I’m sharing all my tips for closet organization. To organize the master bedroom closet might feel overwhelming but I promise it won’t be.
Today I want to talk about how to organize the master bedroom closet, no matter what size you have. Closet organization is not hard, but it is easy to get overwhelmed, when your closet isn’t organized.
When we moved into our current house our closet was a hot mess. It was much bigger than the closet at our old house, but that was a little overwhelming because I didn’t know where to put things. So bigger didn’t equal more organized, it meant more messes. (YIKES!)
You can see from this picture that things just got thrown in there–purses in piles, crammed on the shelf; a plastic tote of who knows what kinds of cords; and I think my favorite has got to be the glass cover for the light, sitting on the shelf. What, why!?
Finally I decided enough was enough, I needed some storage solutions! You can see the full post about how I organized my closet HERE, but what it really came down to was pulling everything off the shelves, purging and actually organizing the space.
Essentially every master closet has the same set of problems:
#1 – Too many clothes, many of which probably don’t even fit anymore, or have gone out of style.
#2 – We like to hide things in our closet because it makes the rest of the room feel clean (aka: the plastic bin full of cords and wires, in my before picture).
#3 – There are so many random objects: hats, belts, ties, swimsuits, laundry, etc. that can be hard to store.
Here are some simple solutions that will help you solve all of those problems:
#1 Purge, purge, purge
I’m pretty good at passing clothes along, when I find that I’m not wearing them, but I guarantee you, even I have some things in my closet I could get rid of. Purging is SO important in the process of organizing and maintaining an oranized master bedroom closet.
Don’t feel guilty about it, clothes don’t have feelings, and you can bless someone by donating them to a local shelter, or throw a swap night with some friends. If you can’t pull a hanger off the rack easily, and you find yourself cramming clothes into your drawers, then it’s time to purge!
#2 Organize with baskets
No matter the size of your closet, organizing with baskets, or cute boxes, is a must. By grouping random things together in baskets, suddenly they will be more organized, and they’ll look cute. In our fabric boxes, I store my hats, Matt’s hats, my swim suits, my workout clothes, scarves and seasonal dress up clothes (like St. Patty’s Day).
It’s great to have vertical spaces–like where I stored our boxes–but if you don’t, you can utilize your shelf space by getting stackable bins.
#3 A place for everything
Think about your closet the way you think about organizing any other space. In your kitchen you wouldn’t put the glasses in the silverware drawer, so in your closet don’t put your jeans on the shoe racks (just an example, but you know what I mean).
Start by emptying out your closet and then decide where everything should go, based on what would make it function the best.
Think through each of the spaces: closet rods, shelves, vertical space, the dresser, etc.
If you don’t wear your formal dresses that often, then put them on the closet rod in the back of the closet; if you store your shoes in the closet, make sure they are organized on a shoe rack, or utilize the hanging space on the back of the door. Store t-shirts, pants, socks, and other like items, in the dresser.
If you don’t have room for all your clothes at once, store seasonal items, like sweaters, pants, etc. in bins on the top shelves, so they are out of the way.
If you have a small closet, which most houses do, consider adding additional storage space with these DIY plans from Ana White. You’ll be shocked at how inexpensive and easy this project is!
There are so many variations of this design, you can totally make it your own. Also, consider adding and additional shelf above the top shelf in your closet. Usually there is so much space between the top shelf in the ceiling, that there’s plenty of room for more storage! You can also add storage to either side of the closet walls (full tutorial HERE). Think about how much you could store by just adding a few more shelves!
#4 Make it attractive
I know it might seem silly to make a closet attractive but I guarantee you, if you make it pretty, you are more likely to keep it clean and organized. When I organized our closet I put a chandelier in there because it makes the space pretty, and reminds me that it’s not just a closet, it’s another room in my house that I want to keep organized and pretty.
Recently I had a couple piles of donation stuff hanging out in our closet and it was driving me nuts because I wanted my pretty space back! When I finally had time to drop the stuff off, I breathed a huge sigh of relief that I finally had my closet floor back.
Here’s another great example of how you can make your closet storage attractive. My friend at View Along the Way turned her totally boring closet (that isn’t that big) into a gorgeous space, that I think most women would love to have!
These 4 tips will help you overcome closet clutter, make your clothes easier to find, and help you stay organized in this very important space!
I’m writing this post as a part of my 10 spaces you can organize in 30 min or less, and it’s totally doable, you just have to commit to making purging decisions quickly, and having a plan.
You’ll notice though, that I didn’t put the “30 minute time” in the title, because if you have a small closet, I highly recommend taking a weekend to add some additional shelving, shoe storage, etc., to maximize your closet space, using either of the tutorials above. This will take longer than 30 minutes but I guarantee it will be worth the time spent!
I would love to see your before and after pictures, post them on Instagram and tag me @askannamoseley, or you can use the hashtag for this series – #organizedinlessthan30min.
If you missed one of the posts in this series, here’s a list of what we’ve organized so far –
- Intro
- How to organize your health
- How to organize kitchen utensils
- How to organize kids dishes and utensils
- How to organize a Kitchen without a pantry
- How to organize Legos
- How to organize your purse
- How to organize paper clutter
- How to organize jewelry
Disclosure: I have included affiliate links in this post but if you purchase through them you will not pay a cent more than you would otherwise. Thank you for supporting Ask Anna!
