When the New Year comes around, it always feels nice to do something to help us get our spaces a little more in order. My favorite place to start is always giving my closet a nice purge—getting rid of the pieces that I’m not in love with anymore, and either keeping it minimal, or making room for new!

organizational essentials for your wardrobe

Here are some of my favorite tips and tricks for giving your wardrobe a fresh start this year:

Take all of your clothes out of your closet!

Yep, all of them! Maybe not all at once (that could be a mess) but break it into sections, and go through every piece, section by section. If you haven’t worn it in a year, donate it or give it to a family member or friend who would like it.

If you want to take it a step further, narrow your window down to “have I worn this piece this season?” If there’s a sweater you’ve been holding onto since September or October, and you still haven’t put together a chilly weather outfit with it, maybe someone else could get better use from it!

Get a system for organizing your closet!

There are many different ways you can go with this. I’ve sometimes decided to organize by color, or sometimes by type (jackets, then blouses/shirts, then dresses, etc…). You may even want to try putting your favorite pieces at the back of your closet, so you resist the urge to always grab them, and wear the pieces that don’t get as much love!

When you wear something, you can move it to the back again to keep the rotation. This system can also be good because if something is still at the front of the closet weeks later, and you just can’t find an outfit to wear it with, it’s a good indicator that the piece could be better off in a new person’s closet!

What’s important is that you find a system that works for you! If you want to try out a new system and make yourself stick to it, you can even use these clothing rack dividers to label the sections of your closet!

There are also so many little tips and tricks for space saving that I love in my closet:

Use felt hangers! They’re slightly thinner, which may not seem like it would make a huge difference, but it does! Plus the felt keeps shirts from slipping off the hangers!
Buy shelf dividers or bins to put your sweaters in, so you don’t have to hang them and get those awkward hanger bumps! Plus, over time, hanging your sweaters can cause the necklines to stretch. Folding them and stacking them is just a better way to take care of them, and save hanging closet space!
Shoe storage—possibly my biggest nightmare. It’s so easy to let your shoe storage get out of hand. So I’ve spent plenty of time trying to figure out what the best storage method is for me. However, that may not be the best for you, so I’ve rounded up my top shoe storage go-tos so you can find what works for your space!
1. Over-the-door hangers — These work particularly well in small spaces, and can hang over the back of almost any door!
2. Stackable shoe boxes — These are a great option if you have a bit of shelf space to spare and also want a way to be able to see all the shoes you have!
3. Shoe rack/shelf — This one is probably more obvious, but I’ve found a lot of shoe shelf options that are also functional furniture, which is always an added bonus! This can allow for in-plain-sight storage, if you opt for something like this shoe storage bench or a shoe cabinet with doors on it that can be used as a night stand or TV stand!
4. Under-bed-storage — This solution is also great if you have a small space! This keeps shoes from taking up closet room, and also frees up the room that a standing rack or shoe boxes would take up in your living space!
Accessories storage — This one is a must for me! Accessories are something we all probably own way to many of, and they can also just take up a lot of space and be awkward to store. Purses, scarves, jewelry—you name it and we probably need better ways to store it!
- These purse hanger bags keep everything organized and hanging neatly to see! Purse hooks are also an easy and simple way to store your bags! This rack for storage wallets and small purses is also a good solution!
- Scarf hangers are a great way to keep scarves, the hubby’s neck ties, and more organized!
- Jewelry hangers are great for keeping your jewelry from taking up too much counter space and also stay organized!

Fill in the gaps with some go-to basics!

I’ve never in my life had buyer’s remorse over buying basic staples! It’s because they’re a necessity and can be used in so many versatile ways! Here are some of my favorite items I use to fill in the gaps of my wardrobe!