I just joined the Style Me Bloggers link up series.  I'm a completely new at this, but thought I'd try my hand at adding the link-ups to the other blogs.  I take it we were supposed to give you a peek into our closets and provide organizational tips this week.

My walk-in closet is one of my favorite rooms in our house.  Granted, I share it with my husband, but it has one section for hanging tops and bottoms, another section for hanging dresses, above that there's a pull-down rod for more tops, multiple shelves, 4 drawers, a 3-way mirror, and a built-in vanity with multiple drawers.

When we first moved in, I was adamant about having consistent hangers since your clothes will look so much nicer on uniform hangers - just like a store!  It was something I picked up in college when I bought these cheap white plastic hangers from Target.  I love them because they always have them in stock, they take up very little space, don't get tangled with each other, and are so inexpensive, I can always buy more!  There are two versions of the hangers - one with little hooks on the inside which are my default hangers, and one with wider grooves on the shoulder of the hangers which is better for sheath dresses and tank tops.

I organize my clothes first by type (tops, bottoms, dresses, sweaters, workout, etc.), next by style (sleeveless, short-sleeved, long-sleeved), followed by color (rainbow order: roy g. biv) and pattern (solids first, then more complex patterns after) going from front to back.  It makes sense to have your tops located on top of your bottoms, so with any sort of vertical organization such as my drawers, I'll have tops in the top 2 drawers and bottoms in the bottom 2 drawers.  I also have 4 very nice boxes that I took over from my husband which I use to store out-of-season clothes.

I try to be minimalistic and make sure my closet isn't overflowing with clothes.  This goes a long way in making your closet look organized.  Every season, I'll prune my wardrobe when I move the clothes out of the storage boxes and into my closet.  I'll donate or toss items that don't work, are worn out, or no longer fit.  If I find I can't close my drawers, or my shelves or racks are spilling over, I reduce and recycle.  To avoid a surplus, every time you add an item to your wardrobe, pick out another item that will need to go.

Someone in the group suggested a wonderful idea of holding a clothing swap.  It would be so much fun to trade items that no longer work for you with your friends and family.  Not only is it a fantastic way to recycle, but one gal's trash could be another gal's treasure!