Is your closet always messy? Here's 5 of the most common mistakes you may be making
A well-organized closet is, of course, a pleasure to use: but most times - no matter how hard you try - closets fall into disarray. But this is because you are probably making a few, common "closet maintenance mistakes", perhaps even just unconsciously. So, let's check out some advice towards achieving a long(er)-lasting, well-organized, tidy closet:
1. Too many clothes
It's easy to see that the main cause of a constantly-messy closet is due to having too many clothes and accessories stuffed into it. There is no way to keep an over-full closet tidy, there simply isn't the space.
If a load of clothes fall out when you pull out a garment, it's time to reduce the number of items you are storing in your closet. Of course, you can move these items to another closet, give them away, sell them or adopt whatever "reduction path" you prefer. Most experts, however, recommend getting rid of your excess garments (rather than just moving them elsewhere).
2. The "wrong" closet
Anastasia Shuraeva/Pexels
Sometimes it's the furniture itself that's the problem: if your closet is largely an empty void with just a single rail for hanging up garments and couple of shelves (if you're lucky), this "basic configuration" will encourage a chaotic mess being created. And even using simple dividers, in a closet like this, jumbled stacks of clothing will tend to form over time.
Ideally, clothes should be grouped into categories and a space for each category should be found in the closet. Adding (more) shelves helps, as does using dividers or even using storage boxes and hooks. The final goal is to make each clothes category/section "independent" from the others, easing tidying-up chores.
3. The seasonal change of outfits
For most of us, we don't have the room to accomodate all the outfits we wear through the year (ie. our seasonal outfits). And even if you have a large, walk-in closet, experts still advise doing some sorting out (even if this is limited to positioning out-of-season clothes in the back of the closet).
However, for those with "regular" closets, it is advised that you store away your out-of-season clothes somewhere else in the home (in proper storage boxes and/or vacuum-packed).
4. Your most-used clothes
If you have the habit of quickly rummaging in your closet for your outfits to wear in the morning, it might be time to consider using another strategy: identify the clothes you wear the most often and, for example, hang them up on a free-standing clothes rail (like the one shown here).
By doing this, you won't have to rummage through your closet looking for your favorite clothes and creating a mess as you do so.
5. Putting clothes away
You can create a mess in your closet not only when you remove clothes from it, but also when you put garments back after washing them. To mitigate this, get into the habit of having a routine when doing your laundry and leave yourself enough time to systematically and neatly put your cleaned garments back in the closet.
By using these tips, you can keep your closets neat and tidy with the minimum of effort!
