New Year, New Closet: 2025 Tips for Creating a Tidy, Functional Wardrobe

January gets a bad rep. Yes, the sun disappears for the entire month (if you live in the Midwest), and snow quickly turns from charming to inconvenient. Nonetheless, it’s a great time to reset and declutter. Closet purges are a truly therapeutic experience. Ridding yourself of anything that doesn’t serve you frees you of closet clutter and even helps you get dressed more efficiently. This is why closet cleanouts are one of our favorite topics! We’ve been saving up all of our expert tips for this blog!

Tips from our stylists

Try pieces on!! It’s healthy to understand what truly works in the wardrobe and what no longer serves a purpose. We strongly believe in the practice of trying on your clothing each season and purging anything that doesn’t fit, or that wasn’t worn the previous year. If you struggle to know what is worth keeping and what is work purging, it’s time to book with a stylist. Store items away that bring an emotion to you and you can’t part ways with. Don’t keep it in the closet to take up “inventory” or space. When you’re in your closet, and you come across something that you haven’t worn or are thinking of getting rid of, take it out of your closet at that time. Make sure to donate or sell any items that are gently used. If you’re local to Columbus, we highly recommend donating to Second Chance Consignment. If you have worn items you want to get rid of but don’t want to see them end up in a landfill, try Trashie! Lastly, hang as much as your closet allows— if you can see it, you’ll wear it.

How to organize like a pro

Step 1: Start by eliminating anything that can’t be worn for the current season. For example, put aside all linens, lightweight cotton, or anything that can’t be worn in the winter. We suggest storing this clothing in an airtight bin, labeled accordingly. If the clothing is very special to you, put it in a garment bag before storing it in a bin.

Step 2: Now that you have only fall/winter clothing remaining, divide it by category (pants, skirts, shirts, etc..). Let’s start with tops. Organize your tops by sleeve length, starting with strapless and tanks and ending with long sleeves. Within each sleeve category, start with your basics, then gradually work up to more formal blouses. Here’s a great tip for hanging your knits!

Step 3: Once your tops are organized by sleeve length, focus on color. We like to follow ROYGBP, then neutrals, starting with white and ending with black.

Step 3: Separate your jeans and trousers. Trousers will follow the same order as tops. Organize your jeans by leg silhouette, then wash. If you have room to hang your denim, here are our recommendations.

Step 4: Time for accessories/undergarments! To maximize space, utilize the shoe-turning method shown below. For undergarments, our friends at Lace and Day suggest laying your bra flat to keep the cups’ shape. We love these honeycomb organizers for socks and underwear.

Products

We love these acrylic dividers for folded clothing or purses. These pant hangers are perfect if you have limited hanging space. We also love these shoe storage containers; they’re so easy to store yet still allow you to see your shoe options. This jewelry organizer doubles as a half-length mirror and keeps your jewelry from getting dusty; plus, you can see everything you have to choose from. Lastly, we can’t talk about closet organization without mentioning velvet/felt hangers! Click here for additional organizing products we love.

Happy New Year! Cheers to 2025!

We are thrilled to announce an exciting change coming Spring 2025 for team Wardrobe Therapy! In the upcoming months, we will be opening our first fashion consultation space, designed to make the Wardrobe Therapy experience more exceptional and efficient! The space that GRA+D Architects are creating is one we know our clients will truly love and enjoy. We look forward to sharing more details about our journey with you soon!

As we continue to work to provide the highest level of fashion services, we would like to let you know that the following stylists: Whitney Shmidt, Britt Emery, and Christine Ciminero hourly rates have changed.

For even more closet tips, visit this previous post!

The New Year is here! Schedule your appointment now!

Keep Making Everyday a Runway!