Color Sorting While Organizing: Real Advice from Professional Organizers

Color sorting while organizing—love it or leave it? This month, we’re diving into the rainbow of possibilities when it comes to organizing with color in different areas of the home. From creating picture-perfect bookshelves to managing snack chaos with hues, we asked our team of professional organizers to weigh in. We gave them five common spaces and asked: Would you color sort? and Why or why not? The answers? As colorful as the systems themselves. At Easy Life Organizing, every client is different. When it comes to sorting items and organizing them, we are following the clients natural thought process instead of pushing what looks good. This sometimes means it's not Instagram perfect, but it's functional for the person using it.

Color Sorting Books?:

Amanda: At our house we personally sort by who's it is first, and then I organize mine by topic. I honestly don't bother with color coding them unless it is something that is going to be on display.

Shannon: I do color code my books. I find it so aesthetically pleasing. I only have a couple small book shelves in the house. One is in my bedroom with mostly white and black books, and one is in the finished basement with rainbow colors. My girls organize theirs by size. My husband, Saul, doesn’t organize his at all. This is such a personal preference, I feel. Kollette: Color coding looks amazing it can elevate a room and change the depth of a wall or it can be a nightmare to the regular reader trying to find the next book in the series. It could depend on the amount of books owned. With fewer books, organizing by color can liven up the space. With more books I would organize by author/series in alphabetical order.

Shea: Most of our books don’t live in a public area and often we only have out what we need. When I do have them more organized, it’s by size vs color for me!

Justene: I personally do not organize by color. I have book series that have different spine colors and don’t want to go searching. For kids however I think it’s a great idea and easier for clean up. Brittany: I do not organize by color. I first organize by person and then it's typically by series/author and then by size. I also find that my most favorite books are in the living room where I am most of the time and then ones I like and want to keep but aren't necessarily my most liked books are hidden away on the spare bookshelf in the family room. Color Sort Clothes?

Amanda: For my clothes I sort by type of clothing/sleeve length first because I don't usually care about or look for clothes by color as my first thought. Then I will color code once they're in their categories (t-shirts, tank tops, shorts, etc.

Shannon: The clothes hanging in my closet are color coded- for the most part. I don’t get crazy picky about it. The folded clothes in my dresser are slightly color coded. I put my dark short sleeved shirts together, red/pink/purple together, yellow/green/pattern together. My casual T-shirts, sweaters, and sweatshirts are together by category, but not by color. This is how my brain works because I have a lot of clothes and I remember them by color. I like color coding clothes for clients who have a lot of them because it helps them see how much they have of the same thing in the same color. Plus a hanging rainbow of clothes in a closet looks so pretty when there is a lot of each color.

Kollette: When it comes to clothing I would color organize nice going out outfits that aren’t worn often, but leave the daily wear sorted by its category for easier daily maintenance.

Shea: I do color code our closets! For ours, it is by style and color and for our children it is just by style rather than color. I’ve tried it in my kids closet, and it usually ends up a mess and more for me! Justene: I do color code my clothes but that is after I short by sleeve length/type. Brittany: I do not currently color code my clothes. I used to when I didn't share a closet with my husband. I like to organize my clothes by type and then sleeve length so all of my jeans are hung together, all of my cardigans are hung together and all of my tops are hung together but then all of the long sleeve tops are together, then all of the short sleeve tops are together and then all of the tank tops are together. I organize my drawers like this too. Leggings in one drawer, long sleeve tops in another, etc.

Color Sort Games?

Amanda: For games I keep all of my son's games that are kid friendly in his room and the more complex ones separate and then I organize them by box size, not really by color. It's easier for me to remember it being in a big box vs a card game since we don't have very many.

Shannon: My family does have a lot of board games. They are kept in a closed cabinet in the basement. They are organized by size, not by color. I’m not sure I’d ever think to color code these for a client, but maybe if there a lot of them and they are out on display.

Kollette: I don’t bother color coding board games. Unless I get that one specific brand of book shaped board games that is the only exception to color coding. The regular board game boxes aren’t the same size and there's not many functional storage spaces for them so by size is the only way I’ve found works.

Shea: I am actually in the process of re-organizing where our board games live! Due to the size where they live, it will be more based on size and what is grabbed most often.

Justene: I have a lot of games and it just makes most sense to organize by type of game and then by size of the box. When organizing kids games I have the same mentality as the books. Games are easier to put away and to find when color coded.

Brittany: There is absolutely no organizing system for our board games aside from all of the card games are in the same area. I definitely need to work on this soon.

Color Sort the Pantry?

Amanda: For snacks, we don't keep a whole lot of pantry snacks on hand so I don't do a whole lot since the spot they live in pulls out easily. For travel snacks that are individually packaged, I put those together in bins or in lazy Susan's but I'm sorting by type (sweet vs non-sweet) and then maybe brand. My 5 year old doesn't care that they're put in a color order.

Shannon: The items in my pantry are organized in containers by category, not by color. I don’t think about color when I think about snacks. I think it is pretty when the Home Edit does this, but I think it’s extreme. I would end up buying things for their color and not for my family’s preference.

Kollette: The pantry should be organized by broad categories. The space is forever changing and it’s a quick in and out spot needing to be flexible for the changes in drinks or snacks. In my opinion, color coding wouldn’t be functional in most situations but some situations color is easier to identify for the client.

Shea: in my walk-in pantry, I do have drinks organized by color! Most items are organized by category, pasta, ingredients, baking, etc.

Justene: all of the items I have in my pantry are organized by type of food rather than by the color of the food. I like my pantry to be functional over colorful.

Brittany: Again, no organizing system in our pantry. It's basically organized by item type but that's about it. I guess you could organize a snack drawer by color to make it aesthetically pleasing but I'm not sure how functional it would be applied to the entire pantry.

Color Sort Craft Supplies?

Amanda: For these items, I personally do not have enough and they don't get used often for me to sort them, they all go into 1 craft bin. For clients, yes I will sort by the category usually first then color sort. Occasionally for clients it's better to sort by material type/weight first and then color but we choose whatever is going to follow our clients natural thought process.

Shannon: I don’t have a ton of crafting supplies, but if I did, they would be organized by color! There is nothing prettier to the eye than yarn or paper sorted by color. I also think sorting by color is practical for crafters because it is the way most of them look for items, but the system needs to make sense for the client.

Kollette: Craft area is a mix of color sorted and category sorted. It can can get a bit meticulous at times but in the end it’s worth it seeing everything color sorted and by its separate categories. It’s one of the only areas I’ve found works both ways.

Shea: I’m not much of a crafter anymore however, if it was on display, it would absolutely be color coordinated! Tools are my crafts right now! I prefer them to be organized by type/size.

Justene: All my crafts are organized by color, especially when it comes to yarn, thread, fabric, or paper. It is just easier to find what you need when it’s color coded and even when there’s large quantities.

Brittany: This is a place where I definitely color code things. I have most of my scrapbooking paper color coded and my ribbon is also color coded. Most things are just sorted by item type, like I don't color code my adhesives (yes, I have an area just for those), but those are the two things I have color coded. I just find it easier to find what I'm looking for given the project.

So, is color coding while organizing a must-do or a nice-to-have? 

The answer is: it depends! As you’ve seen from our team’s varied responses, color coding can be a powerful visual tool—especially in areas like craft supplies, clothing, or small book displays—but it’s not always the most functional choice. The beauty of organizing is that it isn’t one-size-fits-all. At Easy Life Organizing, we believe the best system is the one that works for you. Whether you crave the visual harmony of a rainbow shelf or prefer the simplicity of sorting by category or size, your home should support your lifestyle—not the other way around. And if you're not sure which method fits you best? That’s what we’re here for.