Organizing by color - YouLookFab Forum

Recent closet organizing reports have discussed rainbow or color organizing. It’s not something I’ve ever done, and I finally figured out a big reason.

Since I organize my wardrobe by garment type, with tops hung on hangers, sweaters folded in drawers or bin, jeans folded on shelf and other pants hung in a different area, there isn’t really any rainbow to work with. Of my short sleeve tops/tees, for instance, many are gray, and a handful of navy, but then the rest are mostly one of each: pink, burgundy, royal blue, olive, yellow, turquoise, coral, purple, etc. So it doesn’t make sense to me, in the realm of keeping things in order, to arrange them in any color order at all, after the grays are together and the navies are together. The same can be said of my long sleeved tees. My button shirts are all different, varieties of plaids, a few prints and stripes. Since I don’t intermix the garment categories, there aren’t six items in the pink family, for instance, to hang next to each other.

Does this make sense to anyone?

3 years ago

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

I agree, but my phone keeps eating my response. It’ll have to suffice to say that I need to cover my top and bottom, not wear several matching patterns on my bottom half, or a series of spring green tops with no bottom.

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texasgal

Active Member

I have a lot of white, gray, blue, and black but clothes can still be organized in rainbow order, even if you don’t have a lot of colors.

Sisi

Yes, it makes sense to me. I prefer to hang my clothes by type. When I open my closet I want to find my tops on the left and my bottoms on the right. If they were all mixed together it would be confusing for my weak brain.

Joy

I organize by color first, then by type of item, tops first from sleeveless to long sleeved, then by weight, thinnest first, heaviest last. Then toppers, then bottoms, the same way. Patterns get hung together in the color area of their background color or dominant color, at the end is a hanger with scarves I wear most with that color. Everything is hung and I find this system works pretty well for me. The exception is dresses which need a longer space. They have their own rod. I sort of work light colors to dark, but do not hang navy next to black. It is too easy to mix them up when the light is not great. Socks are rolled and stored in clear plastic shoe boxes under the clothes of similar color, light weight to heavy wools. In cold weather I just turn the shoebox around so the woolies are in front, one box holds colored socks, arranged by color then by weight. Shoes sometimes are under the shelf of their color but most are on shelves and bags are hanging on the side of the shelves or on a shelf. I try to get everything in one closet but footwear gets moved to the very top in off season or dressy, and stored in see through boxes for quick identification.
I am short so keep a small step stool in the closet to quickly reach the high shelf. DH’s clothes are in one end of the closet and in drawers in the bedroom. Much is folded or rolled Kondo style. I hope this all makes sense. This system has worked well for me for years and I have all seasons together, which is great for a trip high into the mountains where it is cold and windy most of the year or travel to a different climate.

cat2

I separate by item type first, and then by color, but move blue out of order so it’s not next to black.

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

I also do type first then color, but I see what you’re saying that if you only have a few items in each category, it’s less necessary to sort by color.

notsaf

Same as Cat2 and Laura: I separate by type, and organize within type by colors -- white, lights, blue, darks, black or whatever variation looks good to the eye. Easier with hangers, which can be easily reorganized, than with stacks. I do have trouble keeping my jeans and pants stacks looking as tidy as my hangers.

Zaeobi

My closet's organisation is just like Joy's, except I unfortunately don't have enough space for my shoes in there so I keep a separate rack for them outside (forces me to keep the number tight so that they'll fit lol).

Runcarla

Oh! I rainbow everything - even my drawers!

Angie

Fashion Stylist

I hang by item type and colour. I have a lot of colour to work with, so rainbows emerge.

unfrumped

I really understand this.
It’s always used in closet - candy photos where there is a whole rail of blouses arrayed in a rainbow.
I do hang a huge % of my wardrobe, and I do have at least 3 tops categories- SS tops, including a collection of almost- dressy T’s; LS knit tops in varying weightand LS button- front shirts in different fabrics ( excluding my gardening/ hiking tops); Then, jackets and blazers are in different weights and colors. Pants more by silhouette and warmth because colors are even more limited.

My issue is that I’ve learned I choose items most often by weather temperatures and then silhouette.
So I’m more likely to say, today I am likely to need fleece, or today heavy cotton, or lightweight cotton , linen, short sleeve.
In addition, I might have to change during the day. . So I would move up or down the warmth- rating!
So I’m more likely to arrange by warmth . Which is a lot like item type, of course. But unless there are a lot of items in each, then that doesn’t make for much rainbow- striping of closet as a whole.
I do arrange by lights to darks and prints v. solids.
I don’t think there’s one right way, and I kind of try out different things from time to time. For example, silhouette of pants ( since most are dark) and sometimes shorter boxier tops from long- over- lean options.

I am also using some of my sorting/ organizing results to learn more about curating wardrobe. There can be a sort of visual appeal of how things look on the rail— either a soothing monochrome palette or a lot of similar shaped items ( every time I see the closet photos of perfect white- gray - black tops and bottoms I have a momentary urge to bag up my entire wardrobe and go buy those pieces ) but not really wearing the items, whereas more disparate items may look more chaotic, but each has a purpose.

I am not likely to become minimalist and have one jacket ( 4 Kenzie utility jackets, I’m looking at you), sweater, pants and so on, but I am working understanding I’m so fickle about fabric weight and warmth that I get a lot of variety by wearing one or 2 of several different fabrics and styles ( even within a “ season “) , so can probably do less duplication of each, especially if I stick to color palette.

Anonymous

I organize by garment type and wear. I do appreciate the rainbow though

I organize by color- then by type, from most to least covered.
Sleeved dresses, sleeveless dresses, toppers, pants, skirts, long sleeve sweaters, long sleeve blouses, sleeveless tops.
It works for me because I have the same colors across different types of items, no "one off" colors, and only a few printed pieces.

JamC

I organize by item type then color in each category. Tops are on one side, pants, skirts, and dresses on hangers on the other side. Sweaters are folded on shelves (not by color) but by weight or silhouette. Because I wear most colors, this makes it easy to find the item I am looking for!

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