Living in New York City has its perks, but it also comes with a few challenges. And one of those challenges is lack of space and storage within your apartment. Especially closet space (or lack there of) really.

When I moved to New York, I only brought with me what I could fit inside of an S.U.V. and of course that included my ENTIRE closet. Soon after moving into my city apartment, I realized why Carrie Bradshaw kept her sweaters in her stove. I've considered it, but not sure how my roommates would feel about that. Kidding.

I have attempted several times to organize my closet in effort to make room in my (very small) space. However, no matter what I've tried, it never seems to make a difference. And over the past 2+ years, clothes have just collected and ended up shoved inside of my closet. Even to the point where clothes were spilling over to the outside of my closet. I couldn't even close my closet door because it essentially became a hanging rack of clothes.

BEFORE

But all that changed when I recently partnered with Jamie from Horderly. Jamie is a professional organizer who has a gift for turning your once HOT MESS of a space into a DREAM space. The process was really easy. I first sent Jamie a few photos of my closet for her to evaluate. And then we set a date for her to come to my apartment in person. The day Jamie arrived, we chatted for a bit and she asked a few questions regarding what was in my closet as well as, what I was open to changing. She then began to remove all items from my closet and had me sort through each one to decide if I wanted to keep, purge or donate. This was so satisfying in itself. I had never completely removed everything out of my closet before. And honestly, we found clothes that I had forgotten I even owned. As I separated each item into piles, Jamie was hard at work at re-organizing each piece of clothing that I was keeping, back into my closet.

And there were a few things that Jamie taught me that I feel will help me to keep my closet organized long term. 1. We exchanged all of my plastic hangers for black felt non-slide hangers. (I was skeptical at first) But these are a game changer. They save so much space and aesthetically are pleasing to the eye. 2. Jamie taught me her rule of: 1 IN, 1 OUT. Meaning for each new item you purchase, you have to get rid of one item. I love this concept! Plus, it makes you think about buying new items and decide if you really have a need for them. 3. Categorize items together in your closet. I.e; sweaters together, casual together, activewear together etc. Jamie really made sure to place my clothing items that I wear the most in an accessible place. Which makes it so much easier to get ready in the morning. I no longer have to dig through my closet to find what I'm looking for.

AFTER

I absolutely LOVE my new organized closet! I was in shock on how good it looked after Jamie worked her magic. It was so helpful to have a professional come in with a new perspective to help me realize the potential of the space. And not to mention, Jamie was so fun to work with. Honestly, it was like hanging out with a girlfriend, chatting and sorting through clothes. Only thing that was missing was a glass of wine.

If you're in need of a closet makeover or any other space organized, make sure to reach out to Jamie. Or if you just need some organizing inspo, you can follow her over @horderlynyc on Instagram.

XO, Rae