<p>As fall approaches, I’m looking forward to sorting through my wardrobe to optimize efficiency. Wondering what suggestions people have to establish and maintain a workable closet for a 4 season climate. My closet is roomy enough for my diverse preferences, but space needs to be well used. My clothes are all new in the last 2 years (thanks to weight loss), but there is still some refining to be done. Share your closet solutions (ie-best way to store scarves and belts, do you remove out of season clothes, store the seldom worn formal wear elsewhere, any favorite storage options, etc). Thanks.</p>
<p>Well I live in Seattle & as some others have alluded to, we don’t have a 4 season climate. We layer year round, that The North Face fleece jacket might be worn in the winter with hat, gloves & a down vest, but you also might grab it in the " summer" when you are heading to the beach.</p>
<p>So my thought is with layering & well chosen wardrobe, you don’t have to store as much. Maybe a cedar chest for your wool sweaters & pop your sundresses in for winter, but most of your clothes you can wear.</p>
<p>I have also gotten lots of ideas from IKEA- they have a scarf holder that hangs on the hook which makes it easy to see what I have- it could also be used for belts.
Costco has some nice hangers which are very flat & flocked so things stay on.</p>
<p>Formal wear I hang downstairs, which isn’t optimum, but we have a house that was built before people had more than a few outfits & we haven’t remodeled. It gives us incentive to keep things pared down though.</p>
<p>Congratulations on the weight loss!</p>
<p>I appreciate your ideas EK4. We do a lot of layering also, so many things do work in all seasons. I am trying to foster my less is more philosophy and reconcile it with the “that could be fun” side of me. I’m finding it isn’t always fun to sort through too many options.</p>
<p>I use those flocked hangers-they save space. I’m finding just having uniformity of hangers helps. I will check out IKEA. Right now I am using a Container Store scarf hanger with large circle holes in it. I like it except that to see the scarves in the back you have to take it off the rod.</p>
<p>My next step is to take everything out of the closet, try it on and eliminate anything that isn’t as flattering as possible as well as redundancy that doesn’t serve a purpose.
I also want to think about not hanging so many types of clothes. Hanging every tee shirt (though many are ones that “dress up” well) may not make sense. I plan to re-establish the like things together theme of the closet which really helps in the morning.</p>
<p>This is a fun topic :)</p>
<p>Because I live in an antique house with no original closets, I limit my wardrobe to fit the closet space created in a small addition, which also holds my bathroom. My closet has 9ft of hanging space. It was designed so that under my dresses, which are mostly about 46" there is room for everyday shoes and boots. There is a shelf right above the rod for sweaters, wraps,in season handbags & hats and an upper shelf to hold the not everyday shoes in their boxes and out of season handbags, hats. The least accessible hanging space has two “funeral” outfits (one winter & one summer) and three party outfits (one velvet and two silk) and a couple of fancy coats. Everyday clothes rotate placement with seasons. Woolens go to the cleaners for cleaning and winter storage during the summer. But I don’t put anything else in that hanging space or on the shelf when they are gone. 
I group like items and colors: shirts by color (white, ivory, black)
skirts by color (white, ivory, black, patterns in black and white) Jackets by color, dresses by color, etc. The category that I wear most often, based on season, moves to the front of the closet area. Robes and nightgowns are on closet door hook. Hooks on the wall hold any belts and scarfs, but I don’t have a huge collection of these.</p>
<p>I have white plastic hangers. Most of my clothes I wash on cold water, delicate and then hang on these hangers to dry and then straight back to the closet.</p>
<p>Tee shirts, jeans, lingerie are all in one dresser.
Keepsake clothing items are in a blanket chest.
Work-out-in-the-yard or paint-the-house clothes are in another blanket chest.</p>
<p>My goal is to be organized enough that I can easily pull out the perfect outfit for any foreseeable occasion, and pack a bag in about 15 minutes when necessary.</p>
<p>I am constantly updating my wardrobe but consign things on ebay to keep within the space limits.</p>
<p>alh- I like the goal of quick packing and easy access. If it’s too tight on the rod, both are out the window. I have some seldom worn shoes under rods (four out of five hanging spaces are 1/2 spaces for shirts, skirts, tops and shorter items, one is full length). I don’t really find it easy to see them though (because the lower rod puts clothes closer to the floor). I have been using a back of the closet door shoe hanger that attaches at both the top and bottom and stores shoes by pairs, stacked flat against the closet door in two long rows, accessed from left and right. It holds a lot of shoes, doesn’t shuffle around, keeps the dust off of them and they are easy to see.
I know what you mean about older houses. People used to have a lot less and there is something to be said for simplicity. I also separate by colors and sometimes by solids or prints, especially tops and sweaters.
I try to put button shirts together, sleeveless/long sleeve/short sleeve together. I haven’t got a great system for handbags, as I am not optimizing my shelf space and have too many (a weakness of mine).Some are on hooks, some are on shelves, some are on hangers. Any ideas?
Thanks for sharing.</p>