Primary Closet and Bedroom Organization 101

Your bedroom—and within that, your closet—should be a space where you can quickly and easily locate any item at a moment’s notice. It should also be a space where your surroundings are purposeful, useful, and bring you joy. If this doesn’t quite sound like your space currently, it might be time for a little refresh! To get your closet and bedroom in order, all you need to do is follow our 5-step method to organizing:

Remove all contents from the space

Walk through your bedroom/closet area, and pull everything out of all drawers, shelves, and any other storage spots. We recommend starting with your bedroom, as this will likely take less time! In your closet, go shelf by shelf, or rack by rack, and take everything out so you can see all of your inventory at once.

Categorize & sort

Once you’ve pulled everything out of the space, begin sorting your items into categories. Finish gathering each group before moving onto the next. This step will require you to create zones & categories that are unique to your specific routine, but here are some general categories we often work with:

  • Hanging tops

  • Hanging bottoms

  • Folded tops

  • Folded bottoms

  • Seasonal clothes

  • Bags

  • Shoes

  • Jewelry

  • Accessories

Discard & donate

Consider what best serves your lifestyle as it currently stands. Ask yourself: Do I love it? Wear it? Feel good in it? Would I buy it again? Answering these questions is essential to successful organizing, and is especially key when making decisions about items that come with emotional barriers, like clothing. Discard anything that’s ripped, stained, discolored, stretched, or broken. Donate anything that you don’t wear, doesn’t fit, is uncomfortable, or that you have multiple of. For items of value, sell rather than donate.

Add organizational systems

Temporarily label where your categories will live on drawers and shelves with post-its or blue tape. This will make the process of putting everything away simpler and faster, and will help you visually see what makes the most sense in terms of the space you have and your routine.

Here are my Jeneral Guidelines for clothing placement in the closet/bedroom:

On shelves

  • Shoes

  • Jeans (up to preference)

  • Sweatshirts

  • Sweaters

  • Hats

  • Purses

  • Jewelry

On rods

  • Tops, blouses, and shirts

  • Jeans (up to preference)

  • Khakis

  • Trousers and dress pants

  • Skirts

  • Dresses

  • Jackets and heavy coats (on coat hangers)

  • Suits and tuxedos (on suit hangers)

In drawers

  • Underwear and boxers

  • Socks

  • Athletic tops and bottoms

  • Pajamas

  • Swimwear

LIJ Tip: When hanging clothing, face clothes the same direction. Hang your pants to save space and for a cleaner look. To maintain sweater form and for longevity, fold sweaters unless they have zippers or will wrinkle.

Here are our favorite products to use in the closet/bedroom:

In drawers

On shelves

On hangers

For jewelry

Maintain

Once each item has a permanent home in your closet/bedroom, you will know exactly where it belongs and where to keep it in the future after a wash or after use. With systems in place that match your lifestyle and help to streamline your daily routine, maintaining such systems becomes simpler than ever. This will require dedication, commitment, and daily habits of maintenance to keep everything in its place.

For tips, tricks, product picks, and inspiration for home organization, make sure you grab your copy of Life in Jeneral if you haven’t yet and sign up for the LIJ Book Club! There’s a 70 page workbook with exercises to help you work through your emotional barriers and goals in relation to organizing, and of course, step-by-step guidance to do the work. For even more support and encouragement, follow along with the book club on our Instagram, too!

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Kitchen Organization 101

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Bathroom Organization 101