Dayne and I bought our mid-century home one year ago. With it came his-and-her closets (small and sweet in size). Mine is pictured above and below. (Fun Fact: In 1973 the average size of an American home was 1,660 square feet. In 2010, the average was 2,392 square feet.) Where did they put all of the extra square footage? Most definitely in the master closets. And a bunch of other places but for the sake of this blog post, I'll stick to talking about closets.

Aside from maternity clothes, which are boxed up nicely in the garage, what you see is all I got! I have a few drawers for items like t-shirts, PJs, swimsuits and the delicates but in front of you is my main wardrobe. 

I know what you're thinking -- how can you say you're a minimalist and have THAT many shoes? To that I say, I believe minimalism is about using the things you have. If you have an actual use for it - then great! I recommend going through your closet frequently and either donating or recycling anything that you don't wear. I do wear those clothes and I do wear those shoes. Minimalism doesn't have to be about seeing how sparse you can make your closet but encourages the use of what you have inside of it.

Back to my example pictured above. You can see that I don't have a lot of space, so making use of it as best I can is key. Most of this is attributed to the fact that I frequently get rid of the items I don't wear or that have worn out. This keeps the volume of items to a minimum. I also color coordinate my clothes to give my closet a cleaner, more organized look. Below I've made a list of top ways for you to streamline your closet and get it looking cleaner in minutes. 

1. Color coordinate. If you color coordinate the items in your closet it will instantly look "cleaner" and more organized. This closet system can be applied to any apparel - blouses, shoes, pants, dresses. 

2. Be consistent about purging. I go through my stuff often. Do you buy items once per year? Most likely, no. Going through your clothes on a regular basis will help you rid your closet and drawers of the things you no longer wear or need on a regular basis. Remember, the idea is to keep only what you actually use!

3. One in, one out. Along with step 2, consider getting rid of an item every time you buy something new. I'm not advocating waste or getting rid of perfectly good clothes here. I am saying don't buy things you don't need, get rid of anything that you don't wear. 

Let me know how your closet system cleans up in the comments section!

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