There’s the closet we pin, and there’s the closet we get dressed from on an average day.
Small closet organization ideas only count if they help the second one, our real life, and if you forget what you own the minute it’s out of sight, they need to help you see if you are a certain kind of organizer.
If other methods or other bins haven’t worked, there’s probably a reason for it, and it’s probably because you are a visible organizer. You need to be able to see things. There’s hope, people. It’s going to work this time.
That’s me, at least in my closet. The closet must haves every closet needs are in this post: Closet Organization for Everyone. From there, I broke down things like bins and storage organizers into two types of people.
This post is for people who need things hidden. Today’s blog is for what changes when you want it all in view.
Closet Organization Ideas for Butterflies and Bees
Cassandra Aarssen’s Clutterbug method starts from an idea I believe in completely: traditional organizing fails because we don’t all sort the same way. Her quiz asks whether you want things visible or hidden, and whether you sort in broad categories or detailed ones. Answer visible, and you’re one of two types.
A Butterfly is visual and big picture. Cas points Butterflies toward open shelving, big clear bins, and labels on everything, and she even suggests taking the closet doors off. That’s me in my closet. If I can’t see it, I forget I have it.
A Bee is visual and detailed. Cas suggests clear containers with drawers, pegboards, and storage that climbs the wall. [CHECK: my oldest / my youngest] is a Bee, obsessively visual with every detail. [CHECK: is she okay being in this post?]
If you answered hidden, [LINK: Closet Organization Ideas for People Who Don’t Want to See Everything] is yours instead.
Closet Must Haves for Women Who Need to See It All
Closet must haves for women who need to see it all start with one rule: skip anything you can’t see into. Clear 11″ x 11″ bins show you everything inside.
Acrylic stacking organizers and clear long organizers build up and out from there, and acrylic drawers work for jewelry, socks, and the small stuff.
Bags get clear acrylic purse dividers, so every bag has its own spot on the shelf. Scarves can hang where you’ll see them, on a silver scarf hanger or a velvet one.
If you don’t mind things out, give each kind of jewelry its own tray: one for bangles, one for necklaces, etc.
Matching hangers matter even more here. In a closet where everything’s on display, every hanger is on display too. There’s no reason to not make something functional and beautiful. Look at all these options for colors!
Small Closet Organization Can Still Be Beautiful
My closet is a small 1960s walk-in (you can barely turn around in it) that nobody ever expanded, and I wouldn’t change a thing. It’s a forced edit. Everything in it is something I love, and I refuse to make room for more. COVID happened when we moved in, so we weren’t doing all the renovations we wanted, and I’m so glad I didn’t. I love my current closet footprint. I’d have so much more and be so stressed out about it.
I need to be able to toss things on a shelf and dump the contents of my purse into something beautiful I can see. So I grabbed a silver bowl from my kitchen. I’ve used a clear vase before, too. On another shelf, mugs my daughters made hold the pens I pop into my purses.
Ribbon along the shelf edges makes the whole thing prettier, and gimp ribbon is one I like. Try geometric ribbon, floral jacquard in several colors, or vine ribbon. Pick something that brings you delight.
Confession: my sunglasses holder lives by the garage, not in my closet. I go back and forth on this one. (Adulting’s fun, right?)
If yours lives in the closet, a clear sunglasses organizer or a display organizer keeps every pair in sight.
Wardrobe Organization for a Return Box You Can See
The “return box” or “package box” idea from Closet Organization for Everyone needs a home, and for us it should be see-through. An acrylic box holds the tape, box cutter, and scissors for deliveries and returns, all in plain sight.
Under the Bed is Prime Storage Real Estate
The space under your bed is underutilized real estate to use for out of season or “archived’ clothes.
This 2-pack of clear bins is a good value.
Wardrobe Organization Ideas for the Bins You Can’t See Into: A Closet Cleanout Based on Your Cleanout Type
Even a Butterfly needs a few hidden bins. Mine hold out-of-season pieces, meaning anything that’s the wrong weather right now, and my archive, which is whatever I didn’t wear last year. I have the block print bins hiding that stuff.
On a Tuesday morning, I can see everything I’m going to wear.
The catch with a open bins and your clothes, is that just because you can see it doesn’t mean you magically start wearing it. You don’t envision all the outfits magically, and still wonder what to wear. That’s where the Adjust My Crown app comes to the rescue. You never have to wonder what to wear again.
You can start easy. Download the app and just log your outfits every day in the calendar.
What does this do? It helps you honestly just see what you wear, in your real life. This helps gently guide your shopping as you develop a log of your real preferences which emerge over time. 14 days in a row is enough to be helpful.
Do you remember what you wore exactly a year ago? I didn’t think so.
Is there value in it? For sure.
Why are we using brain power for something that could be so much easier and not sacrifice any of the style and creativity in getting dressed.
Some days I have the mental bandwidth to put together a new outfit and enjoy it. But a lot of days I just don’t. But I know I need to get dressed for my mood.
If you still feel like you have too much to see your outfits, a gentle closet cleanout helps.
I’ve cleaned out a lot of closets, and the problem is we aren’t all the same type of “cleaner outer” so you tend to fall back into your old ways.
That’s where my 30-day closet cleanout challenge helps. One of its five styles, the Wear-Tracker Sleuth, tracks what she wears in the AMC app for 30 days and lets her own habits show what earns a spot on the shelf.
I address the five very different types that I’ve noticed over the past 20+ years in the challenge. It’s just 30 days of email prompts, and it’s totally free.
This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
