Closet Organizing Systems: There's a Place for Everything

Do you need professional help? If you've succumbed to too many pairs of Mahnolos, it's time to stage an intervention. Organizing your closet isn't as over-whelming with pro tools and strategies. Before you call a clutter counselor, though, take these simple steps:

1 Identify the closets which most need assistance.
2 Decide on what you would like to accomplish (creating more room, navigating your wardrobe more easily, getting items off the floor).
3 Measure closet space and list components (like lighting and number of existing shelves and racks).
4 Determine budget.

With closet perimeters in hand, you can either invite a consultant to your home or have them create a custom design and product list online. Cleaning can be pretty cathartic, however. If you have the time and a hint of inclination, use these tools to do it yourself…

Put everything in its proper place. That means coats return to the coat closet, bedding to the linen closet, and everything else which isn't wardrobe-centric finds another home. Hat boxes and cotton canvas storage bins can hold those odds and ends which don't easily fold or hang.

Replace wire hangers with something more substantial. Smooth hangers are neater on the rod and help prevent snagging. Wooden hangers certainly look best, but tubular plastic hangers can be color coded. Use color to separate work and casual, winter and spring, or his and her wardrobes. You'll be able to reach for the right outfit in a quick glance.

Invent a system that compliments the way you get dressed. The rack can be organized with clothing graduating from most casual to most dressy, like silhouettes and lengths together, like colors from lightest to darkest, or complete outfits grouped.

Give shoes a home. A three-drawer shoe cabinet can hold about 24 pair. Stow seasonal boots and sandals in clear plastic bins with accompanying stored clothes. You'll gain space by using vertical storage. A rod-hanging shoe organizer can also be used to stow handbags. An over-the-door pocket style organizer can also be used for items that are hard to fold: stockings, socks and gloves in pairs, scarves, underthings, and large costume jewelry.

An expander bar, hung from the existing rod, doubles space available for shirts and jackets.

If using hanging shelves for knits, keep the most frequently worn items on the highest tiers. Coated wire dividers which clip to shelves can also keep folded items tidy. The arms prevent piles from sliding into each other, as well as propping up not-so-stackable things like handbags.

No amount of organizing will fix a closet full of unloved clothes. Any pieces that haven't been worn in the past six months either need to be packed in seasonal storage or edited out. With all of the resources for your cast-offs, from E-Bay to Goodwill, there's no good reason to keep cluttered. Those items which you've long intended to mend, fit into, or wish back into style, are just taking up precious real estate. Practice tough love and kick them out.