How to Organize Your Closet

It's the New Year! You know what that means? The holidays are over and you can start buying presents for you! But, hold your horses...before you splurge on a new cashmere sweater, Joe's jeans or pearl necklace, you must first organize your closet. After all, how do you know what you need when you can't see what you have?

Here are tips from Linda Rothschild, founder of Cross It Off Your List, a personal organizing service in, of course, NYC, as told to Allure.

Perk it up. First, paint your dingy closet interior a light color so that dark clothes are visible. Then, make sure the closet is well-lit. According to Rothschild, every closet should have a strip of fluorescent lights above the door; in a walk-in, the light should be in the center of the ceiling.

Be brutal. Rothschild's rule is, if you know you're not going to wear it again, let it go. Lose anything that is stained or doesn't fit. After the first round of edits, go back and do it again. Ditch most things you're keeping for sentimental reasons (not grandma's wedding dress, but you know what we mean).

Hang out. Uniformity is key, says Rothschild. Buy matching hangers so your clothes hang at the same height. Velvet hangers, which look gorgeous, have the added advantage of keeping silk and spaghetti straps from sliding off. Group categories of clothes together: sleeveless tops, dresses, short skirts, long skirts, and so on.

Cover lots of ground. The space under your shortest pieces is valuable real estate, says Rothschild. For shoe storage, use cubbies or clear, stackable drawers, which are easy to open. Put out-of-season clothes, boxes of memorabilia, etc. in the highest space of your closet. Organize it all in clear, stackable boxes with labels so you can see what's there when you need it.