With the arrival of fall, there's no better time to re-organize your closet(s), and if you live in small place like I do, storage is critical. Coming up with clever organizing tactics is key.
Here are some tips to tackle your closet (whether in your bedroom or in your hallways) for maximizing space and remember to purge!
1. Use over-the-door hanging organizers for shoes and/or accessories so that pairs stay together and smaller items don't get lost. This is great idea, I have one in my hall closet to keep small nik-naks together and the pockets are clear so you can see what's inside for easy access. I've nailed two clear tacks into the bottom so that it stops it from moving around whenever the door opens and closes.
2. Group clothing by type: all pants, dress shirts and dresses should be in the same spot for easy access. And I'll go one step further and suggest grouping them in the same colour family as well. All black pants together, all grey skirts together, all jeans together. I even have all my tops colour coded so depending on the mood I'm in, it's easy to pull from a colour, grab a pair of bottoms and I'm ready.
3. Add hooks to a closet door to hang scarves, small handbags, belts, ties and even necklaces. I don't have doors on my closet in my bedroom; I have mirrored sliding doors but I do have hooks on the back of my bedroom door where I hang extra handbags and scarves.
4. Store seasonal clothing in clear containers so you know what's inside. I have a long rectangular clear plastic under-bed-box where I store off-season clothing and bedding. It's neat and tidy under my bed and no one sees it.
5. Choose matching hangers: it seems minimal, but your closet will look neater if you have just one type. I have always lived by this rule. All my hangers are white and all my pant/skirt hangers are brown. Simple, defined and looks neat and clean :)
6. Have a basket for donations. When you come across an item that you no longer wear, simply toss it in. When the basket is full, take a trip to Goodwill or the Salvation Army or your nearest donation drop-off center. I am a firm believer in this. I usually go through my closets each season and do a good purge of items to donate. Moving into a new condo was a perfect opportunity to get rid of items I didn't want to bring with me to my new life as a home owner.
7. Lastly, look up, if you're closet is like mine, you might have unused space above the shelving leading all the way to the ceiling inside the closet. There may be space for an additional shelf or storage boxes. I have 3 closets in my condo. All of which have a hanging bar for clothing and jackets and a shelf above that. Now looking beyond that, I have ample space leading all the way to the ceiling. Here is what I've done, I've taken an mdf shoe shelf that I bought at Zellers (or you can find them at the Real Canadian Superstore as well) and I have used them as shelving. They are study and waterproof and it's like gaining 2 more additional shelves from one unit. I picked up some plastic baskets from the dollarstore and used those to put gloves, scarves, hats and mittens in. Make sure you measure out the height of the space in-between the shelves so you get the right kind of baskets to place inside. I have this in my bedroom closet as well and I just have folded t-shirts and tops on the shelves in lieu of baskets.
Got any storage solutions you'd like to share?
J.
