If you are new to this series, catch up here.
Okay so here we go! Thanks to those of you who gave me some insight into the closets you were struggling with. From my experience as a Professional Organizer, I noticed that closets tend to be the last spaces to get organized. They typically have doors on them so it’s super easy to open the door and shove stuff in to be dealt with later. Only later never comes.
So if you’d like to tackle a closet this month (or two or three!) the first thing that has to be done is to give a little thought to a plan. For those that might be new around these parts, I have a little acronym that I created to help you organize any space big or small. That acronym is PROCESS and it really works. The first letter “P” stands for plan. What do you need your closet to do for you? How does it need to function? Who does it need to function for? What is your budget? What problems do you need to solve?
So many of you mention closets that were overflowing and having to house many different kinds of things. Yes we need to get smart with our spaces to use it to its full potential but we may also have to do some serious purging as well. Don’t be scared, you can do this!
So first things first….pick one closet and decide how you want it to work for you. I’m being bossy I know but I want us to bond over closet organizing because it’s fun and exciting! No? You’ll get there I promise. You’ll be feeling so high at the end of this that you’ll be dying to organize more…ha! Sorry about that I tend to get carried away.
I recently organized my master bedroom closet. It’s constantly evolving because it has a big job to do. I was so excited when we moved into this house three years ago because it was the first time I’ve ever had a walk in closet. It’s not huge compared to some but when we moved in I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. It didn’t take long to fill that baby up though and it didn’t take long for me to see that I was going to need to get creative to maximize the space.
Here’s how it looked when we first moved in.
In process:
And here’s how it looks now.
I’ll talk about the different products I’m using throughout the month. We couldn’t afford to change out the wire shelving so I’m working with it and around it. And sometimes that’s just what we have to do.
Alrighty, do you have a closet plan? I’d love to hear it!
Linking up:
Dianna says
Yay! The timeliness of this series is amazing! We are buying a new home that has 2 closets in the master bedroom (great right?) BUT the closet is bigger than the master bath?!? So we are sacrificing a closet for a bathroom you can turn around in. Sooo, that leaves me with one closet to work with for myself and the hubby. Looking forward to all your great tips!
Liz in Georgia says
I am SO ready…I also have some wire shelving as well as wooden bars and can’t afford the nice wooden shelving, either. I am glad you have organized your closet without changing the wire, so we can see how even a wire closet can be functional! My closet looked so fantastic when I moved in 4 months ago, but it very quickly has become CHAOS! I am ready to purge and donate clothes, shoes and some stuff I know I won’t use ever again. Didn’t have the time to do a thorough job of this before moving, got rid of a lot of clothes, just not enough!
MY Goal for MY closet: Find space for shoes and sweaters and to never see clutter on the floor! Maybe even have room for a full-length mirror and a small armoire to keep sweaters and other things I need to fold and keep neat.
I am sure ready to trust you, Laura , to help me reach my organized bliss!
Rose says
If you hate the wire shelving but can’t afford premade wooden shelving, there is an alternative… build your own! Home centers will rip Plywood into boards for you (Use 3/4s inch plywood, and have them rip it into 12in or 16 in boards depending on how deep you want them) or you can buy melamine boards with pre-drilled shelf holes in them, and melamine boards you can cut to the desired size. You can make simple shelving by building a box and adding in the shelves, or if you or your hubby are good with tools you can make very simple drawers for them. Or even just buy melamine or wooden boards and closet brackets with built-in rod holders and just have shelves above all your rods if thats all you need.
It really is super easy, I made mine while 7 months pregnant in 2 afternoons, and all I had was a hand saw and a power drill 🙂 I’m not particularly good with tools, either. Here’s the plans i followed for mine, if you’re interested 🙂 http://ana-white.com/2011/04/master-closet-system
A.B. says
That closet is huge! I have a tiny closet with one layer of wire shelving. So hard to organize.
catherine says
My closet has a fixed wooden shelf, under it is a pole that is too high for me to reach
I thought of putting a drop down pole like I see in children’s closets but the closet is divided
with wood to make a shelf on half the closet. so I can’t put in a cart or small bureau.
What can I do without calling a carpenter to rip it all out?
Mary @ A Productive Endeavor says
I’m the opposite… my closets are more organized than my open spaces! LOL! And they are my FAV thing to organize. You motivated me to get to my clothes today and I blogged about the process. Can’t wait to learn more strategies from you bcs I am NOT a professional organizer!!
Mridu Parikh says
I love those boot hangers! I’m so getting me some of those. 🙂
Erin says
The hardest closet is my master bedroom closet. Its a reach in with one shelve and one long wooden bar. It’s packed. And not much of it is clothes. I’ve spent the last two years decluttering my clothes and I think I have those under control… Its the everything else. Sheets, comforter, christmas nativity scene, DH’s scary movies that we don’t keep out because even the covers scare the kids. I’m at a complete loss with it. The other closet, is my pantry. Ugh. I’m in love with pinterest, but I never seem to have the money or the know how or motivation to put it all into play. Plus when things are on sale, I stockpile so I often have three to four boxes of honey nut cheerios. They won’t all fit into a neat little tupperware container. Whats a girl to do? I mean besides let it fall into absolute chaos?
Kristin says
I love, love, love the idea of hanging the boots. Are those hangers made for boots or just pant hangers that you use for the boots?
Laura says
No they are just pant hangers that I’m using.
Sabrina says
Great organization! Great way to store boots. Does the hanger damage the top of your boots?
Laura says
No the hangers have a felt pad inside of them that protects the boots.
Sabrina says
That’s great! Thanks for the feedback.