Organize Your Closet Space
By Elizabeth Walling
Photo: © Any Presentations
 The first step to closet organization is sorting through what is causing your clutter. You may be surprised at the amount of items in your closet that can be stored away, donated, or even sold. Although parting with seldom used items may be difficult, it will make your regularly used items more accessible. A rule of the thumb is that any item that hasn't been used within two years should be discarded.
Once you have parted with as much as possible, it's time to organize what you have left. Sort items into similar categories, such as shirts and blouses, heavy sweaters, slacks and pants, full-length clothing, belts, jewelry, hats, purses, and other accessories. Decide what clothing items need to be hung up on racks and what can be folded and stored in drawers or bins. This will give you a basic idea for what kind of storage you need in your closet. You may need more racks for full-length clothing, or you may be able to double up racks if you have more shirts and blouses that don't take up as much vertical space. |
If you have a lot of small accessories, storage units with small drawers will help you organize these items. You can also use colorful bins or classic wicker baskets to organize smaller accessories. For people with many belts, neckties, or hats, special organizers can be bought to store these items in a way that makes them easily accessible without taking up a lot of space. You can even spring for the more extravagant electronic revolving tie and belt racks if it is within your budget.
If you have limited floor space and lots of shoes, vertical storage is a good option. Vertical racks and shelves can be installed to store shoes, or you can opt for canvas shoe storage models that hang from closet racks or on the back of doors. This will free up a lot of floor space and give you better access to your footwear.
In most closets, the top shelf is a disaster zone of disorganized piles stacked up to the ceiling. Adding shelves, drawers, or decorative storage bins to your top shelf easily solves this problem. Once you have a structured way to store things on your top shelf, you will find it much easier to keep this area from becoming a mess.
The back of the closet door is an ideal spot for organizing with hooks. Robes, jackets, hats, belts, and purses are a few examples of the items that can easily be hung on hooks installed on the inside of your closet doors. |
