The average person wears 20 percent of his or her wardrobe 80 percent of the time, according to professional organizer Mary Howard of Lets Get Organized! of Fort Worth, Texas. She advocates keeping “your wardrobe friends” front and center at all times. The payoff of a well-organized closet, Howard says, “is a savings in time, stress and money.”

Howard recommends pulling everything out of the closet, getting rid of what you don’t wear, and reassembling the contents by clothing category.

“Hang all slacks together, then all shirts,” she says, “in sequence from light colors to dark, ending with black. Once you see that you have, for example, five pairs of black slacks and none in navy,” she explains, “you won’t buy another pair of black slacks on impulse.”

Grouping like items together, however, “can create problems for those who want to see a complete outfit before they begin dressing,” she admits. “For them, I recommend hanging all of their choices for the next day on the inside of the closet door.”

A series of 3M self-adhesive hooks, hangers, clips and strips with Command adhesive can help this plan work. Items on hangers, such as a jacket, slacks or skirt, dress, blouse or shirt, can be hung on large 3M hooks, mounted side-by-side on the inside of the door. Accessories, such as a necktie, scarf or belt, can be hung on medium hooks and socks can be grasped in a 3M clip. “many of my clients set up their children’s daily wardrobes this way every night,” Howard says, “and some women also do it for their husbands as well as themselves.”

Clips and hooks also can be used to curb closet clutter among such odd-size wardrobe accessories as belts, gloves, umbrellas and purses . Hooks on the inside of the closet door make it easy to grab often-used clothes, like sweat pants or a bathrobe.

Build flexibility into closet organization, suggests Dona Nelson of Chaos Clutters in New Windsor, NY. “Because our lives, our wardrobes and our dressing habits all change,” she says. “think about portability, flexibility and adjustability.” Fortunately, Command adhesive mounting products can be removed, rearranged and re-used elsewhere.

Simply slide up the cover of the hook, hanger or clip, then slowly stretch the tab down, and the adhesive detaches without leaving any mark or sticky residue. The same devices can be fitted with a replacement strip and be re-mounted elsewhere.

For a free, idea-filled booklet on ways to use these innovative hooks, hangers, clips and strips, send to “Command Adhesive Decorating Tips,” Montage, 2982 Cleveland Avenue North, Roseville, MN 55113 or call 1-800-577-8778, Ext. 70.