Have you ever had the thought that there could be much easier ways to get dressed in the morning, possibly without having to rummage through piles of clothes in an overstuffed closet? In fact, how do the minimalists do it with just the bare minimum of clothes they need and how do they organize their closets? Well, the good news is that there are many ways to get started with organizing your closet, but we like remembering the basics: That there’s a place for everything and that everything has its place.
What is “a minimalist’s closet”?
A stereotype that surrounds a minimalist’s closet is that everything is plain or has only a one-color scheme – but it doesn’t have to be. Being a minimalist just means that you keep your clothes in order and whenever possible, you only have what you need rather than what you want in your closet. So how do you get started in taking a minimalist’s approach to closet organization?
The 5 steps to organizing a closet
- Remove everything from your closet. This way you’ll get a clearer look at all your clothes, and the amount of actual space you have in your closet. You could then start to reduce the number of clothes you have to avoid over-stuffing your closet.
- Put your clothes in piles. It’ll be easier for you to decide what are the things you’d like to keep and what you can let go of if you put them into sorted piles. You could always work with 3 piles: “To Keep” for the clothes you will need or wish to keep, “To Go” for attires that you don’t mind parting with, and “To Reconsider”. The latter pile is so you could look at them again and decide later if you’ll keep it or dispose of it.
- Need help deciding if you’re still wearing a piece of clothing? Try the reversed hanger method where you hang up your clothes with the hanger facing away from you. If the hanger position doesn’t change after 2 months, you’re probably no longer wearing that piece of clothing and you’ll know it’s time for it to go.
- Once you’re done picking out the clothes that can stay, you can then start to rearrange them to fit your lifestyle. Easy ways to do this is by keeping them color coordinated or by putting your attires together by occasion. You’ll also find that it’s easier to decide what to wear in the morning if you’ve got your closet sorted the minimalist way.
- Use storage bins for accessories and other items. The key to minimalism is to keep things clean and tidy, and storage bins can help keep the mess out of sight. They would also be good storage spaces for items that are out of season such as winter jackets that could be kept away in the summer, so you’ll have extra closet space for other necessities.
What do I do with the stuff I don’t need now?
Now that you’ve eliminated what doesn’t belong in your closet, it’s time to find a new home for them! We’d recommend putting your items up for sale to make yourself a little pocket money or if you’re feeling generous, you could always give them to your friends and family or donate them to a charity.
Getting into gear to organize your closet the minimalist way would sometimes sound daunting but could pay off satisfyingly. Remember that not you don’t have to get everything done in a single day and if you break organizing your closet in a burst of decluttering days, it’ll feel more like a cleanse for yourself than a boring chore.
