If you are like most people, your closet is one of the last areas to get the attention it deserves when it comes to home organization. To determine whether it is time for you to organize or clean your closet, here are three major indicators that your closet needs an intervention:
- You find it easier to buy a new thing than looking in the closet for the existing version.
- You are collecting piles of items around the house that theoretically belong in the closet, but there is just no room anymore.
- You are using external wardrobes or clothing racks as a closet addition, or worse, a total replacement.
If this sounds familiar, you probably have a closet crisis on your hands. You may have spent months or years avoiding the issue, but, as you have discovered, it only gets worse over time!
To restore a healthy relationship with this all-important storage space, you will need an advanced approach to closet maintenance. This means decluttering, moving things around and, more importantly, optimizing the way you use the space. To help rehabilitate your closet, here are eight easy and affordable hacks you can use!
1. Organizer Baskets
These come in all sizes, shapes and colours, so you are bound to find baskets that match your taste and fit nicely onto your shelves. If you get sturdy ones, you can stack them up like boxes.
2. Towel Bars and Hooks
Although you normally would not need towel bars and hooks in a closet space, a towel bar is a great way to store scarves and neckties without wasting a hanger. You can use durable coat hooks to hang bags, head gear and belts on the back of the closet door.
3. Extra Hanger Bar
An additional hanger bar that hangs from the original one increases the available space. An extra hanger bar is a handy extension for shorter items like shirts, folded pants or skirts.
4. Additional Shelving
If you have the room, mount an extra shelf or two above the hanger bar, or on the sides of the closet. Additional shelving provides a good space to keep items neatly stored out of the way and off the floor.
5. Shelf Dividers
Get these to create unique storage spaces on your closet shelf. Shelf dividers help you separate items and keep piles neatly stacked, without spilling or collapsing.
6. Hanging Organizers
Made from cloth or plastic, a hanging organizer can be suspended from the hanger bar. It will automatically give plenty of new cubbyholes to stash items you do not want to hang, like sweaters, jeans or extra household linens.
7. Transparent Containers
When your organizer containers are transparent, it just makes it that much easier to find what you want at a glance. You can safely eliminate the hassle of opening each one and digging through them to find things.
8. Rent a Storage Unit
Virtually every closet contains seasonal or seldom-used items that you really do not need in the house all year round.
One of the best ways to keep a closet neat and organized is to make enough room for the stuff you only use on a regular basis. You can put the rest of your items away offsite in a storage unit. You can rent a 5 by 5 feet storage unit, which is equivalent to a regular closet. This storage unit size can hold personal items, clothes, boxes, skis, children’s toys, small furniture items, business records and sales rep materials, for example. If you want something bigger, you can go with a 5 by 10 feet storage unit, which is equivalent to a walk-in closet. This storage unit holds items such as small amounts of furniture, sofas, chairs, chest of drawers, boxspring and mattress, business supplies and records, plus other small items and boxes.