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I'm willing to bet that digging through the closet to find a pair of matching shoes or one unwrinkled shirt in the right colour is the number one reason why people are late for work. When dressing up for a special event, most of us need to dig into the dark corners to find those rarely worn treasures. Bedroom closets are typically the most disorganized part of our homes. Sorting through the clutter requires more than tenacity - you need a plan.
I recently undertook the task of organizing my closet and would like to share some helpful tips.
Before:
In theory, I have a small "walk-in" closet approximately 1.8m x 1.8m (6' x 6'). When I started, I had to clear a path. I was prompted to undertake this task after I recently tried to stand at the entrance, reach in and pull the nearest shirt off the rod. I could not actually walk into the closet because of the piles of shoes and clothes in disarray!
Achieving the 'After':
Clear the space
Take everything out and clean the closet. Vacuum and wipe shelves and walls.
Now that everything is on your bedroom floor, go through the pile. Pick out any questionable items that need to be washed or dry-cleaned.
This is also the perfect opportunity to decide what to keep, what to mend, alter, or donate to friends and charity. Parting with favourite shoes that haven't been in fashion since 1980 can be difficult. Allow yourself to hold onto a few special items from each era of your life - I don't necessarily believe my mother but maybe they will actually come back into style. Barring that, someday I may not be at all concerned about being fashionable!
My top discards (and I'm probably not alone):
Clothes in unflattering colours or wrong sizes
Gifts of sweaters, scarves, etc. that haven't been worn
T-shirts with silly sayings or logos
There is a limit to how many 'around-the-house' items anyone needs. Why waste too much space on them?
Organizing Storage
While your closet is still empty, consider if you have room for extra storage shelves. Most hardware stores have shelving you can put together and install yourself. Alternatively, you may want to hire a professional closet design company to create a custom system. If you choose the latter option, expect to pay a minimum of $200 for a small closet and more for a larger space.
Here are a few inventive products and ideas:
Use clear plastic boxes for shoes or tape a Polaroid of your shoes to regular cardboard shoeboxes. It sounds strange but you won't have to open all the boxes to find the shoes you want.
If your closet is deep, consider adding an extra rod behind the first one. The second rod should be installed slightly lower or higher than the outer rod so that you will be able to see the items hanging from it.
Try carousel belt hangers available in men's clothing stores and department stores. These hangers are a neat and compact way to store belts.
If you need greater illumination but the closet lacks electrical outlets, try battery-powered lights. Most hardware stores carry these inexpensive, easy to install lights.
On a tight budget, creativity can be your greatest ally. A narrow filing cabinet can be used to hold sweaters. A cardboard box can become an attractive storage container when covered in gift-wrap. Make your own shelves by cutting inexpensive lumber to size, painting the pieces, then securing them to the wall with L-shaped brackets. Note: Drywall can crack under excessive weight so screw the bracket into the wooden wall stud. If you have trouble locating the studs, hardware stores sell devices called 'stud finders' which indicate the location of studs by measuring the difference in density between drywall and wood.
Two changes I made were putting a less-than-perfect dresser against an empty wall in my closet - no one will notice and it's an efficient use of space. I also bought a long narrow shoe rack for my wall but it can also be hung over the door.
When building a shelving system, take into account the amount of short, medium, and long items you own. Allow approximately 1.75m of space to hang long items such as dresses and coats. Men's pants are usually 1.25m in length. Skirts and men's shirts require up to one metre.
Restocking
Once you've finished your shelving system, it's time to put things back in. Ideally, you should arrange your clothes by type and colour. For example, pants and jackets should stay together. All the white/light-coloured shirts should be in one place. I'm more realistic about the prospects of this system remaining in place - I have a rod on each side of the closet so I just put all my light coloured clothes on one side and all the dark colours on the other.
Rotate to Save Space
If you have more clothes than space, don't put everything back in. Physics will always work against you if your theory is that now everything will fit! Put aside and box up clothes that are out of season. Apply a large label to the box and list the items that are contained inside. Store the box in a secure dry spot in your garage or under your bed. When the next season arrives, take out the box and rotate some of your extra out-of-season items.
Now what are you going to do with all that extra space? Did someone say shopping? [Return to Homeowners Guide]
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