Restructuring your wardrobe and organizing it in a new way can be so fun, contrary to the popular belief. You will need to set aside a few hours, but you will find your wardrobe much more practical and beautiful once you are done with it.
Here is everything you need to know about organizing your clothes by color, also known as color-coding.
How To Color-Code Your Wardrobe
Organizing your clothes by color doesn’t have one rule that you should follow. There are a few ways to do it and that’s what makes it especially interesting. Let’s see what are those ways so you can choose which one seems most interesting and practical for you.
Organizing Clothes In ROYGBIV Pattern
ROYGBIV stands for colors of the rainbow – red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. This is also the most common method of sorting the clothes in your wardrobe. It is quite simple, so let’s go through the steps together.
Sort Out Your Clothes
The first step to properly organizing your clothes is to sort them out first. Make space to put them all at one place, like your bed, for example. Separate them into shirts, sweatshirts, sweaters, cardigans, dresses, skirts, trousers, jeans, and so on.
Organizing clothes by color implies that different types of clothes won’t be at the same place. They can, if you have enough wardrobe space, but we will get to that later.
In the process of sorting out your clothes, you can see what clothes you use and wear regularly, and which of them are just sitting in your closet for months or even years.
Consider donating the latter to a nearby shelter – you will help someone and it will be much easier for you to make enough space for the clothes you actually wear.
Divide The Clothes Into Two Categories
Once you have sorted out your clothes, you can now divide them into two categories – one category is the clothes you put on hangers, and the other is the clothes you fold and put into closet compartments.
If you realized that you have too much clothes, you can always get some separate storage options to make sure that you have enough room for everything you own.
It’s best if you hang the clothes that need ironing – you can wash, iron, and put them in the wardrobe to always be ready for use. If you have enough space in your closet for all the clothes to be on the hangers, that’s awesome!
Sort By Color
This is where the fun starts! Once you have divided your clothes into those you plan to hang and those that you will fold, it is time to sort them by color.
Here are the colors that you want to cover – red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet, and on top of those, white, gray, and black. You will basically have twenty different piles – ten colors times two categories – clothes for hangers and clothes for folding.
You can also have a separate pile for patterned or colorful clothes; you can either choose that or place them into the color categories according to their predominant color.
Put The Clothes Into Closet
When you have sorted out the clothes according to their color, it’s time to place them back in the closet.
Quick reminder – if you haven’t cleaned your closet thoroughly in a long time, now it’s time to do it! Over time, your closet can become a place for dust and germs, and so can the clothes you wear, which is definitely not good for your skin.
It’s good to clean a whole closet once in a month or two. Just put some sterilizing liquid in a spray bottle, spray the area, and dry out with a cloth or some paper towels. Always check if the material your closet is made from is suitable for the cleaning supply you decide to use though.
Okay, back to the color-coding! You can now choose in which order you want your clothes to be hung or folded. You can go with the standard rainbow order – red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet, with black and white on the opposite ends.
My favorite order is – white, pink, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, gray, violet, and black. It gives your closet that nice, gradient moment. Of course, you are completely free to choose the order of colors you want to see.
You can change the order of your clothes a few times to see which one is the most appealing to you.
Now, start putting your clothes on the hangers first. If you have same-colored clothes of different lengths, organize them by length as well – either shorter to longer, or vice versa.
After hanging the clothes, get to the folding part. There are different ways in which you can fold your clothes, but the best one depends on the type of closet you have.
If you have more shelf space, it’s better to fold the clothes. However, if you have more drawers, rolling them is probably a better option as it provides more space, and you can see all the clothes at once when you open the drawer.
Unless you have one very large shelf, you will probably need to separate the piles of clothes you divided into different colors. For example, if you have five drawers and five shelves, put five piles of clothes of different colors on shelves, and the other five in the drawers.
Enjoy Your Closet
Congratulations! If you did everything explained in the previous steps, your closet is now color-coded. You can now enjoy your clean, fresh, beautiful wardrobe. If you get bored or tired of it, you can always mix things up and change the order of the colors.
Organizing Clothes By Color And Type
Now that you know the basics of color-coding your closet, let’s add a few extra steps to it. The previous method implies that you will have clothes organized by color, but different types will get mixed with one another.
If you have a lot of clothes and a lot of closet space, you can organize your clothes both by color and by type.
First, separate the clothes into types – shirts, sweatshirts, pants, skirts, dresses, sweaters, and so on. Then, divide each of these categories into different colors – all red sweatshirts, all green pants, all-black dresses, and so on.
Start putting them into the closet by your preferred color order. When you finish hanging, folding, or rolling one type of clothes proceed to the next one. This method will give your closet an even more colorful look and you will be able to find your clothes much faster.
Advantages Of Color-Coding
You may be thinking that color-coding your closet takes too much time and that you are not even sure why would you want to do it in the first place.
This is reasonable thinking, especially if you are a busy person who is already satisfied with the way your closet looks. However, we’ve compiled a list of reasons that may prove your otherwise.
Color-Coding Saves Time
Although you will definitely need to set aside a few hours to organize your clothes by color, it is highly likely that it will actually save you time long-term!
When getting ready for your job, to go out, or for a work-out, most people contemplate what to wear, how to combine clothes, what outfit to put together, and similar. A color-coded closet helps with all these problems!
When you see all the clothes you have in one place, it is easier to imagine the outfit you are trying to put together, and you will choose it much faster than when your clothes are scattered.
Also, if you are looking for one particular garment and your clothes are organized by color, you are more likely to find it faster.
When the clothes are everywhere in no special order, that one garment is usually hidden between two other ones, and most people have been late somewhere at least a few times trying to find it.
Packing Is Easier
Most of us know how nightmarish packing can be when the clothes are not organized well.
You don’t know what to wear, you bring a ton of clothes that you think you may need, and when you get to the destination, you realize that you don’t actually have enough outfits to put together. This is all a thing of the past if you decide to color-code your closet.
You will have a better look at all your garments, how they pair together, and you won’t have trouble finding anything you plan on bringing with you.
Plus, if you keep your closet neat and tidy, you will only have to transfer your clothes from it to the suitcase, without any additional washing, folding, or ironing.
Summary
In this article, you learned how to organize your clothes by color. While it may seem like a pointless and time-consuming task, it is far from that.
It will help you keep your closet neat and organized, getting ready will be much quicker, and packing will be pleasant instead of frustrating. Also, a color-coded closet is so beautiful to look at. If you decide to try it, let us know how you like it!
Jessica Oliver is a fashion enthusiast with more than ten years of experience in the industry. She previously managed her own clothing store in New York before becoming a mother of three. With a passion for sustainability and a desire to share clothing care and recycling tips.