#roomhints app

Room Hints: Closet Organization Tips From Chicago’s Best Style Experts

When it comes to shopping, we consider ourselves bona fide experts, but when you start talking aboutorganizing all those new finds in our teeny-tiny, city-living closets, we’re a little less qualified. Any busybody can attest: It’s hard not to throw caution to the wind and toss our frocks, trousers, and shoes willy-nilly into our drawers and shelves after a long day. But, for the sake of our armoires (and our sanity!), we tapped six local experts to dish their best keep-it-tidy tips.

We got advice from everyone — from the city’s biggest style stars to professional organizers — to help you give your sartorial safe haven a little TLC. Whetheryou need to edit your wardrobe to just the essentials or find room for all your spring buys, you can take a page out of their collective cleanup manuals. Of course, there’s no miracle cure when it comes to turning over a new organizational leaf, but maybe, just maybe, this will help you de-clutter just enough to think twice the next time there’s a clearance sale at Topshop.

Start Slideshow

Deirdre Pursel, Owner, Organize & Edit

“When you arrange your closet by color, items get lost. Instead, organize your clothes by sections of occasion. Keep fancy little black dresses separate from your long black sundresses. Cardigan sweaters should be kept with each other; you’ll use those to layer. Let the turtleneck sweaters have their own space to shine! Then, hang items ascending from casual to formal. When you set up your closet by function, it’s amazing how items pop out that you forgot existed…it’s the best way to shop your closet!”

Photos: Courtesy of The Container Store, Deirdre Pursel

Corri McFadden, Owner, eDrop-Off

Slimline hangers are an absolute must in any closet — no matter what the size! They are an incredible space saver, and the felt lining keeps all of your clothes in their perfect place. No more silk tops on the floor!”

Photos: Courtesy of The Container Store, Corri McFadden

April Francis, Owner, The Haute Closetand Dose Market

“My wardrobe hangs on what I call the ‘everything’ hanger, which I love for its versatility and skinny-strap security, along with the accompanying skirt/pant hangers. These workhorses are my choice because they easily stack, making it really easy to take them on vacation or to a shoot — just zip in a garment bag and go. Love.”

Photos: Courtesy of Martha Stewart Living, April Francis

Emily Lytle, Wardrobe Consultant, Julie Watson Style

“Many people organize their closets by color and/or by category. When you decide what to wear for the day, do you say, ‘I’m really going to have a blue day’? (Well, maybe if you’re feeling blue, but that’s a different story!) It’s really the occasion that determines our wardrobe choices, followed by weather, followed by preference, and so on. Start by removing and boxing up every piece that simply causes a distraction (out of season, wrong size, etc.), and then organize by purpose (i.e. work, casual, dressy).”

Jessica Stelzer, Owner, Just Simple by JS

“No matter how large or small the closet, I like to ask my clients to think about how they lived back in the dorms in college. You want to build up, not out, and use as much vertical space as possible. For instance, instead of lining your shoes up in rows across the floor, I like to use the ‘Our Shoe Box[es]‘ from The Container Store to stack my shoes up in columns. Plus, it keeps them free from any dirt or dust that may be in your closet.”

Photos: Courtesy of Pottery Barn, Jessica Stelzer

Suzanne Kopulos, Editor & Style Director, Garmental

“Display your items on shelves by size and type so you can see your options — no one likes searching the entire house for ‘the bag’ that they just can’t seem to find. For shoes, I have a two-part process: Display shoes on a shelving unit, so I can see the best choices for my look (no longer find them under my bed!), and I also stow away out-of season shoes in transparent shoe boxes so that I don’t get distracted by shoes I can’t wear.”