Welcome to part 1 of a 4 part blog series on Closet Organizing. During this series. I will be sharing organizing tips and tricks on 4 closets in the home:Master bedroom, linen, hall and kids closet. In this blog post, I will be addressing the master bedroom closet. Let’s get started.

Organizing your closet can be a daunting task but if you follow these simple tips, you can conquer the task with ease.

1. Limit Distractions

In order to stay focused on your closet organizing project, you will want to rid yourself of all distractions. If you have kids, arrange for a play date or do the project when they are at school. Remove pets from the room you are working in and put outside if possible. Turn off or silence your phone and notifications to keep you from being tempted to respond to that text or check your email.

2. Remove Everything From The Closet

Remove everything from the closet, including baskets, bins, shoe racks, shelves and dressers. It is always best to start with a clean slate. If you have a giant walk in closet, then you may want to start with one small section first. For small closets, you can take out everything and place it on your bed. Once your closet is cleared you can start the sorting and purging process.

3. Purge

The first thing you want to do is start purging your clothes and accessories.Grab some boxes for items you want to donate. It’s time to make those tough decisions about what to keep and what to get rid of. Here are some general guidelines to help you decide.

Throw out anything that it ripped or stained.
If you haven’t worn it in a year, it’s time to let it go. There are exceptions if you wear it for special occasions.
If it doesn’t bring you joy, get rid of it. It may bring someone else joy.
If it doesn’t fit, get rid of it.
If it is out of style ask yourself “why am I keeping it?” Are you holding on to something from highschool or college? If so, ask yourself why. Is there a memory attached to it? Can you take a picture of it and then donate it?

If you are having trouble making a decision about whether or not to keep an item, set it aside to deal with later. Bag or box up all donations and remove from room to give you space to work. Preferably, to the trunk of your car.

4. Sort Into Categories

Now it’s time to put everything you are keeping back into your closet. The best way to do this is to sort things into categories, shoes, scarves, hats, belts, dresses, pants, etc. You can also sort by color once you have categories determined. This will help you see how many shirts, shoes, dresses, etc you have in the same color. You may decided to pare down again after this.

5. Organize Your Closet

There a variety of ways to organize your closet. Choose a system that works for you. Here are a few simple steps.

First, decide on your layout. Is there space to add a dressing area or dresser. Do you want to incorporate shoe racks, baskets, bins or more shelving? Envision what you want your closet to look like.

Next, make a list of organizing products you need to buy. I use baskets and bins for storing purses, bags, scarves, and other accessories. Check out this article from Today.com for some inspiration.

https://www.today.com/home/closet-organization-ideas-56-affordable-closet-organizers-t105550

Lastly, Put everything back into your closet and label any bins or baskets to make it easier to find things. I like to organize by type: sweaters, shrugs, dresses, skirts, pants, long sleeve blouses, short sleeve blouses, tanks and then camis. Consider using the rainbow method for a quick and easy way to find a particular article of clothing. I know it helps me out tremendously. For example, if I am looking for a particular blue blouse, I can go to the blue blouse section to find it.

The rainbow method is ROY G BIV (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet). Neutrals (white, black, brown, gray, and khaki) can go in front or behind the rainbow colors.

Here are a few examples of my rainbow closet.