Closet Organization Tips from the Professionals

Your closet needs to hold a lot of important things. Not only do people store their clothes and shoes in closets, but also heirloom items, such as quilts and precious photos. It does not end there. People store everything from suitcases to spare change in their closets. No wonder it becomes a cluttered mess! Here are some tips to get that closet organized.

It starts with motivating yourself to tackle this often dreaded project. Clean the room around the closet so that you have plenty of space to organize. This will help keep you from getting overwhelmed. Bring some boxes or laundry baskets into the room for organizing. Make up your bed so that you have a nice flat space for getting things into nice piles.

You will need three piles to start; one for things that will stay in the closet. These items should include shoes that are not uncomfortable or worn out, clothing that fits you right now and is not out of date, and just a few precious items, such as heirloom quilts, that you would not want to store in a garage or basement.

The second pile is your give-away pile. Giving items to charity will make you and your closet feel better! If you have an attachment to some clothing that you will never wear again, take a picture of it or keep a swatch of the material for your scrapbook.

The third pile is for items that really do not have to be stored in your closet. Think of your closet as a usable space, not a storage area. After all, you do use your closet almost every single day. Things like out-of-season clothing and shoes, hats and gloves, sports equipment and the ironing board should be stored in the garage, laundry room, basement or a spare bedroom closet.

“Thinning the herd” is the first step to closet happiness. When you only have things that you use to put into your closet, the task of organizing suddenly becomes simpler. Once the other items are out of the room, you will start dividing your items into groups. Laundry baskets make great temporary storage areas for shoes and other bulky items.

Hang up your clothes on sturdy wooden hangers or another high quality clothes hanger. This will help to prevent clothing from being crammed together or slipping into the floor. Organize clothes according to length or use. For example, you may want to keep your work clothes on the left and your casual clothing on the right. Utilize inexpensive closet organization tools, such as shoe racks. You may decide to add some shelving or a small dresser for items that will not hang. If you hang all of your shorter clothing on one side, then you should have room beneath them for a small dresser or your laundry basket.

Organizing your closet does not have to be expensive. If you are going to invest a small amount into your closet, you will be best served spending it on high quality clothes hangers that will protect your wardrobe and shelving that will help keep items off of the floor.