Your problem: More Closet Chaos

As seen on ABCNews.com

The bedroom closet often ends up being a magnet for the stuff we don’t know what to do with, from out-of-season beach bags to outfits that haven’t seen the light of day in years. That makes it a focal point for spring-cleaning, a topic that Good Morning America has focused on all week.

Linda Rothschild, the CEO of Cross It Off Your List in New York, offered the following strategies for creating order in your closet.

KNOW YOUR CLOSET

Most people have no idea what they own, which is why they keep things in their closet that they do not need and purchase items that they already own. Get into your closet and go through it all. That means touching every single thing. Take out one piece at a time.

Organizing guru Linda Rothschild helps
de-clutter a closet in disarray.

MAKE THE TOUGH DECISIONS

After you figure out what you have, it’s time to figure out what you want to keep. You must separate the keepers from the cast-offs. Ask yourself: Do I need this? Do I want it? Is it off-season? Does it belong somewhere else? Does it need to be dry-cleaned? If you have not worn something in two years, or if it’s dated or does not fit, get rid of it, Rothschild advises.

CLEAR SOME SPACE

If you have items in the closet that don’t belong there (your fax machine, kitty litter), move them to an appropriate location elsewhere in the house. Create a system for yourself. For example, you can place out-of season clothing in boxes, and put them in a hall closet, perhaps. Once you have a system, stick to it, putting things back where they belong.

GET SOME TOOLS

Once you have narrowed your closet contents down to the items that you want to keep, set it up so that what you need is easy to reach. In standard closets, the space between the top shelf and the ceiling is often wasted. Try filling it with stackable shelves, or plastic storage boxes that you can label. To make more room, you might also consider hanging two poles, if you have a lot of short items, such as shirts and skirts. The top one can sit at the 7-foot mark, while the other one might hang 3 and a half feet below that.

ORGANIZE CLOTHES

Place clothes in your closet by category, grouping blouses, pants, and skirts all together. Within each group, separate the clothing according to length, style and color. Having the same type of hangers throughout your closet makes the closet look organized.

KEEP IT CLEAN

Either hang clothes up or put them in the hamper at the end of the day. When you purchase a new piece of clothing, you should get rid of an old garment.