Steps to Take Every Day to Keep Your Custom Closets in Order

Heather Towner • Mar 15, 2023

Cleaning out a closet that’s gotten out of hand is no one’s idea of a good time. Keeping a closet in order doesn’t have to be a major undertaking, though, if you’re willing to take small steps daily to avoid having to straighten a big mess all at once.

There are a number of fast, easy things that you can do daily to keep your custom closet system organized and prevent it from getting out of control.

Use Photographic Evidence
Cut Down on Clutter in the Moment
Put Laundry Organizers in Place
Limit Impulse Shopping

Find out about the small steps you can take to make sure your closet stays in shape and hold off the need for a major overhaul later.

Use Photographic Evidence

The key here is to start when your closet is in the best shape it could be in. If you can help it, you don’t want to start on a practice of keeping your closet organized when it’s already disorganized – you want to do it when your closet is already in the shape you want it to be in. When it’s perfect, take a picture.

Post that picture somewhere near your closet – tack it to the wall, stick it into the mirror frame, or prop it on a shelf. Now you have a point of reference for how you want it to look. The next time you use the closet, ask yourself if it looks like it did in the picture. Are there shoes on the floor that weren’t there when you took the photo? Clothes hanging out of a drawer? Go ahead and fix those discrepancies right away. Make it a habit and you’ll keep your closet looking its best all the time.

Cut Down on Clutter in the Moment

Has this ever happened to you? You’re looking for an outfit to wear that day. You pull something out of the closet that no longer fits, that you no longer like, or that’s damaged in some way. You aren’t going to wear that. You think that the next time you have extra time, you need to go through the closet and get rid of that item and other things like it. Then you put it back in the closet and forget about it because you don’t have time right now.

All this does is ensure that your closets stay cluttered. Instead, why don’t you put an empty box, bin, or basket on the closet floor? Whenever you run across an item that you no longer want but don’t have time to deal with, don’t hang it back up or shove it back in the drawer – put it in the container instead. You can deal with it later after the container fills up and you have some free time. In the meantime, clutter is regularly being removed from the rotation of clothing.

Put Laundry Organizers in Place

You have places for all of your clean clothes, but do you have places for all your laundry? If not, you may find laundry piling up on your closet floor. Instead of letting that happen, why not equip your closet with hampers?

One hamper is good, but if you can include a few of them, you can separate your dirty clothes into lights, darks, and delicates as you put them in the laundry, which means that you’ll be keeping your closet neat and organizing your laundry at the same time. Built-in hampers can save space and allow you to store your laundry in the closet without letting it get in the way of your clean clothes.

Limit Impulse Shopping

If your problem is that your closet inventory keeps growing and growing, your problem might be impulse shopping. This is a problem for many people, so you’re not alone if this is a problem for you. According to Clever Girl Finance, Americans spend $182.98 a month on unplanned purchases. There could be multiple reasons for this, from shopping addictions to a fear of missing out on promotions and sales.

If you’re an impulse shopper, there are ways to get it under control, from simply avoiding temptations to being more mindful of how you’re shopping and whether or not you really need to spend the money you’re thinking of spending. Set a budget for yourself and stick to it. Take only as much money as you need with you when you go shopping so you can’t go over. Set goals for yourself and remind yourself of them regularly.

Conclusion

Your closet doesn’t have to get cluttered or out of control if you take care to set some small, everyday tasks for yourself to keep it in shape. Remind yourself of what your closet should look like and aim to keep it that way. Keep clutter under control as you go, give yourself room for laundry, and take steps to limit impulse spending.