I Sent a Pro Organizer a Photo of My “Overstuffed” Closet, and Here’s How She Fixed It

Having a walk-in closet was a dream I had all my adult life. My husband and I have lived in several one-bedroom apartments, and the closet space has always been sparse. On the off-chance there was a walk-in closet, we shared it. So the day we moved into a two-bedroom condo, we each had our own closet space for the first time. I now covet our bedroom’s small walk-in closet — a dream come true! Keeping it tidy, though, has proven to be a challenge. 

Having a walk-in closet is only a dream if you use the space well, and I was so grateful to have the help of professional organizer Natalie Ron of Swoon Spaces as I tackled a pre-fall closet clean-out. Now instead of an overstuffed walk-in closet, I have a put-together space with room to spare. 

Here are a few tips she shared for turning your cramped, messy walk-in closet into an organized haven for your clothes and accessories. 

Ron recommends that the first step for any organization project is to pull everything out of the space and categorize your items. However, the thought of emptying my closet filled me with immediate dread. I asked her if I really needed to do that, and she quickly quelled my fears. “To minimize overwhelm, try to do a first pass of editing before pulling everything out,” she says. “If you edit enough, there won’t be an overwhelming amount to sort later.”

So I went through my closet, one shelf at a time. Ron gave me some tips for sorting through clothes, which can be notoriously tricky to declutter. “If you haven’t worn it in over a year, you likely won’t reach for it in the future,” she shares. “And if the garment doesn’t fit perfectly or feels awkward on, it should be donated. You probably won’t reach for it unless you plan to get it tailored to fit better!” After a few hours, I soon had a pile of clothes on my bed to donate or recycle. 

There were garments in my closet that I wasn’t prepared to part with, even though I hadn’t worn them in a while. Ron told me not to worry and simply set these pieces aside. “If you’re hesitant on something, put it in a ‘maybe’ basket or bag,” she suggests. “Leave that basket on the floor by your closet. If after a week or so you haven’t thought about those items, they can be donated.” I specifically did this with a denim jacket I wish was in a darker wash — it’s not my favorite, but I didn’t want to get rid of it right away. It sat in my “maybe” pile for a day or two, but I quickly learned I wanted to keep it. 

Once you have all the garments you’re keeping, it’s time to organize your closet. Ron suggests creating categories for all of your items, and I decided to keep mine very simple — tops and bottoms on the left side of my closet and dresses on the right. My other clothing categories (undergarments, sleep, and workout clothes) reside in a dresser just outside my closet. 

Once I had the categories organized, I placed them in color and sleeve order — starting with lighter, short-sleeved tops and moving towards darker, long-sleeved heavier garments. This was the same for my bottoms — shorts first, then pants, with the brightest colors at the front and the darkest at the back. Organizing in this way is Swoon Spaces-approved!

Before my closet edit, I wasn’t sure how to use the built-in shelves of my closet. They became a place to set up just about anything — bags, clothes, and shoes. After doing a full edit (I had three bags of clothing and shoes ready for donation!), I ended up with plenty of space for what I was dreaming of: a spot for my bags. 

I had an over-the-door door hanger that looked completely cluttered with purses, but the shelves are a much better place for them. I can see them all clearly and the straps don’t get tangled either. I haven’t purchased these yet, but if you have wire shelving like I do, Ron suggests purchasing shelf liners. “You won’t have to deal with awkward placement, or things tilting or falling through the cracks,” she says. 

At the start of my closet cleanout, I knew I wanted to part with the large and awkward baskets that stored my off-season garments on a shelf above my dresses. They didn’t quite fit on my shelves (rookie mistake — I didn’t measure them) and I knew there had to be a better option. To my surprise, I have space to hang and put away all of my fall and winter garments that were stored in the baskets, and now that shelf is entirely free. A win! 

Once the weather gets cold, I will want to put away my colorful summer dresses. When it’s time to store them in the closet, Ron suggested fabric bins to add some style. “You’ll feel like you’re walking into a cute boutique!” she exclaims. “Some people get clear plastic bins and stack them on shelves, but I’d rather not use them because it creates visual clutter. You see those items every time you walk into your closet.”

If you’re storing off-season garments in your closet like I am, Ron says that labeling your storage boxes is incredibly important. “Labeling is key, as we often put many different categories into one bin, and normally need multiple bins to store seasonal categories,” she shares. Be specific when labeling your off-season clothing, so you can save time when you’re looking for something specific in the future. 

If you find that you don’t have enough space for your off-season clothes in your closet, Ron suggests storing items under your bed. “If you can use it underneath your bed, that’s a good option — out of sight, out of mind. You can use clear bins there if you’d like. That way, you can see what’s inside when you kneel to check it out.”