I. Love. Organizing. So much so that I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to practice my skills during my recent trip away. My dear friend Sarah moved into her home at a really tricky time of the year — summer to fall transition. While adjusting to her husband’s new job and schedule, her kiddos' new school, and a new climate and town, Sarah made sure daily-use items were accessible and stored in the room they belonged. Less essential stuff landed wherever there was space. Now six months in, Sarah wants to start feeling at home and is ready to organize each room one by one to find what makes sense and feels good.

During my stay with her, Sarah chose to start with the bedroom closet she shares with her husband. They had already pared down their clothes, shoes, and accessories before moving in (super smart!), so our goal was to rearrange what was inside in a more organized and aesthetically pleasing fashion.

I+D Tip: Take BEFORE photos! We were so excited to dive in we missed the opportunity. Learn from us and please capture the mess before organizing anything!

In lieu of photos, here's a list of the closet issues (with before sketches from my memory!), followed by the solutions we implemented...in just 4 hours!

the closet issues

• Dislike the look of white plastic crates.

• Lacks full-height hanging space (only one rod shared in the center of the closet).

• Ball caps are stored but forgotten in a woven basket.

• Shelf items (hats, hoodies, pajamas, belts, bags) need a defined home.

• Lacks space for coats (mostly stored in a different room).

• Mismatched hanger colors and types (wood, velvet, and plastic).

• Random items (electronic, sentimental, empty boxes) not belonging but ending up in the closet.

'HIS' closet solutions

• Dislike the look of white plastic crates: Originally, 4 crates were on His shelf, 1 on the center shelf, and 2 used for laundry. Placing 5 crates on His shelf streamlined the look. Sarah plans to swap the laundry crates with a laundry basket, and eventually, all of the crates will be repurposed in the kids’ playroom.

• Lacks full-height hanging space (only one rod shared in center of the closet): Removed lower rod from His side to create a second full-height hanging space for His lesser-worn articles (coats, suits).

• Ball caps are stored but forgotten in a woven basket: Placed all ball caps on the top shelf of the built-in. If this system doesn’t work, I suggested a hanging door rack so all of the caps can be seen at a glance.

• Hats, hoodies, and pajamas need a defined home: His and Her hats were displayed on top of built-in keeping all headwear together. We also found a third basket to match the ones in His built-in and used it to contain His pajamas. The narrow space next to each basket was ideal for His hoodies once we refolded them.

• Lacks space for coats (mostly stored in a different room): Moving His sweaters next to His shirts on the center full-height rod keeps His work clothes together and freed up space to move all of His coats into the lesser-used right corner below the crates.

• Mismatched hanger colors and types (wood, velvet, and plastic): Wood hangers are the strongest but were fewest in quantity, so we dedicated those to coats. All of His work shirts and sweaters were hung on the velvet hangers and His remaining tops on green plastic hangers. All of their pants were already hung by wooden pant hangers, so we just made sure they were grouped together.

'HER' closet solutions

• Belts and bags lay loose on the high shelf above Her closet rod: Sarah shopped her home for baskets and we used two matching ones to contain belts and bags on Her shelf.

• Mismatched hanger colors and types (wood, velvet, and plastic): For Her tops, she chose to pair them with the same color hanger (i.e. blue shirt, blue hanger), which worked really well! Her pants remained hung by wooden pant hangers and grouped together to the right of her tops.

• Mismatched hanger colors and types (wood, velvet, and plastic): Sarah’s dresses were given white hangers, which makes for a nice clean look when you enter the closet.

• ​Random items (electronic, sentimental, empty boxes) not belonging but ending up in the closet: Electronics were relocated to a kitchen drawer (now dedicated to electronic-related items). Sentimental objects were moved into an existing memory box. Empty boxes were repurposed as drawer dividers in Sarah’s bathroom (so proud!).

Both Sarah and her husband LOVE how our quick, simple tweaks transformed the look and function of their closet. She told me she just stood and happily stared at it the next morning. Seeing what’s possible has inspired her to take on even more on her own (see here!), which goes to show: a bit of visual order can leave a positive impact on your mind and your heart.

what drawer, shelf, or room does Sarah’s experience inspire you to take on?

Our quick solutions can be used beyond the closet, so let me know in the Comments what you’re inspired most to try out and where. And if you want to do them all, here’s a recap of the 5 simple ideas we used:

1. Adjust your closet to work for you.

2. Shop your home.

3. Contain “like” items together.

4. Use matching hangers and baskets (or crates, if needed!).

5. Return non-closet items to where they belong.

Always,