Happy, happy Wednesday! It’s another edition of LET’S LOOK!
If you don’t know what this is, once a month, Erika and I do a little link up where we “look” at different aspects of our lives (and then if you blog, you share and link up too!). We have been doing this little linky party for years now, and it’s always one of my favorite posts each month because most of the topics are YOUR suggestions!
In January, we looked at HOW WE ORGANIZE FOR THE NEW YEAR.
In February, we looked at WHAT WE EAT IN A WEEK.
In March, we looked at OUR FAVES FROM HIGH SCHOOL & COLLEGE
In April, we looked at HOW WE DO DATE NIGHTS!
In May, we looked at OUR HOMETOWNS!
In June, we looked at OUR GO-TO SUMMER LUNCHES
In July, we looked at HOW WE KEEP HEALTHY
In August, we looked at HOW WE DO EVERY DAY CLEANING
And today, we’re looking at….HOW WE ORGANIZE OUR CLOSETS!
Last December when we asked you what you wanted us to talk about this year on Let’s Look, THIS WAS THE #1 REQUEST!
You girls are interested in our closets, and I don’t blame you because I am interested in other people’s spaces too!
I don’t share a lot of details about certain parts of my house…so this won’t be a deep dive into my primary closet, buuuuuut I do have some pics and ways I keep my closet extra organized and tidy.
But first, lest you think all of my closets are tidy, here are a few of the other closets in my home right now…
This is our coat closet next the front door. Let’s see…there is a dining room chair in there. Some coats. A ring light with stand. A set of dumbbells. Two pairs of my sneakers. Speech games for my kids. Some folders. A mirror. Is that like maybe a flag pole? Hmmm.
That closet looks amazing compared to…
…for the love. This closet typically looks SO GOOD except during the fall and holiday season when I cram a lot of my “normal” things into this space to make room for my fall and holiday decor around the house. What I’m telling you is that this closet only looks good six months out of the year because the other six months of the year, I fill it with #allthethings that don’t have a home when the seasonal decor is out. Due to Smith’s violin stuff in the way, I couldn’t even open the door all the way. Heaven help me.
This closet here…
…is pretty good! This closet is in the little girls’ bathroom and is where we store all of our seasonal sheets. I bought THESE BASKETS a few years ago and this space works well for us!
This is the closet in Madeley’s room. It’s currently storing non-seasonal pillows since her clothes are still in their big closet (pictured below).
Awwwww! This closet isn’t half bad! This is the closet in our home gym. Please notice though that for whatever reason, Kensington’s Cricut is in there too. Why you ask? I have no earthly idea.
This is the little girls’ closet, and it stays super nice and organized.
Where are Smith and Kensington’s closet pictures? For the sake of our relationship (mine and theirs), I am not going to go into their rooms and look. I imagine small critters nesting in there and an abyss of dirty laundry mingled with the clean. And trash. Why do I also imagine empty Gatorade bottles and candy wrappers? No thanks. We are all going to pass on their closet today. #middleschoolers
So, those are a few of our other closets, but this is one view of mine…
…it will not be shocking to any of you to see that mine is nice and tidy 🙂 .
I have lived in many different places and spaces over the years with a variety of closets. If you’ve read my blog since the beginning, then you’ve seen my different closets and know I’ve had much smaller spaces to work with and have had to get uber creative over the years. Right now, I have a nice big closet, so I don’t struggle with having room any more as much as I do keeping it organized so that it’s efficient every day when I go in there and get dressed. I know many of you have tiny spaces and some of you have larger, but hopefully one or two of my tips help regardless of square footage.
Here are a few of my keys to organizing my closet:
1: I purge ruthlessly and often. At least once a month (if not more), I make a pass through my closet and remove items that I am no longer enjoying. I either pass them on to Kensington, donate them to a missionary family I’ve come to know well over the years or donate them at one of McKinney’s many donations spots.
2: I like to keep my clothing organized by type. As you can see, I keep my shorts together, my skirts together, my jackets together and then my tops are hung by sleeve length. I know some people are big on organizing by color, but I prefer to look at my wardrobe by sleeve length.
3: I hang up my jeans. For most of my life, I did not have the space to hang my jeans up and always had them folded, but I was thrilled when I finally could put them on a hanger. Want to know why? Because when they were all folded in a drawer, I just grabbed the top pair every single time. Folded jeans are hard to differentiate between, so I would just grab the same pair over and over. I love being able to see them. My jeans and shorts are lined up in order from lightest denim to darkest.
4: Separate items per drawer. I have drawer space to separate several items out, so I do. For instance…
…I have a drawer with just my leggings and tights…
…and another one with my athletic shorts. This just makes getting dressed at 4:15 AM each morning easier since it’s organized.
5: Use lots of bins and baskets! Oh I love me a basket in my closet. Here are a few ways I use them…
I keep this basket HERE filled with my flip flops. Flip flops for the pool, the yard, etc are great to keep handy but don’t need to take up real estate in my closet year around, so during the spring/summer, I pull this basket out and put it in my closet and then in the cooler months, I store it away.
I keep these two bins in my closet all the time though. The blue bin is for my “do not put in the dryer clothes” and the white bin is for my whites! This has helped me SO MUCH as I used to try and separate the laundry as I was throwing it in the washer and dryer but inevitably, I would miss a “do not dry” top and it would get dried and ruined or my white sports bra would get past me and come out pink on the other end. Now, when I see that the bins are getting full, I do a load of just that bin.
I have a rotating system with THESE BINS too! In one bin, I have all of my pool/beach cover ups, in another, I have all of my Red Sox tees, in a third, I keep all of my kids’ sports teams tees, in a fourth, I keep my fall tees and sweaters, in a fifth, I keep my Christmas tees and sweaters and then in a sixth, I keep my “other holiday” tees and sweaters (Valentine’s Day, Cinco de Mayo, etc). I used to try and cram all of that crap, I mean stuff, into the closet year around but why? I do not need a cover up in February nor do I need a Halloween tee in March. After the house flooded, when I was adding everything back inside, I switched to this system, and it’s been so amazing!!! When I’m not using the bin, I put them away (under the bed, in another closet, heck…you could put them in the garage!). Then with each season, I swap out my bins. Right now, my Halloween sweaters and tees are in the closet and my other items are away…let’s be real, I was ready to put my Red Sox tees away in May…#sigh #theyareterriblethisyear
As for my Red Sox hats though…
6: Stack your hats. I keep them all stacked to save room. I stack my fall/winter hats too!
7: Put a trashcan in your closet. I don’t know about you, but my closet produces a bunch of trash, so we LOVE having a trashcan in there with us. From dry cleaning tags, to bits of paper and stuff I find in my purse, new tags on clothes, receipts, safety pins…WHATEVER, it’s so nice to have a trashcan handy plus it keeps the space free of any extra clutter.
8: Make it smell lovely. I shared these…
…my reed diffusers on Friday’s blog post, but seriously, add one. I would say one diffuser easily lasts three months, and it just keeps the whole space smelling fresh and lovely. It’s a little thing that makes a big difference.
So, those are just a few little tips and tidbits from my closet.
Now, tell me what you do to keep your closet(s) organized? I would love any special tips and tricks!!! I’m into this topic too, y’all 😉 .
Next month in OCTOBER…
…it’s all about how we SELECT OUR HALLOWEEN COSTUMES…
…I’m here for it.
Happy Wednesday, friends! I’ll see you all tomorrow! xx
Lauren says
Oh my gosh I love, love, LOVE this post! Now I am mentally reorganizing my own closet
Elspeth says
I lii oh be seeing people’s spaces!! I organize mine by color! It makes things super easy when getting ready for work!
http://www.elspethsdaybyday.com
Erika Slaughter says
Our closets are basically identical right now. 😂😂😂😂😂😂
Mix and Match Mama says
I literally just laughed out loud!
Julie Bradford says
HAHAHAHHHAAA I LOVED this post and it depressed me 😏😝 goodness I have got to get it together!!! I hope to do this over the winter.. shed/donate all bins of the girls clothes from the past 5 years.. and organize closets!!!!! Shay..your closet is a DREAM 🥰
Kristine says
I love that you showed your clothes that aren’t so organized as well! Makes me feel so much better. Lol I love that bin idea! Totally going to try that.
Sheaffer says
I have a Life in Lilac diffuser in my closet too and it smells LOVELY every single time I walk in!
Dana P says
The bin system is genius!! Not only for separating things like swim coverups, but also setting aside the ones needing to be washed but not dried. Why have I never thought of that?! And a little tip-Tide with (nonchlorinated) bleach keeps our whites really white! We used to have super hard water and our whites were always turning gray and I hated it. Our water isn’t hard here, but I love how now our whites actually stay white with the Tide with bleach. Regular Tide also seems to keep stains out better, too. Who knew?! 🤭
Mix and Match Mama says
I love your tip!! Thank YOU!
Lori Whittington says
How do you reach the top layer where your hang up clothes are?! Does the ladder go all the way around? Love the space!
Mix and Match Mama says
The ladder does go all the way around!
Nancy Arlinghaus says
I’m so happy to read this post as we are building a new home and I’m currently designing my closet! Do you have lighting in each hanging area? Thanks for sharing!
Mix and Match Mama says
I do!
Adrienne N says
I LOVE storing spare decorative seasonal pillows in the XXL size vacuum storage bags. About 6-8 fit per bag, depending on shape and size, and then you zip the top and vacuum. A giant flat bag of pillows is so much easier to store. Then you can pull out just the bag of Halloween or fall or summer etc. They always poof right back up nicely when I take them out.
Krista says
I organize my shirts by sleeve length as well, but also with a subcategory of color. I also separate my graphic tshirts from my nicer shirts.
Lesley McFarland says
I love the bin idea for seasonal shirts and stuff GENIUS!!!
By the way….I see your Monica closet😂😂
Kayla Bruce says
Lots of good tips! One thing I always wonder if I’m doing right is storing my purses and handbags that I’m not using. How/ where do you store those?? I have mine all in a bin away from the sun currently.
Mix and Match Mama says
I have the space in this closet to display my designer bags. For other totes and bags that I have, I have them all stored in that big brown and white striped Barrington tote you see in the picture. All of my Barrington totes, smaller crossbody bags, etc are all inside of that big bag.
Ashley says
Is that big brown and white barrington tote you’re referring to, the yacht tote? If so, would you say that size is good to use as a carry on for flights?
Mix and Match Mama says
Yes! I love it! It’s huge but folds up pretty nicely. I think it would work really well!
K.K. says
I love all of these insights! And love what you’re doing with your bins. 🙂
My only tip that I just figured out was to invest in those little cheap stick-on lights for darker spaces/cabinets, so that I can open them and press them for extra lighting in those darker corners/spaces. They are so easy, and don’t really even show.
Rachel K says
Do you put your hats with a brim on a shelf also? And stacked? I am haven’t found a good way to store mine.
Mix and Match Mama says
Yes! Exactly like that! They stack one on top of the other.
Kacey says
This is perfect timing! I have an appointment next week with a closet company to finally get new closet systems and am loving these tips. Do you and Andrew share any closet space? I feel like I’m such a closet hog (or snob lol). I’d love to hear how you navigate that.
Mix and Match Mama says
We do! He’s pretty sweet about letting me bleed over into his space.
Lynn says
I’m curious if you still have a candle closet? Lol! If I remember correctly, in your previous house, you had a closet dedicated to your stockpile of Circle E candles
Mix and Match Mama says
Ha! That’s right! No, I have candle cabinets now instead. They smell really nice 🙂 .
Alison says
Ohhh, I love your idea about a bin for “do not dry” and the whites. I have all sort of baskets/bins in my closet, but I never even thought about this! I’m the person digging through the laundry basket to separate those when it’s wash time and then I get upset with myself for ruining something that slipped past my eye. Thanks for the hot tip! 🙂
Amy says
I am in the tiny closet club! The slim velvet hangers really do make a difference for additional space. Also, if I buy a new item to hang an old item has to come out to purge! If you can’t fit it get rid of it! If you lose weight awesome treat yourself to new things!
Lisa D says
I love this post, I love organizing tips that actually work haha! I organize my tops according to sleeve length as you do and that works perfectly for me. We have four seasons so I switch over clothing frequently and store out-of-season items (like sweaters, or summer shorts and tank tops) in lidded plastic bins/boxes in the basement. I added extra lights in the bedroom closets, the stick-on battery type bought at a home improvement store, gives us extra light which I seem to need as I get older 😄
Joanne says
I love the idea of a bin for flip flops; why haven’t I thought of that?!
Chrys says
Thank you for this post. I am going home now to organize and get rid of all the crap in my walk-in closet lol. It’s to cluttered and I can’t handle it anymore!
Carrie says
So maybe a weird question….does the diffuser in your closet make your clothes smell like that scent too?
So many good tips!
Mix and Match Mama says
Great question! NO! I’ve never noticed that!
Kizzi says
Loved reading about all of your closets! Question about folding t-shirts..how do you keep them from being creased? Or, do you just store them in there and then hang them when it is their season.
Mix and Match Mama says
If I feel like they’re a little wrinkly, I will spray them with Tom and Sheri’s…the BEST wrinkle releaser!!
Adriana says
If interested, we store our ball caps on like a rope with hat clips (fits a couple per clip) I believe from container store, possibly amazon. It can hang on the back of a door or on the wall but changing to vertical storage helped solve the similar issue you had with jeans, always grabbing what was on top.
Beth Knecht says
Love organization! I like to hang my clothes by sleeve length and color! It makes it so much easier to get dressed when I know exactly where to find everything!
Lindsay B. Miller says
Idk what’s more helpful. . . Your bin systems or the fact that you posted your “not so glamorous” closets. From a fellow type A personality this post just makes me breathe easy in all different kinds of ways, LOL. I LOVED this post. Thank you!
Karah Stracener says
This post makes me want to totally reorganize my closet. I think that may be my weekend project. Thank you for sharing your tips.
Kelly says
Can you share or show how you store your sweaters please? Thank you for this helpful post.
Mix and Match Mama says
Folded in my drawers!
Kim N. says
I love seeing how other people organize – and it’s always reassuring to see that even super-organized people have some closets that aren’t perfectly organized – makes me feel better! Thanks for sharing!