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I don't know how to begin the task. Many clothes and accesories. Have only a short time to get it done. Thanks for suggestions

I am not the best at organize a closet but here is what I have done or found that helps.Buy some blouse and skirt hangers. These are hangers that can hold 6 to eight 8 blouses or skirts/pants. Get as many as you need to hold these things.If at all possiable keep only the curent seasons clothing in the closet. Store the other seasons things someplace. If that is not possiable, then get some large hanging clothing bags, put the out of season clothing in them and move them to the very back of the closet,out of the way.Also, get some hanging shoe bags and keep your shoes in them, instead of on the floor.If you have shelves in your closet, use them to store your purses, hats, and other things that cannot be hung.( I store out of season purses,hats ect in plastic bags,with some holes in them if neded) and put them on the shelves.
The best way, that I have found to organize a closet is to first take everything out of and place the items in the right "pile", ie, summer, winter, all season, dress, casual, keep, discard, start to replace items in the closet, ect, whatever works for you. and as you start to replace the items in your closet, do a second "evaluation", ie, do I really like this item,have I worn it in the last 6 to 8 months(according to the season), is it still in fashion,does it need to be repaired,(ie, shortened, seams fixed, new zipper, ect, if so do I really like the item enough to do the needed repair.If the answer is yes, then put it in anothe pile to be repaired, if not thenput it in a pile to be donated.
Once you have everthing back in the closet, stand back and admire how good it looks, and promise your self that you wil keep it looking like that.
HTH,
Mary

can you post a pic of the closet area so we have a better idea of what type organizing you need?? If you have shelves or can add them, you may be able to use those baskets thingys to hold certain items. I agree 100% on the putting out of season clothing in bags at the back of the closet or storing in large totes works for us too. Start fresh, take it ALL out, sort out in 4 piles.. what you want out now, what goes in storage & what gets donated or tossed. Then decide how you want to arrange your closet. Good luck & come back & let us know how it goes!

What a great opportunity to evaluate your possessions! what to keep, store, donate....

Bed Bath & Beyond and closet organization stores are everywhere, check out options. Your local library has tons of books on the subject too.

Personally I prefer hangers designed to hold multiple garments- 4 to 6 trousers or blouses; belts too; not so much purses. Invest in sturdy wood hangers designed & appropriately sized for mens or womens jackets & suits or heavy coats. If your closet is huge, consider arranging garments by color. If you are considering bins, see thru is best.

Leather garments should not be stored in plastic. Seldom worn wool coats and silks should be placed on appropriate size hangers & protected by unbleached cotton.

I'm sure you've received valuable tips thus far especially taking everything out and reevaluating your closet contents by weeding and storing off season things.

Professional organizers often hang "like" things together such as shirts, skirts, pants, dresses and do so by color. Sweaters are best kept in drawers or bins folded neatly. Shop the Container store and Organized Living and similar retailers for handy-dandy tools to make your task easier and access easier too. If your closet doesn't have cabinetry built ins, it may be a good idea if possible to use a dresser or jewelry armoire to store sweathers, scarfs, gloves, jewelry, etc.. Jewelry, scarfs and/or hats can be hung on hooks as an alternative too. Use the back of your door and even shelves high up w/ plastic lidded bins for storage of shoes or off season gear. Once organized, develope a habit of returning things to their proper place.

I need to do that, too. I think the best thing to do first is to take everything out of the closet. As you are doing that, separate what you are going to keep from what you are not going to keep. Then you can evaluate what you have and what you may need to get to help keep it organized.

As several implied, make the best use of the space. If your closet doesn't already have one - add a bar for hanging shorter items. You can have jackets and blouses on the upper rack and slackss on the lower. Also great to add a couple of shoe racks - wall mounted are wonderful. I also like the bank of drawers I have in my closet for sweaters. It is also nice to have on the floor a couple of the see through under bed tubs for folded out of season items.

In my walk-in closet I put a small chest of drawers a the end. In there, I kept the small accessories, or underware. On one side of the closet there was a clothes pole for hanging long things. On the opposite side was another pole, used for shorter things...blouses, shirts, shorts, etc. and on the floor under that pole I had a two shelf bookcase (homemade)which I used for shoes. Instead of the two shelf bookcase, you could put a couple of small chests....similar to night stands for more drawer space. If you have shelves above your poles, you could put your shoes in clear shoe boxes and stack them up.

One of the best things I ever did was figure how much space I needed for shoes, long hanging, short hanging, etc. Then I took myself off to the Container Store and had their specialist plan out the best way to use my space using Elfa fittings. My closet became a beautiful thing to behold and because I had drawers as well as hanging space I used it as a dressing room as well as a storage space. I've recently moved and I sorely miss my closet even though the closet in this house is a nice size but it was planned with another couple's needs in mind. Maybe when CS runs its annual Elfa sale I will consider stripping this one and starting over. Meanwhile all my money is going to refit the kitchen here.

You say you are in Kansas? Is this closet your tornado shelter? If so the organizing rules are completely different.

I'm also in Tornado Alley. The one walk-in closet in my house is arranged for surviving a tornado, not storing clothing.

Store out-of-season clothing in those "space bag" type containers that compress to take up as little space as possible. A great DIY tip is to use can tabs (such as the ones from soda cans) and use them to link your hangers together. It's a DIY way to make those collapsible hangers seen on tv!

Great Tips! Elite Custom Organizing

Also try huggable hangers from The Container Store.

Professional Organizer Southlake Texas

Any clothing stored in a space bag will be horribly wrinkled when you take it out. They may be ok for out-of-season stuff, but plan on ironing everything before you use it.

Those multi-level skirt hangers are just as bad. Stuff pushed up against other stuff wrinkles. If you are that short of hanging space your best bet is to install 2 rods, one a little higher than normal, the other about 2.5 feet above the floor.