Are you the type of person who can’t keep your closet organized? Do you have stuff crammed into the corners and clothing strewn on the floor? Are you unable to find anything in your closet? If so, it might be time to clean it up and establish some order in your home.

Here are some before pictures of a friend’s closet:

I completely understand why my friend has had difficulty finding things. I mean, who could find anything in such a disorganized space? Within the span of about 3-1/2 hours, I had organized the closet and convinced my friend to get rid of items which were in need of repair or hadn’t been used in a long time. Ideally, I would have added some decorative elements and completely transformed the space, but financial and time constraints stood in the way, so I just worked with what was already there.

Here is what I was able to accomplish in terms of organization:

How did I accomplish this? I began by removing every single item from the closet so that I would have a clean slate. I then slowly returned items back into the closet, first by bringing the hangers back and organizing them by type. Next I organized the clothing by type, so that all coats were together, dresses were together, etc. I further organized clothing by sleeve length and by color so that an organized and eye-pleasing palette was created. I also moved and reassigned a soft hanging shelf storage system for my friend’s handbags.

This is phase one, in which I have established some organization in my friend’s place and cleaned up years’ worth of junk. Stay tuned for phase two of this reorganizing project, in which I will transform all the spaces in this person’s apartment.