Your closet literally lives behind closed doors, which means that it can become an easy area to ignore when it comes to organizing. Out of sight, out of mind – right? If you’re unsure of how many pairs of shoes you actually own, or the pile in the back corner hasn’t been touched for months, it’s probably time to do a deep clean and get your closet space organized and functional. We have 13 tried-and-true closet hacks for the girl who has everything – and needs help organizing it.

Phase 1: Cleaning 

Before you can organize anything, you need to clean it out! Step one is taking everything (yes, everything) out of your closet and sorting it into one of four piles:

• To sell at a consignment store: This is for items that are high-class, in great shape, and still in style. Click here to find out how to sell at consignment stores for extra cash!
• To donate to a thrift store: This is for items that are still wearable, but you can’t get any money out them. Or items that maybe you don’t feel like taking the time to sell.
• To reconstruct: If there’s a pattern you love and you want to turn it into a new item, it goes into this pile. You can even turn old shirts into cleaning rags – it doesn’t have to be reconstructed into something fancy! Our 10+ crafty ideas on repurposing t-shirts is one of our top posts on Pinterest.
• To keep: Remember that you’re only keeping items you actually love, feel good in, and know you’ll wear. If you’re not sure whether you want to keep an item or not, try the hanger trick; when you hang your clothes back up, put the hangers on the rod with the handles facing backwards, and only hang it up the right way once you’ve worn a piece of clothing and replaced it on the rod. If at the end of the clothing season the hanger is still hanging backward, toss the item.

Phase 2: Clothing

Clothing is what’s going to take up the bulk of your closet space, so you need to get creative with storing all of it so there’s still room for shoes, accessories, and jewelry. Try one of these ideas to maximize your closet clothing space:

• If you have room, install a second clothes bar above or below your current clothing rod. Just make sure to keep a small step stool in your closet if you’re going to install a bar above your current one!
• Many closets have a top shelf that is way to high to be of any real, functional daily use – use this space to store clear Tupperware or bins, and fill them with seasonal clothing. Keeping clothing out of the way by season serves two purposes: It leaves your closet less full of clutter that won’t’ be worn anyways, and it allows you to go through the “cleaning” phase again at the start of each new season when you bring down the container of clothes.
• If you’re someone who plans outfits a day or week in advance, hang a hook on the back of your closet door to hang them up for easy access.

Phase 3: Shoes

Shoes are arguably the trickiest part of closet organization – they’re bulky, awkward, and keeping them shoved in the top of your closet is a really good way to forget that you own that perfect pair of heels when you need them most. Instead, try these ideas:

• Hang shoes on the back of your closet door with a shoe rack (like this one or this one).
• Instead of letting boots flop to the side, cut a pool noodle in half and stick it inside of the boot so it stays upright and maintains its shape.
• If you’ve got a bit of a shoe addiction (guilty), use containers to store those seasonally, too.

Phase 4: Jewelry

The closet is a great place to store jewelry, but it can also be a great place to lose that same jewelry if you don’t have a good organization system set up. Try the tips below to keep everything in its place and well-cared for:

• Use ice cube trays for small items like rings or earrings.
• Use a tie organizer in the shape of a hanger (like this one) to hang necklaces. It will keep your necklaces from getting tangled, and you can hang them in front of all of your clothes.
• Old glass soda bottles or paper towel holders make great bracelet organization – just stack your bracelets on top of each other!

Phase 5: Accessories 

Odd accessories like sunglasses, purses, or scarves tend to get lost/stepped on most because there just isn’t really a good place for them in most closets. Try one of the ideas below to keep everything separated and in an easy-to-find place:

• Hang a shower or curtain rod on the back of the door or on a blank wall space to hang scarves; you can install shower curtain hooks on the same rod to hang hats and handbags so all accessories are in one place.
• If you’re someone who has a lot of accessories, find some blank wall space and hang a pegboard; it’s an easy way to keep all of the odds and ends in one spot without necessarily needing a special organizational system for them.

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Have you tried any of these organizational hacks? Do you have any of your own to share? Let us know in the comments!