Learn how to organize your workout clothes and accessories with simple storage ideas that keep your activewear neat, accessible, and ready for your next workout.
Does this sound like you? You finally get over your emotional hangups with working out and drag your feet to your closet. But as you dig through your drawers, you can’t find matching socks, a clean sports bra, or your favorite pair of leggings. Oh, and under your bed is one shoe – but where is the other one? So, you sigh, and take it as a sign that you’re not supposed to go to the gym today.
And as much as we want to shift the blame, it’s not the universe protecting you. Sadly, all this wasted time and frustration are caused by disorganization. If you want it bad enough, you can get back into working out regularly after one quick organizing session!
In fact, a well-organized system for workout gear and athleisure wear can transform your daily routines. You’ll discover how much time you save and how much more motivated you become to work out.
In this guide, you’ll learn genius decluttering strategies and smart storage solutions for your workout clothes and other accessories. Let’s go!
The “Why” Behind the Mess: Common Challenges
Before we get into the nitty gritty of organizing all your workout stuff, let’s look at why we are doing it at all. It’s more than just making your closet look good. There are some deeper issues at play here.
So many of us don’t even know how much stuff we own. When we can’t find biker shorts, we buy another pair – and this cycle repeats until we have more shorts than days that we go to the gym. Plus, with all those extra clothes, we only have so much space. That’s why the clutter ends up covering the floors and shelves of the closets.
Maybe that doesn’t relate to you, but keeping your stuff organized will also help you keep it clean. Discarding sweaty clothes delays washing them (most of the time). So let’s look at how to clean this up so we can get a hold of our collections and keep them nice longer.
Declutter First: The Essential Foundation
The very first step whenever you organize anything is to declutter your collection. Let’s take this step by step so can tackle it and move on to the organizing part.
The “Gather Everything” Rule
Start out by putting everything on your bed or bedroom floor. Pull all your workout clothes and accessories from every corner of your home into one central location. This will show you how much you own and help you decide what to keep.
Categorize
Next, start making piles. Group similar items together (e.g., all sports bras, all leggings, all running shorts, all hoodies). You might have more hoodies or basketball shorts than you know!
The “Keep, Donate/Sell, Discard” Piles
This is the part where we get busy. Go through each category separately. Sort each one into the following three boxes:
- Keep: Items that fit well, are in good condition, are comfortable, and you genuinely wear regularly.
- Donate/Sell: Gently used items that no longer fit, serve your needs, or “spark joy” but are still perfectly usable.
- Discard: Items that are worn out, torn, stained, stretched beyond repair, or no longer functional (e.g., elastics gone in leggings).
If you’re having trouble deciding what to do with some of your things. ask yourself these questions:
- When was the last time I wore this?
- Does it still fit comfortably and flatteringly?
- Is it in good condition?
- Do I have duplicates that serve the same purpose?
- Does it support my current fitness activities?
Then, throw away all the broken/unusable things and donate all the stuff you aren’t going to keep. Once you have only the things in the keep piles left, we can move on to organizing them.
Smart Storage Solutions: Maximizing Your Space
Now we’re ready to put our organizational skills to use! I’m splitting this into different sections because not everyone has a dresser or a closet. Follow along with the areas you need the most help with.
Drawer Organization
If you have a dresser with drawers, then this is a simple way to store your leggings, shorts, shirts, and basically all your workout and athleisure clothes. To maximize space, try vertical folding. When you do this, it looks like you’re filing your clothes. This is also called KonMari folding. It gives you easy visibility and access.
I also recommend investing in drawer dividers or small bins that fit into your drawers. These are essential for containing smaller items like socks, underwear, headbands, and wristbands.
If you have the space, assign specific drawers or sections for different categories. For example, dedicate one for tops, one for bottoms, and one for undergarments.
Closet Organization
If you’re going to keep your stuff in your closet, decide whether to hang or fold your stuff. Delicate athleisure tops, jackets, and specific workout dresses are better for hanging so they don’t get wrinkled. And heavy knit hoodies and some leggings are better folded so they don’t get stretched out on the hangers.
Look into getting some slim hangers. They will save you a lot of space! And shelf dividers are essential if you want to keep your neatly stacked, folded items on shelves. And if you’re running low on space, get some over-the-door organizers. They are ideal for shoes, water bottles, hats, or smaller accessories.
Specialized Storage
After you organize your clothes, look at how you’re going to organize the rest of your workout stuff. I have some easy tips below.
- Shoe Storage: Invest in shoe racks, cubbies, clear bins, or under-bed storage.
- Gym Bags/Duffels: Keep them packed and ready with essentials (or a designated spot for them to be aired out/emptied after use).
- Accessory Management: Small baskets, hooks, or clear containers for items like hair ties, resistance bands, heart rate monitors, and headphones.
- Laundry Solutions: A designated hamper or basket specifically for activewear to prevent mixing with other laundry and allow for airing.
Small Space Solutions
Cramped and not sure where to put your stuff? Well, pick them up off your chair and try one of these ideas.
First, utilize your vertical space. Install some wall-mounted shelves, hooks, or pegboards. The hooks are great for leggings or headbands the pegboards can hold buckets for anything.
Next, think about your under the bed storage. Use rolling containers for off-season or less frequently used items. And portable drawer units are another space-saving idea. This is great for overflow or in areas without built-in storage.
Maintaining the System: Habits for Long-Term Tidiness
Don’t let all your hard work go to waste. After everything is sorted and stored, keep it that way for good. How do you do that? By creating new habits, like these.
First, follow the one-one-one-out rule. For every new item of activewear you buy, commit to donating or discarding an old one.
Next, follow an immediate post-workout routine. As soon as you get home (and get a drink of water), air out your sweaty clothes. Then, follow the care instructions and wash them as soon as possible. Finally, put them away before they get wrinkled in the dryer or hamper.
Another habit that will help is to practice regular mini-decluttering sessions. Schedule quick 10-15 minute tidy-ups weekly or bi-weekly.
You should also remember that there is a place for everything, so keep it where it belongs. You’ll do this when you go through your tidy-ups or weekend resets.
Organizing Workout Clothes and Accessories: You’ve Got This!
There you go! After following all of these steps, you learned how to organize your workout clothes and accessories. I bet it feels amazing to get it under control! Remember, even small steps can make a big difference.
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