To many people, especially women, a closet is an
extension of our identity. We take
enormous pride in what we wear and how we present ourselves. An empty closet is similar to a blank canvas,
just waiting to be painted, and how we fill it, and arrange the numerous
clothes, shoes and accessories, can paint a picture, one both beautiful and
functional. For some of us, sadly, that
“painting” ends up resembling the
drawing of a 5 year old – messy and with no flow or character, which screams
confusion and stress. Knowing how to create
a functional, well-flowing and easy-to-use closet will not only be beautiful to
look at, but ease the daily stress of answering the age old complaint – “I have nothing to wear!”
Creating your perfect closet requires a little prep
work. First, it is essential that you
remove every single item in your closet, and begin the downsizing process. For many of us, we hang on to many items we
haven’t worn in years, or no longer fit us.
This hinders our ability to have a functional closet space. You must be willing to rid yourself of all
items of clothing, shoes and accessories you have not worn in a year or
more. For items in poor shape – discard
them. For all other items you don’t use,
either donate them to thrift stores or charity, or sell them at a yard sale or
at a consignment shop.
Start Creating a
Streamlined, Functional Closet Space
Once you are left with all the items you still wear
and realistically plan on wearing, start organizing these items in piles.
·
Pants and jeans
·
Skirts
·
Dresses
·
Shirts and blouses
·
Suits
·
Jackets
·
Sweaters
·
Frequently worn shoes
·
Shoes you don’t wear often
·
Belts
·
Scarves
·
Tights, pantyhose and socks
·
Hats
·
Handbags
Many closets are small. But there are numerous, inexpensive ways you
can actually create more space. One of
these solutions is to add another rod or two.
You can do this by adjusting the height of the existing rod, either a
little higher or lower, then installing an additional rod above or below
that. This allows you to double your
hanging space, and is best used for shirts, jackets, skirts and other shorter garments. You can also add a smaller width bar at the
top of one side of your closet to accommodate longer items such as dresses and
hanging slacks.
Cubbies and
Shelves Are a Big Part of the Solution
If you have the room, install as many shelves as you
can, remembering to leave enough space to stack standard sized bins, baskets
and boxes. Also stack cubbies on the
floor, to store your shoes and purses.
For those shoes you wear only on special occasions, or are seasonal,
such as boots, store these in clear plastic bins and keep hidden under your
bed. Plastic, clear bins are perfect for
storing folded sweaters, and other clothes not worn every day. Stack these at the top of your closet
shelves, and always keep your most used items closer to the bottom of your
closet for easy access.
You can purchase hangers that hold more than one garment. Many of these special hangers hold up to six
items, and hang at a downward angle, allowing you to hang more items in your
closet than you could only hanging one garment per single hanger. Hooks are ideal for hanging purses, belts
and scarves. If your closet has the
space, it is a very useful idea to put either a small dresser against the back
wall, or purchase a rolling cart, similar to those that hold office
supplies. These wonderful storage spaces
on wheels have at least three drawers which are perfect for holding
undergarments, hats, folded jeans, or even jewelry and belts, and all you have
to do is simply roll it out and access what you need.
No matter how small your closet is, there are so
many ways you can create functional space to store much more than you thought
possible. With every item in its place,
it will be easy every single morning to pick beautiful outfits, and never again
will you have to declare that you don’t have a thing to wear. You always have had something to wear – but with a messy, disorganized closet,
you just couldn’t see it. With some
simple closet solutions, your closet can become that gorgeous painting – one to
be admired every day of your life.
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