Clutter

Q: “What Does an Organized Closet Actually Look Like?”

“If anyone walked into your closet and pulled out a complete outfit for you, would you hesitate to walk out the door in it? If you answered yes, it means you likely have pieces in your closet that you don’t want to wear, and thus should be gone.”

Q: “I’m not sure I know what it means to have an organized closet (or an organized anything, really). All I know is that my closet never feels perfectly organized. What should I focus on when trying to bring order to my closet?”


Here’s the only rule of thumb you need to tell if your closet is organized: If anyone walked into your closet and pulled out a complete outfit for you, would you hesitate to walk out the door in it? If you answered yes, it means you likely have pieces in your closet that you don’t want to wear, and thus should be gone.

An organized closet is one that is arranged for the phase of life you’re in, for the body you have, and for your roles and responsibilities. Bringing order to your closet is totally doable, but it’s not going to be done overnight, or even over a weekend.

[Read: What Will It Take for My Home to Stay Organized Forever?!]

When I first took to seriously organizing my closet, I realized I had to get rid of almost everything. My body had changed, and I only had three outfits that comfortably fit my body. But I didn’t get rid of everything in one go. I decluttered my closet 30% at a time over the course of a year. I replenished my closet with hand-me-downs and clothes from consignment shops. Eventually, I had a 15-outfit wardrobe.

As you consider which items to keep and toss, be careful not to over-declutter. Ask yourself: What kind of clothing do I need in this phase of my life? How many pieces of [insert clothing article here] do I need? How can I store them in a way that makes sense to me?

When you get your closet organized to your liking, you can then clean out your closet and maintain that organization three times a year.

Closet Organization Ideas: Next Steps

The content for this article was derived from the ADDitude ADHD Experts webinar titled, “Your Organized Home: Functional Organization for Your Life Phase Right Now” [Video Replay & Podcast #463] with Lisa Woodruff, which was broadcast on July 19, 2023.


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