You’re giving a tour of your home. Someone asks you what is behind that door. Your pulse quickens, a lightheadedness takes over. You even think of giving some kind of false excuse to opening that door.

Closet doors are the doors you never open when giving a tour of your home. But is there anything you can do to organize yours, short of installing an expensive wall system?

There is, if you invest a little time and are willing to let go of items whose best days have come and gone.

Fancy closet organizers are fine, but a less-expensive solution is do-it-yourself storage using fake MDF wood. It’s paintable, it’s attractive and it can be made into shelving.

 
Light makes dressing much more fun. Be sure it is properly lit, even if that means adding bulbs or wattage. If you have the option of adding a window to a walk-in, do it.

 
Install a full-length mirror nearby. If you can, store your ironing board in your closet as well. Also, hooks are critical. You’ll use them for everything from robes to purses to a quick change of clothing. Dollarama tie hangers are excellent for holding jewelry as necklaces on a nail on your side wall.

Clear salad boxes are ideal for shoe storage.

 
The hardest part of any closet overhaul is deciding what to get rid of.

Ask yourself if the item is a:

 
Friend

Acquaintance

Stranger.

Who are you going to invite to the small space?

They have to pass the test:

1.  Size Matters. Too big or too small a size, or waiting until you are that size again? Dress for now, if it doesn’t fit, it needs to disappear. If you lose weight and a few sizes, you DESERVE new clothes. Shop thrift stores so you don’t feel guilty about spending the money. You can get great tops and jackets there at least. If you’re really lucky, skirts and pants, but I don’t waste too much time looking through them. There are a few things you need to buy new.
2. Not Fitting in. Certain items of clothing you would wear if they didn’t pucker, or make your tummy or behind look ‘this-way’ ‘or that-way’.
3. Outdated? Purge them. If and when those particular styles come into fashion again, be assured that new colours and textures will be used by current designers. Guaranteed. 
4.  It’s a bad influence. You are what your friends are! Remember your mother telling you that?Every time you put it on you get asked if you feel tired.   Truth is, you are tired of the item. Then it just sits in your closet.. You know what to do with it. Purge it! 
5. Seasoned. Pull everything out and put everything in piles by season. Decide, depending upon space, if you need plastic containers to hold out of season clothes. The object is to get clothes from winter out of your way when it is May.
6. Cliques: Put all black together: black, brown, red, green, cream and son on. This will help you see what colors you have in your closet. Is it all black? Black, being a minimizing color, is what every woman needs, but you might consider looking into other colors that work for YOU

 
Treat your friends well.

You can really improve your closet’s look and function by discarding wire hangers. 
They don’t do your friends any favours.

 Turn all your remaining hangers to face the same direction, and hang your clothing the      same way.

 
Tackling closets can really improve your everyday life. Faced with a closet full of manageable, visible choices, you’ll dress better, because you can see your clothes. You’ll vary your accessories, because you can find them. You’ll care more about how you present yourself, because your closet motivates you. You’ll feel and look better, mornings will go smoother, and you might even crack open that door on the next tour of your home.

 
Patti Smith