I’m so happy to have finished organizing my closet! It took me awhile after we moved in because I’ve never had a walk in closet before so I wasn’t exactly sure how to set it up. I’ve also not had to share a closet with my husband in awhile. We had smaller his and her closets in our old home which was perfect for us me because I had my own space to organize to my hearts content. Let’s just say my husband doesn’t share my organized ways…ahem 🙂
Anyway after trying various scenarios and I think I finally came up with something that will work for both of us. Although it’s a walk in closet I noticed right away that the space wasn’t being maximized as well as it could be. The other thing I didn’t like about it was the wire shelving, something I’m not really a fan of due to its limited functionality. But it’s what we had and I couldn’t justify the cost of changing it all out.
Here is the before:
As you can see there is a top rod all the way around to hang stuff although because of the back wall of shelves you can’t really hang anything there. Yet the space between those shelves, while too short to hang anything, is too wide to fully utilize because the stacks get to be too tall. I’d much prefer some cubbies or an additional shelf in between but I made it work as is for now. Also do you see all that wasted space underneath my hanging shirt. So sad.
Luckily I did manage to find another wire shelf not being used in another closet that my hubbie installed for me on the right hand side. I really really hate wasted space and without this additional shelf there would have been a ton of space not being used properly.
Check it out now:
It’s much more functional now and I was really able to maximize the storage space. I did that by adding a few key pieces. The extra wire shelf of course which is used to hang my pants from.
To increase the storage on my husband’s side, I knew I needed to add another row for his pants as well. The nice people from neatfreak! sent me a couple things from the closetMAX line (a Canadian company that makes affordable closet organizers) including an expandable bar with straps that just hooks over any closet rod or in my case the wire shelving. So easy to use and not expensive either at around $10.00. I’m really very happy with it.
I also added the closetMAX 5 Shelf Footwear Organizer ($14.00) as a place to house my husband’s ball caps and a couple of shoe organizers that fit perfectly for other storage (nylons, etc).
This will give you an idea of how the pieces just hook on. No assembly required, whoot!
The whole line of closetMAX products can all be combined and connected to help you maximize space. The 9 piece system below sells in Canada on The Shopping Channel for $99.00. Other Canadian locations to buy are listed here. I believe you can purchase some of the line in the US as well at Target under the Michael Graves name.
For shoe storage I again used what I had (an old TV stand) and added a couple of bins. I’m not a big shoe person so bins work fine for my needs right now until something else comes along 🙂
I added more bins on top to keep bags, purses and bathing suits contained.
The clear bins to the sides hold our seasonal clothing.
If you’d like more information on the blue bins, I wrote about them here. Can you believe I got them from my grocery store!
I’m still not using the back bottom two shelves to their potential. Right now I just have my yoga pants there and we’ll see over time if it needs to be changed up. I never leave anything alone for long so I’m sure in a couple of weeks I’ll be trying something else.
And look I couldn’t not have cubbies somewhere 🙂 I love that I have an empty shelf although trust me it won’t be empty for long! Hmmm I’m already thinking I’m going to move my yoga pants over there.
And finally behind the door, my necessary step stool because I’m a shorty 🙂
So there you have it, thanks for taking this tour with me. Anyone wanting to organize a closet or two this weekend? Do it, you’ll be so glad you did!!
Related posts:
Clothes Purging ~ How to Let Go
Giveaway:
If you are overwhelmed with your closet and would love nothing more than to get it organized then now is your chance to do just that with the help of a Professional Organizer guiding you every step of the way. Click here for a chance to win a seat in Aby Garvey’s online Organize Your Closet workshop.
I’m linking this post up at The Inspired Room. Go there for more creative organizing ideas!
Marcia Francois, Organising Queen says
LOVE it! I just downloaded my pics last night after I re-organised mine after I decluttered some more 🙂
They’re on my project 365 if you want to have a look
http://marcia-project365.blogspot.com/2010/09/swopping-winter-and-summer-clothes.html
Maid2Clean says
I LOVE the ClosetMAX products they look so fresh and useful! If only I had the space in my closet! Mines FULL of clothes :/
DebraC says
I have to declutter at least thrice a week because of my kids but this really helps me spend my time effeciently.
I also have researched some tips and information on how to maximize my work in organizing clutter in various sites.
Thanks again! Love your blog~
Sue says
Where did you get the bins you have your shoes in?
Laura says
Hi Sue, you can read all about them here:
https://orgjunkie.com/2007/01/its-a-beautiful-morning.html
Lindelle says
Thank you for this post!
I think that my closet is the same dimensions and setup as yours. I’ve been tackling the closet for a while now and think I may have found some great solutions via this post.
Sharisse says
This is so awesome!! I (like you) moved into a new home about 4 months ago and have for the first time in my life a walk in closet. It came with the same white wire shelving which I also can’t stand. It’s nowhere near as organized as yours and due to money being spent throughout the rest of the house, we didn’t have much left to spend on the closets. In my daughters room she has the reach in with the white wire shelving that is too tall for her to reach. I purchased a similar expandable bar with straps from Walmart to of course make more space and use for her to reach. I love the blue semi-clear bins you have on the top shelf. Where did you get those? Right now I have pink fabric bins on mine that are (of course) not see thru and being a shorty like you 🙂 I like to see what’s in the bins.
Laura says
Hi Sharisse, I got the bins from my grocery store. Here’s the post I did on them:
https://orgjunkie.com/2007/01/its-a-beautiful-morning.html
Marilyn Bohn says
I LOVE this organizing system. It is functional and attractive all at the same time. I love organizing closets!
Laura says
Thanks Marilyn, my main goal was to just try to keep my husband and I separated and organized as much as possible. So he’s got his side and I’ve got mine and the back wall 🙂
Dr. M says
Your closet looks terrific! I did mine not too long ago, too, and what a relief. It’s such a pleasure walking in there when it looks pretty and you know where everything is! I also have to add how much I LOVE those hangers by Joy Mangano. After buying the knock-off brands, I finally purchased the entire set from HSN and I could not be happier with the results. If I could only fit my laptop in there, I would work right out of my closet, I just love it now! I love your use of containers in yours, too.
Marie-Claire
Jan says
wow I love it so much- I like the idea to put shoes in bins- I did that for my daughter’s shoes
Karen says
Oooo…good inspiration. My closets definitely could use some attention. Thanks for the ideas.
Margarita Ibbott, DownshiftingPOS says
Laura:
It always stands to reason that you need to live in a space for a while before you know how to organize it. You did a fantastic job – as usual. I love your innovative and creative ideas on using every inch of space.
Enjoy your new closet!
Margarita Ibbott
Downshifting – Professional Organizing Solutions
Melissa Barrett says
We just moved and have a pretty small closet, an organizing system would be awesome
Tabitha Kokoska says
Thanks! This is great! I always appreciate being able to look at real and affordable closet solutions. I’m a big fan of the hanging closet organizers too!
Jessica says
If you want to make the shelves solid so you can set cubbies or shelf-organizers on top of them that would otherwise fall through, you can get a thin sheet of plywood at your local hardware store and have it cut to size of the shelf (often the hardware store will even do that part for you!). Apply some strips of velcro to the bottom of the board, and set it on top of the shelf…then put the other side of the velcro under the wires of the shelf so that the velcro sticks in the places between the wires, and it will be secured in place so it doesn’t slip around. Its a pretty inexpensive fix that might make the space more usable.
katzien says
Sigh. I’d kill for a walk-in closet. We have an old ’40’s home, so there is a total of 2 closets in the whole house. I have a strict rule that when I go shopping and bring some new goodies home, I have to get rid of a few old items too. I’m always ‘rotating’ my clothing and shoes, which is nice. But sometimes it’s hard to decide what gets tossed in the ‘garage sale’ bin. I might have a store coupon, but then I say to myself “I don’t really need to spend the money, and besides, I have no where to store the xyz.” 😉
Laura says
My very simple and inexpensive cure for the wire shelving. Lowes, Home depot and many other stores are always having clearance sales on vinyl floor tiles. The ones with the adhesive already on them. Simply peel the paper off and stick right on the shelf. They do not slide around or peel up. Although you may have to cut some to fix, but that’s easy with a utility knife. So far I’ve done my pantry, laundry room and bathroom closet for $11.48. Everything just looks so much neater.
Laura says
Love this idea!! Thanks for sharing it 🙂