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Looking at the title you might be expecting me to show off fancy closet organizing tools and custom cabinets but not today.  Not in my closet.  My closet it actually pretty basic, just a straight bar with a shelf above.  It is the 4th closet I have had to move into over the last 6 years and it seems to work for me just fine.  I spent an hour sorting through my closet and following my organizing rules on Sunday for my seasonal purge so I snapped some pictures to give you an inside look.

Most of my clients with a similar set up are totally overwhelmed with what to do with a single bar to hang their clothes and today I will show you that it is possible to have an organized closet and a full wardrobe in a limited space.  I keep my closet free of clutter, i.e. the stuff that I never wear, that is out of style, or that doesn’t fit.  I spend about an hour going through my clothes every season and have a goodwill bag going all year long.

My closet has three sliding doors that divide it into three sections.  This is the first section where I have all of my pants hanging and I start to store my tops by sleeve length and color.  In the spring and summer I keep the sleeveless and short sleeve tops in their own section separate from the sweaters.  In the fall and winter (my current setup) I have all of the tops together by color.

I have all of my pants hanging on the left side and I am shocked that I only have 12 pairs total. Pants are definitely on my shopping list this fall but for now I have all of the basics I would need, dress pants, leggings, colored pants, skinny jeans, trouser jeans, and boot cut jeans.

Above the clothes I have two boxes that I bought at Ikea.  One of them stores small bags and totes that we use for shorter trips and the other has clothes that I will never wear but I can’t get rid of like one of my grandpa’s old sweaters and old college sweatshirts.

The middle section of the closet has more hanging clothes.  If you would have seen my closet 5 years ago it would have been almost all black.  Now I am really trying to wear more color, especially blues, pinks, and orange.  On the right of the tops are my dresses and scarves.  I have one pair of shorts hanging up and no skirts.  I have never liked how I look in a skirt, I would much rather wear a dress or pants.

On the top shelf above the hanging clothes is a box of out of season shoes.  Right now it has my uggs in it because I never really wear them here and my summer flip flops.

In the third section I have all of my Kuzak’s Closet shirts hanging.  I call it my “Kuzak’s Couture.” There are a variety of shirts and since they easily ruined during my organizing sessions I have a small stockpile.  There are nice built in shelves when the hanging clothes end.  I use them to store my jewelry, my handbags, and my workout clothes.  The white bins have workout pants and tops.

I have a little rolling cart on the bottom of the closet that stores my extra wallets, clutches, and smaller handbags.  It protects them from dust and I like they they are all in one place.

This is the first closet that I have had in the last 6 years where I am able to store my shoes on the closet floor.  The rest of my closets have had a strange layout so they wouldn’t fit.  The floor is made out of cedar making it easy to line them up.  I keep all of the shoes organized by type.

I also have a lot of heels, can you tell I like patent leather?  I think everyone needs to have a pair of nude heels, black heels, and red heels in their closet.  I just tossed my old nude heels and bought this new pair from Nine West.

These glitter heels are probably the most impractical shoes that I own but they are also the most fun.  I wear them with my black dresses and pants, I love a little glitter!  When my sister Ashlie was visiting over the summer she got a kick out of them and had to try them on.

I thought I would show you what my favorite pieces are for fall.  Peplum is really popular this year and it is one of the trends I decided to try.  I bought this cute mint green sweater at Zara in New York City.  Sometimes I turn it around and wear it backwards with the zipper in the back, it looks cute either way.

I love basic tanks like this one from Nordstrom.  I have it in a rust color too, they feel like silk but they are machine washable.

I bought this dress three years ago at Macy’s in Michigan with my sister.  She totally had to talk me into it but I’m glad she did.  I always get a ton of compliments when I wear it with black tights and knee high boots.

I just bought this pale pink blouse and Nordstrom.  I has a really nice neckline (you can’t tell from the hanger).  I thought it would be cute with slacks and heels for business meetings and dinner out.

My mother in law Pam bought me this pink cashmere sweater from Banana Republic a few years ago for Christmas (she buys the best gifts).  It is a great basic and looks cute over a t-shirt with jeans and flats.

I love this printed tank that I bought a few years ago.  I have a gray blue cardigan that goes with it, you can dress it up or dress it down, perfect for the California lifestyle.

Every closet needs cute casual clothes.  Mine probably has too many but I am a pretty casual person.  I wear this orange and gray hoodie year round.  The sleeves can be rolled and buttoned up and it looks good with my gray khaki cropped pants or jeans.

This dress from Old Navy is also new.  It looks really cute on and I am going to wear it with tights and knee high boots.  It only comes in brown online but you might be able to find this color in stores.

Since a 20% of my wardrobe says Kuzak’s Closet on it I thought I would show you my new dark gray hoodie for fall.  I am loving the darker color because it won’t show dirt so easily.  I will look nice with jeans and sneakers at my fall estate sales.

Well, that was my closet.  I’m sure it’s not what you would expect from a professional organizer but I hope it reminds you that you can have an organized closet without investing in custom solutions.  I always tell my clients to focus on what they love to wear and what fits instead of finding solutions for storing things they don’t need.  Click here for my top 12 closet organizing tips for fall.

Related posts:

Seasons Change and So Should Your Closet… Kuzak’s Closet Chic Closet Before & Afters with a Personal Touch… Ask Kuzak’s Closet: Professional Organizer Q & A