This Easy Closet Organization Method Is Perfect For Spring Cleaning

When your closet is cluttered, it can feel like the rest of your life is cluttered too! While a lot of old closet-cleaning advice—like removing anything you haven't worn in a year—may be less relevant after we spent nearly all of 2020 at home, there are still a few ways to organize your clothes that make finding the perfect Zoom call outfit easy.

Perhaps one of the biggest hindrances to removing old clothing items is our emotional attachment to them, since a clean sweep of your pantry likely doesn't bring you face to face with your dress from your college formal. As Jen Rowe of NEAT Method explained to InStyle, "disregarding these emotional ties" isn't the thing that'll make the job easier to tackle. The outlet goes on to share that Rowe's method involves "dissect[ing] your wardrobe piece by piece."

To start, Rowe's method begins with a full removal of everything in your closet. As the publication shared, this means "taking clothes down from the closet hanging rod, out of drawers, and off shelves." By having every garment laid out in front of you, it helps you get a better sense of what you're working with. InStyle also noted that this step of the process can help you "uncover hidden gems" that you forgot about at the bottom of your dresser.

Now that everything is off of the racks and out in the open, InStyle recommended you "sort items into categories such as tops, denim, workout, etc., to get a sense of structure." Rowe elaborated on the method, telling the publication, "[The zone method] prevents items from getting mixed up as you edit. Donation and consignment items should include items that are still in good condition that just don't work in your wardrobe anymore. Also, consider creating a category for items that you're not wearing because they need to be mended or tailored."

From here, make three piles: "Donate, Toss, Sell," as LifeHacker suggested. Go through each section of your clothes one at a time, adding various items to each of the piles as you organize. If you're struggling with choosing which items to hang onto, the outlet suggests asking yourself if each item is "something [you would] buy" again if anything were to happen to it. If the answer is no, it may make your decision that much easier.

Once you've whittled your items down, it's time to keep your organized space intact. Rowe recommended making a "one in, one out" rule in which, for every time you purchase a new item, you donate, sell or toss one in your closet. In addition to keeping your space that much more organized, Rowe told InStyle it will "help to curb impulse buys in favor of meaningful purchases."