Here's how to make the best of a space with no closet.

Is your closet overflowing with outdated sweaters and old jeans that require a month long juice cleanse to get into? Do you really want to clean out your closet and pull some metaphorical weeds that take the form of sherbet Gap polos and asymmetrical halter dresses, but feel like you can’t? Chances are you’re afraid to take anything out of your wardrobe because you’re worried you’ll regret it later.

If you’re the type of person where things don’t exist unless you can physically see them, then the way your closet is organized is important. If dresses are tucked into far corners, sweaters are packed away into shelves, or shoes are being kicked around in a heap, then you’ve got no chance of knowing what kind of awesome pieces you actually own.

The realization that I had way too many clothes hit me the way it usually hits us: When we’re running late for an appointment and all we can do is stand in our underwear in front of our closet and glare. The whole situation made no sense to me. I had more sweaters than a Gap mid-season sale, too many skirts to count, and there were so many shirts stuffed onto shelves that one literally tumbled out and plopped in a heap in front of my toes. And yet, nothing in there was doing it for me.

I’ve always had this romantic idea about traveling light, where I would walk into a hotel in Paris or a rented shotgun bungalow in New Orleans with nothing but a small backpack on my shoulders, ready to explore the city, unencumbered. While other people would be busy fussing over the wrinkles in their packed away shirts, I’d already be tucked away into some charming little cafe or jazz bar, enjoying the fact that it only took me three seconds to head out the door.

One of my biggest wardrobe “aha!” moments was when I found my sleeveless, mustard turtleneck crumpled on the closet floor next to my white and blue striped shirt. Frowning at the jumble, it was the first time I was thankful for my messy tendencies—the pairing was fabulous. And not something I would have ever pieced together if I was just standing in front of my wardrobe, trying to decide what to style that morning.

There are two types of chefs in the kitchen: One that has their measuring cups tumbling with their kitchen shears and graters all in one drawer, and one that needs every tool in its own specific, neat home. If you can cook a beef bourguignon while blindly rooting around a drawer for a peeler and cutting board then good on you.