If you are new to my blog, welcome! If you are revisiting, thanks for coming back. I am a personal stylist with an emphasis in the Capsule Wardrobe. The idea is that we can simplify our closet and simplify our life. It sounds weird, but having less clothes sets us up for success when getting dressed in the morning. If you’re interested in learning more about what a Capsule Wardrobe looks like, you can visit some of my previous posts.
The Capsule Wardrobe – Mom Style
How I’m Building My Spring Wardrobe
The Importance of Self Care and How It Relates to Our Image
9 Essential Pieces for a Boho Capsule Wardrobe
3 Days of Outfits for the Every Day Mom
A Practical Guide to a Minimalist Wardrobe
For today, i want to talk about what you once everything is done. You’ve cleaned out your closet, you’ve gotten rid of everything, and you’ve bought all your new pieces. Now, how do you put your closet together in a way that is organized and easy to use? Read below to find out more!
Please forgive these pictures. I know it’s important to have pretty pictures in blog posts but I want you to see a real life mom and a real life closet. There’s not really a pretty way to take pictures of a space with zero natural light and dark gray walls.
Capsule Closet – Hanging Clothes
There are a number of ways to hang your clothes from just throwing everything on a hanger and getting it into the closet to having everything organized by style, color, and length. I am somewhere in the middle, so I’m going to talk to you about my closet. There are people WAY more organized than me, oh hey Emily Ley, but I think this basic skeleton for your closet will be most practical for a mom with lots of laundry and not a lot of time.
Sections – Tops
- Divide your closet into sections. These don’t have to literally be sectioned off, but can be more of an invisible line. I don’t have any labels that distinguish the sections in my closet, they are defined by the clothing itself. If you’d like to be more specific, you can probably find hangers and/or labels that you can use. FOUND SOME
- The sections in my closet are as follows:
- Tank tops (not the ones used as layering because I actually fold those, but ones that I would incorporate into an outfit)
- T-shirts (Again, think fashion t shirts, not regular t-shirts)
- Shirts that have quarter lengths sleeves
- Long Sleeve
- Pull Over Sweaters
- button down sweaters or cardigans with an open front
- vests
- outerwear
3. Within each section, place the thinnest strap (or shortest sleeve) in the front and work up in size as you go. Basically, the smallest to the largest. If I have long sleeve t shirts and button downs, I’ll place the simplest shirt first and work my way back. My long sleeve section might look like long sleeve tees, button downs, turtlenecks, hoods
4. You could organize by color if you’re feeling extra but I’ve tried and it never lasted.
Sections – Bottoms
- I use the same idea and apply to bottoms. Shorts first, then skirts, then pants that are not full length, then fill length.
- Separate by fabric as well. Denim goes together, cotton (or whatever) after that, etc.
- I place dresses AFTER the pants, before any outerwear
Sections – Outerwear
- Vests such as denim vests or even sweater vests
- lightweight jackets – I put more “stylish” ones in the front and things like rain jackets behind
- heavier jackets, usually from shortest to longest
Capsule Closet – Extras
I have all the other stuff separated by bins. Socks are in one bin, bras in one, panties in one, summer accessories such as hats, bathing suit cover ups, etc in one and a winter accessories bin such as beanies and gloves. I have a hanger for my scarves and that goes in front of all of the clothes. Shoes are put on a shoe rack in my closet. Purses (p.s. I have 1 brown purse and 1 black purse) are on a shelf. Everything is visible to me.
Capsule Closet – Why?
What is the purpose of this? The purpose is that everything is visible to you. That makes putting together outfits much easier. It also means that things don’t get lost. I hate that feeling when I know I have something but can’t find it. I’ll go out and buy another, only to find that item a couple of days later.
The idea behind the Capsule Wardrobe is that you don’t buy something new until it’s time to replace something else. When something new goes in the closet, something old has to go out. I wouldn’t say I follow this 100%, but I try to be as practical as I can.
The other reason is that less clutter means less anxiety. To have things organized and easy to find helps you feel more calm. You don’t have to have one of these uber organized, all white closets with gold fixtures out of a magazine. You can simply take the space you have and make it neater. As you can see my pictures, my closet doesn’t look nice, it just looks organized.
I hope that was helpful. I wish I could show you a prettier closet that looks like Lisa Vanderpump’s, but I don’t have one! I just try to make everything easy to see and easy to reach so that I can get ready easily in the morning. And you know what, it gets messy and it gets cluttered because life gets in the way. I have a system in place, though, that makes it easy to get back on track when I have time. I hope this helps you too.