If there is one thing that we all strive for – but mostly fail at – it’s an organised closet. Whether it’s the hallway closet where the coats live, the living room closet where you keep your technology accessories, or the bedroom closet where you keep everything else, you need organisation in your life for it all to work seamlessly. If you want to have an organised life, then the closets in your home need to be the place you start. It means an easier morning when you’re getting ready and an easier evening when you’re organising before you fall asleep. Your home needs to be the place that has the most balance, and you can start with closet organisation!
When you do it right, you are going to have everything in the right place when you need it. Life is stressful and if you can bring a little more harmony into it, then why wouldn’t you? You need somewhere for your headphone stand to sit without being cluttered up with everything else and you need to have some level of understanding where all your stuff is. We all know how annoying it is to lose things, but usually it’s a lack of organisation that’s the main problem. So, with all of this talk of getting the organisation in your home wrong, let’s take a close look at 15 ways you can organise the closets in your home!
- Start out with an empty closet
If you want to get started with organising your home, you need a fresh perspective. This means that you need to empty out all of the closets and clean them. Take your vacuum cleaner and bleach and get scrubbing – you want to put your things away in a clean place! You will find it much easier to purge your old things and make space for new things if you are starting afresh with a clean slate.
- Grab the measuring tape
For a truly organised closet, you need storage boxes and rails and for that to work, you need to measure the space and get to know what you can actually fit within it. Knowing how much room you have can help you to shop for the right sized units and boxes for all of your things. Measuring up can help you to assess the space better. You should do this for each closet, particularly if you are storing any tech gear that could be broken easily in the wrong area of the closet!
- Get shopping for storage
Now you know what you have to work with, you need storage. Shop around at your local store like IKEA to figure out whether you can fit the units you like in the closet. You might want to consider also installing some manual shelves if you don’t want to add a unit into a closet!
- Make a pile of donations
From unwanted clothing to old DVDs and CDs, you need a pile for the things that you are happy to give away. Usually, this stuff isn’t worth the time and effort reselling, but it’s definitely in the best condition to give it to someone else who could use it. Donating unwanted clothes is a lovely thing to do, but make sure that they are all clean and in the best possible condition. You can do the same thing with coats and winter gear, too!
- Add hanging bins
If your closets aren’t huge on the inside, you should consider utilising the space on the walls and hanging from the ceiling. Think hanging storage! You can really make the space effective for you if you hang the baskets up and fill them with knick-knacks that you don’t want to go missing. Closet shelving can be packed with things that you need in easy reach, too, but hanging bins are going to give you room to organise everything.
- Organise by type
If you are organising a tech closet, get everything added in by type – CDs, headphones, gaming controllers and more can all be organised by what it is. If you have handheld gaming consoles, you can also organise these into different bins by type, too. When it comes to the bedroom closets, you can think about organising your clothing by type, too.
- Buy some shoe boxes!
Plastic shoe boxes can help you to preserve your shoes, boots and sandals, and you can ensure that you have all of your shoes packed away properly when you buy shoe boxes. For added organisational glamour, take instant pictures of sets of shoes and stick them on the front of the shoe box. This way, you’ll know exactly which shoes are where in a moment.
- Turn your hangers the same way
Sometimes, it’s the smallest tips that make a closet look great. Turning the hangers so that they all face the same way will help you to grab things far more easily than if you have them higgledy piggledy. You need to have your hooks facing the back wall of the closet, and once you do, you can ensure that you find it much easier to grab what you need. While we’re talking hangers, consider only buying the same brand and type every time. No one needs to manage the mess of wooden and wire hangers in one place that gets tangled up!
- Don’t forget the drawer organisers
For the smaller items in the closet, consider organising the drawers properly with organisers specific to the inside of the drawer. This is perfect for socks, undergarments and even hair accessories. You can buy drawer organisers in large chain stores, and you can ensure that you keep everything in the right place when you do. These kinds of organisers change the game for the insides of the closet and the drawers need to be looked after, to.
- Consider bins!
Decorative bins can be bought in all sizes and are great for items like belts, scarves and other accessories you don’t want to leave lying around. Baskets are a good option, as they can make the closet look organised and tidy, and they’re also cheap and affordable! You can even buy the tiny baskets lined with silk to hold jewellery and smaller accessories.
- Learn how to fold things properly
When you use hangers, you need to make sure that your things are hanging down straight so that your things aren’t screwed up and wrinkled. When it comes to the clothes in the drawers, consider learning to roll clothing so that it stacks nicely without becoming wrinkled up. You will find that rolling clothes will also make it easy to find what you want when you’re searching for the perfect outfit. It helps your closets to look more organised, too, which is kind of the entire point!
- Organising your jewellery
There are SO many different options for jewellery storage out there and if you consider how much your jewellery means to you, you need to store it well. Earrings and bracelets may need to be stored differently, but anything with a chain shouldn’t be balled up and shoved away. It should hang nicely to avoid any knots, tangles or anything else that will prevent you from being able to find what you need. Adding hooks to the back of the closet door can help you to find a way to keep your jewellery looking good and it’s an easy fix to your storage issue.
- Consider an inventory
If you add a clipboard to the door with an inventory, you will know exactly what’s in your closets and when. This can help if you plan to give away anything for charity as you will know what you keep needing and what you no longer use. An inventory will help you to stay organised!
- Hang your accessories
Scarves and belts need to stay straightened out if you want to be able to find them when you need to. Scarves are a go-to accessory in all weathers, so you want to keep them nice and by hanging them from a pole inside the closet, you’ll find it much easier to grab and go when you are getting dressed. Don’t forget that scarves can be an accessory for the waist, the neck or even the belt loops instead of a regular belt. Hanging accessories keeps them orgnaised, so be aware of this when you are sorting out your items.
- Add a laundry basket
If you have the room, add a laundry basket to your closet. You can then make sure that your dirty clothes are added in the right place rather than leaving them on the floor (which is so easy to do!). Storing a hamper in the bedroom closet is a great way to keep your things from getting disorganised all over again, and you can be ready for the wash whenever you need to be! Laundry baskets are really easy to find, too, and you can buy one that matches everything else in your closet, too.