I have curated a closet clean out system that is effective in getting an organized closet that saves time in the morning when you are putting together your look for the day. This is done through a systemized approach to organizing your clothing and your accessories. Each year in January, I host a Closet Clean Out Challenge for our Facebook and Instagram followers. I call it a “challenge” because each week has “homework” that needs to be completed so you can break your closet clean out into four separate chunks, making it less overwhelming. BUT, I also incentivize you with the chance to win $20 gift cards to our stores. Each week, you will have the chance to win if you complete the challenge. Completing just one of the four challenges will get you entered to win a $100 gift card at the end. Sound good?

Last week during my live Wednesday Wardrobing video, I covered step one of the system called Get Organized, Part I. In it, I taught you how to organize your clothing by type. If you missed it, please watch that video before proceeding.

Now that your clothing is organized by type, the next step is to organize by color. To help with this, I use the acronym ROYGBIV.  This is a nifty way to remember the colors of the rainbow and stands for red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet. 

Within each group that you created, you will organize them by putting all the reds together, all the oranges together, all the yellows together and in this order. So, for example, if your first category is sleeveless tops, you will color organize them. Then, for your next category, short sleeve tops, you will color organize them also. You may not have a representative for every color in the acronym, so if you need to, just skip that color and go onto the next. Once you get through violet, next add your grey and black, then your whites, creams and browns. 

Why, you ask, would you go through all of this trouble? Believe me, it is worth it!! When you are finished, you will clearly be able to see what you have and what you have too much of. This will also make mixing and matching outfits in the morning infinitely easier!! You will naturally put together items that you have never matched before, creating even more looks from your closet and maximizing your wardrobe. 

One thing you will run into is variations of a color. The ROYGBIV is focused on PRIMARY colors, so you will have pink, coral, turquoise, lavender, etc. Just put these with their closet primary color. For example, pink would go with the reds. I usually put lighter colors first and then darker colors.

Another thing that may trip you up is prints. When you come to a print, ask yourself what the dominant color in the print is and add it to that color family. You will amazed by the fact that once you are done, you will easily be able to see if something is in the wrong place. That is the beauty of this system. 

Also a part of this step is organizing your accessories. There are many different ways to do this, but the same principles apply. First separate by categories and then by color. For example, put your short, medium and long necklaces together in those categories. Then, organize each section using the same color acronym ROYGBIV. I like hanging my necklaces and have a fixture in my closet where I can do that. In previous closets, I have used a peg board for this purpose. 

I organize my shoes in two ways. I have shelves where I put some and I have a shoe organizer where I have others. I separate them by type. My shoe boots are together; my long boots are together; my tennis shoes are together; my sandals are together. 

I like putting my scarves in my dresser drawer, and I roll them around my hand to create little circles and then set them inside the drawer. This way I can clearly see what colors they are. I start at one side of the drawer and go to the other using the ROYGBIV acronym. 

For my handbags and wallets, I use baskets for my smaller items and then line up my larger handbags on the top shelf of my closet next to my folded sweaters. This allows me to clearly see what I have. I also use baskets for my belts and create circles with them like I do my scarves. I try to separate my wide belts from my skinny belts. 

I also only hang the clothes I wear to work or for dressed up casual. I fold all of my exercise wear, pajamas, sweatshirts, etc. and put them in my dresser or the drawers in my closet. This keeps my closet from being overcrowded and keeps it focused on when I need to be able to mix and match and layer easily. 

If you would like to see me demonstrate the color organization or any other part of this blog post, you can watch me in tonight’s LIVE Wednesday Wardrobing Video at 6 p.m. MST. I will also be announcing the winner of last week’s challenge as well as the challenge for this week during this video.