative with storage.

If you’re working with a small space, think creatively and bring your closet out to play. Repurpose storage pieces like bench seats and pouffes to stow away off-season staples and invest in a few wicker baskets in different sizes – they’re handy for storing things like clutches, sandals, hats and scarves, and are cute enough to keep on display. Got some cash to splash? A timber clothes airer like this one by Miss Glass Home is a useful laundry staple that doubles as a design piece, so you don’t have to rush to pack everything back away.

Step 5: Keep it neat and tidy.

Instead of dumping all your worn gear on the floordrobe (or that chair – you know the one…), get into the habit of putting dirty clothes straight into a laundry basket and returning clean clothes to the spot you created for them (let’s hear it for Step 2!). Make a date once a month to quickly go over your closet and make sure no sock drawers are getting out of hand and any out-of-season pieces are put on the back-burner. Then, you should only have to do a full maintenance makeover once or twice a year!