Taming the back of the closet

Somebody posted quite a while ago about using a spreadsheet to manage her closet and make sure that every piece got to see the light of day. I was seriously impressed. I mean, I keep files on the contents of my freezer for meal planning purposes, so I was almost jealous.

The problem is, my energy resources are too limited to set up that level of organization for my wardrobe too. I suspect I'm not the only one. So I hereby offer up my quick and dirty method of making sure I am using my entire wardrobe for those of us who need quick and dirty.

Most of my clothes are on hangers, even T-shirts. My drawers hold undergarments, nightclothes, and out-of-season clothes for the most part. I do not sort my closet by colour, like the specialists tell you to do. To my mind that prevents me from considering new combinations that I wouldn't have thought of on my own. Seeing as I tend to be too conservative in that area, I don't want to encourage myself to get stuck in ruts.

So I organize according to category: jackets and cardigans together, tops together, bottoms together. I have no dresses for every-day wear right now, but when I do, I put them in the bottoms category. And at the very back of the closet are my special-occasion clothes, where rotation is not really an issue. I know when to head back there, and there are so few things, they don't need organizing.

When I put something away, it goes at the back of its category. And when I choose something to wear, I start looking at the front. Which means I am always looking first at what has been neglected the longest. When possible, I combine the "front-runners" in each category. I have discovered some very interesting combinations this way, things that I wouldn't have normally considered putting together. :o)

When I want to plan ahead, I take out the front-runners, lay them on the bed, and build outfits around them, right down to the undies and accessories, sometimes (rarely) even make-up. The small things go in a bag slung over a hanger, and each complete outfit goes into the closet in the "Complete Outfit" section. ;o) In the morning, I just grab my choice for the day and dress.

Of course, none of these rules are hard and fast. If none of the pre-planned outfits fit my mood or the weather or whatever, I am free to build a new one. Or not plan ahead when I don't feel like it. Or prepare just one or two outfits. Or ten (well, I don't have enough bras for that, but you get the idea). The point is to make things easier and make sure the clothes I have get worn, not to burden myself with rules. And to challenge myself to think outside my boxes.

I also get a pretty quick fix on where my wardrobe holes or poor choices are too. When I can't find a top for a certain bottom, or vice versa, it's time to shop or time to give away, and it's pretty clear what I need to buy or give too. That orphan at the front needs either a new home, or some brothers and sisters.

Do you do anything similar? Are there ways I can improve my system?

13 years ago

Anonymous

This sounds like a wonderful system that isn't time consuming. If I really like an outfit I have a notebook arranged by item type to write down what worked so I can repeat it . Photos would accomplish the same thing for those of us who have become memory challenged.

Veteran

A notebook is not a bad idea at all. I try to trust my memory. I probably shouldn't.

April

Love any thread about closets!

I agree with you about sorting -- I go by item type and not by color.

In terms of making outfits, you're way ahead of me there. If Angie didn't thoughtlessly choose to live on the West Coast instead of the East, I would hire her in a heartbeat to help me work with what I have.

This is a somewhat random personal preference, but I don't like a bunch of stuff on the floor of the closet. (I don't succeed at this, BTW, but I do like it better when the floor is clean.) I'd rather find a way to get my shoes up off the floor than to have them cluttering up the floor space.

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

That's a great idea. I occasionally pull out everything I haven't worn in a while and put it at one side of the closet, right next to the empty hangers. That way I'll look there first when I have a "what should I wear" moment. But if there's a lot over there it gets confusing, because I will expect a skirt to be in the skirt section and it's not; it's in the "wear me" section.

I also do the same thing with stuff that's folded in drawers - whenever I am putting away laundry, I will pull out things that I haven't worn recently and put them on top of my dresser as a reminder. It's not the most visually tidy but it works.

Laura, when I put things away in drawers, it goes at the back or the bottom of the pile too. I'm a little bit obsessive about cycling through things, I think. But it really does help with knowing what to buy and what not to buy. Right now, I've forbidden myself to buy any more dressy summer tops. I usually have a few at the front of the line, which tells me I have more than enough for my mostly casual lifestyle.

jayne

I love that you do this because I do it too. I felt alone at the last Angie survey where everyone organized by color. I also like having premade outfits ready to wear - usually for up to a week ahead!

But I also use a spreadsheet to plan ahead for the next season because those clothes are packed away and I am trying to find my holes!

cheryl

I am one of those spreadsheet people but it sounds like you do the same thing as me without the spreadsheet. I also like you, organize by type, not by color. Color just doesn't work for the way I think or plan my outfits because I want a continual rotation. Anyway, this was a fun read and i had been thinking about preplanning a few outfits and now you have convinced me to do so

I started preplanning outfits when I was in a situation where I had to get up very early and run out the door right away. I am not a morning person, and I just couldn't get my brain to work that fast that early. So I had complete outfits ready to go, right down to the makeup. The only decision I had to make was shoes, and I don't have many, so that was easy. And I liked it so much, I kept doing it even there's no longer any compelling reason. That way I can do it when I'm in decision-making mode and when organizing feels like fun. And of course, if none of the outfits available click with me on any given day, I'm always free to put another one together.

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