2 min read- Nate Berkus recommends starting each season by turning all your clothing hangers backward, then flipping each one forward after you wear the item to easily track what you actually use.
- Clothes that remain on backward-facing hangers after weeks or months are likely candidates for donating or decluttering.
- Fans have been praising Berkus’s simple visual system for years because it makes closet cleanouts faster, easier, and less emotionally overwhelming.
If there’s one thing we know about Nate Berkus, it’s that his personal style is just as chic as his designs. Like most, Berkus switches up his personal style with the seasons, and he wants to ensure that rarely worn pieces aren’t taking up valuable closet real estate. Good taste is always evolving, and his latest organization hack proves it.
In a recent Instagram Reel, Berkus took fans behind the scenes and into his personal wardrobe to share a genius closet-organizing tip that we will be implementing immediately.
At the start of a new season, Berkus rotates the hangers of his clothes so that the hooks face outward—and when he hangs the piece back up after wearing it, he turns the hook back in. If the hangers remain unchanged for weeks and months, that’s a signal that it might be time to ditch that piece.
While this tip may feel fresh for some, fans in the comments were quick to recall the tip from a long-ago interview that Berkus gave, with one writing, “I remember you discussing this with Oprah probably 20 years ago, and I mention this to my clients daily.” Others were quick to call out Berkus’s reputation for favoring order, questioning how the varied hangers don’t pick at his nerves. One commenter writes, “Doesn’t it bother you that the hangers are in the other direction and that they’re not all aligned? Since you’re always cleaning and straightening, thoughts?”
For some of us, refreshing our closet is a daunting task, and we stress way longer than we need to about whether a garment should stay or go. So, regardless of how you feel about misaligned hangers, the hack is a real time-saver, providing immediate, visual confirmation for those pieces you rarely wear. We think we can brave a little rack variation if it means saving time—and heartache—in the long run.
