52 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • NOVEMBER 2017 52 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • SEPTEMBER 2017 52 LONGISLANDPRESS.CO M • SEPTEMBER 201-----------TUTU111
FASHION
How to Organize Your Closet Like a Pro
By RUTH BASHINSKY
Do you have a love/hate relationship
with your closet? Do you
spend hours trying to find that cute
outfit you bought but have no idea
where you put it? Do you feel like
you are having a wardrobe meltdown
every other day because you
cannot locate anything you like?
For some, keeping your closet organized
can be a daunting task. Jamie
Hord, owner of Garden City-based,
Horderly Professional Organizing
and National Association of Professional
Organizers (NAPO) member,
offers these organizing tips to
help get you on the right track.
TIP #1: ONE IN AND
ONE OUT
Each time you bring in something
new, let go of something old, says
Hord. “I have many clients who
shop a lot and are bringing new
pieces into their closet weekly. I tell
them to keep a donation basket or
shopping bag in their closet at all
times, so they are always making
room for the new items and keeping
their clothes streamlined.” If
you are not sure what to eliminate,
a good rule of thumb, she says, is to
give away clothes or shoes you have
not worn in a year.
TIP #2: UNIFORMITY
Discard all the plastic and metal
hangers your closet may be hanging
onto and invest in matching
felt hangers, she explains. The slim
design saves space and slides easily
along the rod, she says. For men
who may want a more masculine
look for their wardrobe, Hord
uses a slim wooden hanger that
works well and looks handsome in
a closet. Unlike a felt hanger that
may pucker the fabric, the wooden
hangers feature a thicker rounded
end that keeps pants wrinkle-free
and the jacket intact.
Another tip she encourages is to
be consistent and stick with the
organizing system put in place even
when it’s time to put away that dry
cleaning. “I tell my clients to treat
their dry cleaning like it is their
groceries. Once you unload your
items, you discard the bags. The
same applies to your dry cleaning.
Switch out the flimsy metal hangers
with the felt or wooden hangers.”
Keeping everything uniform,
ensures Hord, will help save time.
“You want to be able to shop your
closet,” says Hord. “You can easily
access everything, and it will be
easy to get dressed.”
TIP #3: CATEGORIZING
First sort clothes by type, says
Hord. For tops, place long sleeves
together followed by short sleeve
tops, sleeveless tops, dresses, skirts,
etc. Within the category place them
from darkest color to lightest color.
Same applies to menswear, categorizing
polos, t-shirts, long sleeves,
sweaters, etc.
Button-down shirts, she explains,
are organized by solid colors,
stripes and checkered patterns also
working from dark to light. Hord
typically hangs cardigans and open
sweaters and likes to fold turtlenecks.
For those who prefer their
t-shirts to be folded, Hord suggests
folding them in short stacks. Otherwise,
she explains, it may be more
difficult to maintain.
Depending on the type sweater,
for more delicate fabrics that may
pull easily, Hord likes to fold them.
The same applies to that chunky
sweater since it would be too bulky
to hang.
For footwear, Hord categorizes by
type of shoe or uses a color coding
system. For her female clients,
stilettos, wedges, cork heel, open
or closed toe, boots, and booties
are put in groupings. Loafers, dress
shoes, sneakers, and boots for her
male clientele.
“I like to encourage my clients to
keep everything out so they can see
it. If you have it in a box they are
most likely not going to use it,” says
Hord.
For those who may not have that
spacious walk-in closet, there are
still space-saving techniques that
can keep you organized. For one,
get rid of the shoe boxes once you
bring that new pair of shoes home.
“They just take up too much space,”
she explains. “If you have a lot of
shoes I use the clear shoe boxes
This way you can see the shoe and
the boxes are stackable which maximizes
the space.”
An over-the-door shoe storage tree
for the inside of your closet is also a
great option.
A married couple’s shared walk in closet.
A capsule wardrobe on a hanging
rack.
A men’s professionally organized closet.