Are your clothes closets stuffed? Purses, shoes, clothes, umbrellas, extra hangers, even linens, magazines and books that have strayed? Can you even see your floor? Here are a few tips to cope with closet clutter:

First buy some good hangers and toss all those skimpy wire hangers. I prefer plastic hangers with swivel heads and rounded shoulders. Get heavier duty wood hangers too along with skirt / pants hangers with clips that hold multiple items, plus a tie rack if you need one, as well as some sort of shoe rack (standing preferred).

As you sort, make piles…outdated clothes, purses that don’t work for you any more, and clothes and shoes that don’t fit get donated. If you’re not sure, try them on now!

Torn clothes that you’ve never gotten around to repairing get tossed. Be brutal. If you don’t love it, don’t wear it frequently enough, or haven’t repaired it, then it’s time to get rid of it.

Now separate the clothes you’re keeping into categories and keep similar styles of clothes together. Put shirts with shirts, skirts with skirts, etc. Then put light colors together and dark colors together. Put long-sleeved tops together and short-sleeved tops together. Special occasion clothes should get a less dominant position in your closet because you wear them less frequently. Hang everything up with the hangers all facing in the same direction.

If you share closet space with someone separate your clothes from theirs. And get rid of anything that didn’t belong in the closet in the first place.

If at all possible, shoes belong in a standing shoe rack sorted by style.

Sort your purses on the shelf by color, style and size. Separate the everyday from the dressy.

If you pile sweaters on a shelf, sort them by style dividing lightweight from heavy.

If you need to keep other stuff in your closet because you don’t have anywhere else to store it, use labeled, clear plastic containers so you can find them easily. Again, keep similar things together.
For belts install hooks or use nails on an empty wall space.

If you need a place for hats, umbrellas and perhaps even purses or canvas bags, consider hanging a couple of hat racks on the inside of your closet door.

For accessories like scarves, panty hose and even jewelry you can use a hanging shoe bag.

The bottom line for clothes is not to stuff things so tightly that you can’t access them easily. The rule of thumb is: if you buy a new piece of clothing or a new accessory, get rid of an older piece.

All it takes is a few simple tools and some common sense solutions.

Bob Farkas is The Clutter Wizard, a “hands-on” home and office professional organizer serving The Santa Clarita Valley. His website, www.theclutterwizard.com, has many great hints and tips for staying organized. Bob can be reached via email at theclutterwizard@gmail.com or by phone at (661)298-9100.