Closet Storage Solutions Made Easy!

Has your closet become a black hole?  Is it a room in your house that devours everything in sight?  Has your closet become your personal storage sheds?  Let me take you back to 1935 when a radio show named Fibber McGee and Molly began to air.  Why would I mention Fibber McGee and Molly in an article having to do with finding closet storage solutions?  The reason is because the highlight of the show came when Fibber would go to his closet.  For those of you who are not familiar with the show, Fibber had a closet that sucked everything in.  It became Fibbers personal storage shed and every time Fibber would open the door, you would hear all sorts of crashing and banging as everything stuffed inside would fall out.  Can you identify with this?  Has your closet become a Fibber’s closet?  If it has you are not along.   However, your closet does not have to remain a Fibber’s closet.  With a few simple closet storage solutions and a little bit of time, you can declutter and organize your closet like a professional.

Many people put off decluttering their closet because it seems like such a daunting task.  There are two questions you should ask yourself before you begin to look for closet storage solutions that will meet your needs.

  • First – Define what the purpose of your closet is.  Most people think of their closet as a long term storage solution. Ask yourself.   Is long term storage the best use of your closet space?  If you view your closet as long term storage you may want to change your way of thinking and start thinking of your closet as storage for your everyday items.  Long term storage should have its own dedicated area within your home.
  • Second – Before you take on the physical task of decluttering take some time to look at what you may need to organize your closet.  Do you have enough shelves and are they laid out in a convenient way?  Do you have a place to put shoes and other accessories?  How are your clothes racks?  Do you need to add more or can they be rearranged in a better configuration?  Once you developed closet storage solutions that will answer these questions, you will know what you need to buy so you can begin to reconfigure your closet.

The best time to declutter your closet is late fall and late spring.  Why late fall and late spring?  Late fall and late spring are the times of the year when the weather has changed.  Putting your seasonal clothes away to early or late may cause frustration if you have put your seasonal clothes in storage and then the weather turns and you have to pull them out of storage to get through the last few weeks.

I suggest you start early in the morning on the day you decide to declutter your closet.  As you remove items from your closet you will be placing them throughout your bedroom and it is likely you will be covering your bed with items.  What you want to avoid is starting too late in the day and having your bed covered with clothes or other items when it is time for bed, forcing you to move these items so you can crawl into bed.

Good closet storage solutions involves more than just organizing your storage space.  As mentioned above closet storage solutions involves the task of decluttering.  Start your decluttering by taking out each item one at a time:

  • Look at the item and ask yourself the following questions.  When was the last time I wore this item?  Is it in good condition?  Does it still fit?
  • For those items that are not in good condition immediately get rid of them.  Throw these items in a box or bag labeled trash.  These items could be clothes, shoes or accessories.
  • Next take any piece of clothing that you have not worn in the past year and either donate it to a thrift store or sell it on ebay.  If you have not worn something in the past year chances of you wearing it again are slim.
  • All of those clothes that no longer fit or are out of style can either be donated or sold.  Don’t fool yourself by saying that you are keeping these items because they will some day come back into style; or that you are going to lose weight and will wear them again.  This is not going to happen.  If you go on a diet, reward yourself for losing weight by buying new clothes.  If you sell your clothes at a garage sale or on ebay, keep the money you make to buy yourself new clothes once you reach your weight goals.

Once your closet is completely empty begin cleaning it.  Vacuum the floor, take a rag and wash the shelves and the clothes rods.  If your closet needs painting now is the time to paint.  A new coat of paint can brighten up your closet and give it a completely new feel.

If your closet is small do not take any space for granted.  The following are closet storage solutions that will help you take advantage of all your available space.

  • Use the back of the door for hooks, accessories racks or even a shoe rack.  If you have a lot of shoes, store those shoes that you use regularly on racks in your closet and store the rest in bins with wheels under your bed.
  • Vacuum storage bags are great for storing seasonal clothes.  Put your clothes in these bags and suck the air out of them to compress their size.  One tip for putting your seasonal clothes into storage is to leave them on hangers, that way when the time comes to take them out of storage you will save yourself time because they are ready to be hung.

If you feel that you would like to invest in permanent organizational solution there are many companies that will design closet storage solutions for you.  If you are a do-it-yourself-er, go to Home Depot, Lowe’s or any other hardware store and look at the closet storage solutions available for self installation.

Decluttering your closet is really easy to do.  Just remember to take your time and use closet storage solutions that works best for you.

As a final note, you can keep your closets clean, dry, and smelling fresh by placing open, empty perfume bottles or unwrapped bars of soap in the corners. You can also make moth-repellent sachets from dried lavender, whole peppercorns, orange peel, or a fifty-fifty mixture of dried rosemary and mint. If you can’t find sachet bags, make your own sachets out of baby socks or pieces cut from a clean stocking.