Organizing your closet by color has become a popular trend in recent years. Proponents claim it makes getting dressed easier, allows you to see all your options at a glance, and just generally looks more aesthetically pleasing. But is organizing your closet by color right for you?
The Pros of Organizing by Color
Here are some of the main benefits of color coordinating your closet:
- It’s visually appealing – Seeing all your reds together, blues together, etc. can make your closet look neater and more put-together.
- It simplifies getting dressed – If you know you want to wear a red top, you only have to look in one section of your closet.
- Helps mix and match – Coordinate different tops and bottoms by color to create new outfit combinations.
- Easy to maintain – As you add new pieces to your wardrobe, you’ll immediately know which section they belong in.
- Creates a calming environment – Studies show looking at color-coordinated spaces can have a positive effect on your mood.
Here is an example of how organizing your closet by color could look:
| Section | Items |
|---|---|
| Reds | Red shirts, dresses, sweaters, pants, accessories |
| Blues | Blue shirts, jeans, jackets, accessories |
| Blacks | Black dresses, pants, tops, accessories |
| Whites | White tops, pants, dresses, accessories |
| Greens | Green tops, dresses, pants, accessories |
As you can see, everything is neatly divided up by color family, making it easy to see all your similar shades at a glance.
The Cons of Organizing by Color
Organizing by color isn’t for everyone though. Here are some of the potential downsides:
- Takes time to set up – It can be a big project to take everything out of your closet and reorganize from scratch.
- Restrictive – You may end up bypassing items you love just because they’re not the “right” color.
- Hard to integrate new pieces – Adding new items means rearranging sections again.
- Not practical for some closets – Small closets may not have room to section things off clearly.
- Makes laundry more complicated – Colors may run if washed together, so you have to separate.
Additionally, here’s an example breakdown of how organizing by color could potentially limit your outfit choices:
| Outfit | Issue Caused by Color Organizing |
|---|---|
| Red top, blue jeans | Can’t easily pair colors from different sections |
| Green dress, black jacket | Combining colors requires checking multiple areas |
| Blue top, gray pants | No natural home for neutral colors like gray |
| Red sweater, striped skirt | Prints and patterns don’t fit into color categories |
As demonstrated above, organizing strictly by color makes combining different color items or non-solid patterns more difficult.
Tips for Organizing Your Closet by Color
If you do want to organize your closet by color, here are some tips to make it as effective as possible:
- Use general color categories – Reds, blues, greens rather than specific shades.
- Put neutrals and patterns together – This makes them easy to pair with your color sections.
- Hang complementary colors next to each other – Such as red and pink or blue and purple.
- Only focus on clothing – Don’t worry about sorting accessories or shoes by color.
- Use dividers or labels – To clearly separate and identify each color section.
- Start with a trial run – See if color organizing works for you before fully committing.
- Consider color grouping – Instead of strict color organizing, just group similar shades together.
These tips help make color organizing your closet more flexible and easier to maintain in the long run.
Other Ways to Organize Your Closet
Color coordinating isn’t the only way to bring order to your closet. Here are some other popular organizational systems:
- By item/category: Dresses, tops, pants, etc. Simple and traditional.
- By occasion: Work, casual, evening, exercise clothes.
- By season: Summer, winter, year-round. Rotate clothing easily.
- By frequency of use: Most-worn items get prime real estate.
- By sleeves: Short, long, no sleeves makes finding tops easier.
You don’t have to pick just one either. Try combining elements of multiple systems to suit your needs and preferences.
Should You Organize Your Closet by Color?
Organizing your closet by color has benefits, but also some downsides to consider. Here are some key questions to ask yourself to decide if it’s right for you:
- Do you gravitate toward certain color palettes in your clothing? An existing color preference makes color organizing easier.
- Is your closet space large enough? Color sorting requires the room to spread things out.
- Does your wardrobe include a lot of prints, patterns, or neutral pieces? These can be harder to integrate.
- Are you willing to go through the effort of a full initial rearrange? It’s a big upfront time commitment.
- How often do you add new pieces to your closet? Frequent additions make maintenance harder.
If your closet space and buying habits make color organizing impractical, don’t feel like you have to force it. Focus instead on finding an organizational method that suits your lifestyle and makes it simple for you to see all your options and get dressed with ease.
Conclusion
Organizing your closet by color is eye-catching and can simplify getting dressed, but also has limitations to consider. It works best for those with large closets and wardrobes that neatly fit into color groups. However, you may encounter challenges when trying to integrate patterns, neutral pieces, or new items into the system. Overall, the benefits depend heavily on your personal habits and preferences. Focus on finding a closet organization method that reduces clutter and makes assembling outfits easier, whether that’s by color or another principle.
