Discover How to Organize a Closet in 5 Simple Steps

A closet is a magnet for clutter in your home simply because you can quickly shove things in it and close the door and then "it" is hidden from your view. When you do this you are cluttering your closet and very far from being organized. This article will show you how to organize a closet quickly.

Before we get into how to organize your closet lets first talk about how it got dis-organized:

Generally a closet can get cluttered and disorganized for 2 reasons:

1. You don't have a good storage system in place - i.e. - your closet is not set up in a way that "everything has a place" so you simply shove "it" into the closet and deal with "it" later
2. You are not rotating out items you don't use, either seasonal or things you simply don't like

The goal of organizing a closet is NOT to figure out a way to store all of the "stuff" in the closet. Generally a closet is stuffed full of items you never use that only makes it more disorganized.

The goal of organizing a closet should be to set up your closet in an efficient manner so you can quickly find and return the items you regularly use, while removing or neatly storing the items you don't use. I like to use the analogy of a silverware drawer, everything has a place, and that's how your closet should be organized as well.

5 Steps to organizing your closet:

1. Remove everything from your closet. As you remove things try to group them in piles of similar items. For instance maybe you have long sleeve shirts scattered all over your closet. Try to put these in 1 pile, same for pants, etc. If you are organizing a coat closet group items by the person who uses them.
2. clean and paint the closet if it is in poor shape. Nothing will make your closet feel newer than a good cleaning or fresh coat of paint
3. Examine your storage system: if this is an older closet with simply 1 bar and possibly a single shelf then you can do much better if you consider a closet organizing system. Try going to your local home improvement stores and looking at the closet storage system. They can help you tremendously in creating an organized closet with multiple hanging racks, tie racks, belt racks, and extra shelves and more. There are wire/metal systems that are very affordable and also more expensive wooden systems. Decide what is in your budget range and purchase one if needed. I've installed the metal closet organizers in just over an hour or so. A little measuring, a drill, hammer and possibly hack saw and you're all set and installed in no time
4. If you have off-season items in your closet and have storage elsewhere in the house consider storing these items in plastic bins in the attic or basement. Yes they may get wrinkled but you'll give them a good wash as the next season approaches. If you don't have additional storage room for off-season items then you really need to look at what you need and either donate or sell the rest to make room. Nobody needs 4 winter coats, you may want all 4 but you do not need all of them so its time to make a tough decision. Feel good about donating items and also clearing space in your cluttered closet.
5. For each pile of items you made carefully examine each item before it goes in the closet. Any items you haven't worn in over a year should go into a donation pile unless it's a specialty item like a suit or special dress. This will be very difficult as we can get attached to our clothes or feel like we are letting someone down if we give away a gift. But if the item is a sweater or coat you never wore and your aunt gave it to you do you think it makes them happy sitting in the back of your closet? Of course not, so donate it to someone who can use it and then everyone will feel good. Then as each item makes it into your closet it should be grouped with all other similar items. Ex: group all long sleeves together, shorts sleeves, etc. Or organize by color - its up to you and how you think when you look into your closet for something you need.

Now that your closet is organized you know exactly where to find and return each item if you grouped them logically together. If you put a new item into the closet take the extra 20 seconds to make sure it gets stored where it should, and also consider pulling out an item or two for donation since you are "upgrading".

When you are done with this process you will have an organized closet, a big pile of clothes for donation, and hopefully a huge smile on your face!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bob_Hennessey

Custom Closets Can Quickly Eliminate Clutter and Organize Your Closets

People who live in older homes can often become frustrated with their closet spaces since previous generations simply didn't use closets the way we do nowadays. For one thing the closets in older houses tend to lack depth and be quite small. Also there is usually only one pole for hangers and maybe a few hooks. Trying to fit all of your belongings, shoes, coats, hats, and clothes into the tiny space, let alone organizing it usually is a disastrous experience. Custom closets are extremely popular because they offer a solution to the frustration of crammed, messy closet spaces. With just a bit of planning and small cash investment you can easily and very quickly de-clutter your closets and create organized, easily accessible closet spaces.

Custom organizing closets didn't become popular until the early 1980's. They actually owe their popularity to a few companies who created their businesses around the idea that using a different method for how people stored the items in their closets could make their closets much more efficient and easy to use. Based on the success of these companies many other business ventures, both large and small have hopped on board to offer homeowners a ton of closet service choices to choose from. In addition, a number of other companies have opted to focus on the do-it-yourself type homeowners with a wide array of ideas, tools and accessories to revitalize their cluttered closet to a model of organized storage use.

Companies that specialize in organizing closet spaces generally provide closet system design. Using their services is easy. You just schedule an appointment for a free in home consult. When the consultant arrives at your home they will measure your closet spaces, inventory the items you wish to store there and discuss any other needs you may have regarding your closet. After reviewing this data they will then recommend a system they think will give you the best closet for your needs.

Before you call for your custom closets free in home consultation, you need to take a few actions to prep for the meeting. If you're like most people, there are many things in your closet that you no longer need. There's simply no reason to pay money just to store items you're never going to use. If you remove all the unnecessary stuff that has piled up in your closet it will save you time and money on your new closet system. Remove anything you don't absolutely love or haven't used in a year or more. You will probably have a few things that have sentimental value that you'll want to keep - like your wedding dress. No matter how old it is, it is okay to keep it. Just think about whether it really needs to be in the closet. Perhaps it can be boxed and stored in a different location. Now when the consultant arrives they will only be taking an inventory of what you really need to store and have easy access to. Custom closet organizers provide a really good service; but there are also a number of companies have developed products that let you do the job yourself. If you have a really small closet or limited storage needs, it could be smarter to consider completing the project yourself. If you're fairly handy you could easily complete a closet rehab project with very little expense.

With a bigger closet, it will probably be best to have a pro do the installation for you so know it is done right the first time. A professional installer will give you a complete closet transformation. You will get the closets of your dreams with no real effort required from you. A pro can overhaul your entire system from the bifold closet doors to the very tiniest detail. Commonly added organizational items include things like shoe racks, pull out drawers for sweaters and socks, shelving units, and tiered clothing hangers.

The cost for custom closets vary widely. Pricing can range from several hundred dollars to several thousand depending on the size of your closet and the features you choose to have installed. Before signing any type of agreement for the sale, make sure you ask these critical questions:

• Is there a warranty provided with your service?

• Will you be using plastic or metal hardware?

• What is the depth of the shelves?

• Will the price of installation include getting rid of the old closet?

• Is paint touch ups and dry wall if needed included in the job?

Once you have selected the right plan and features it is time to get started. If this is going to be a do-it yourself job, you will need to set aside a weekend for properly completing the installation. If you're having your new closet professionally installed, you simply need to schedule the install date. It's best to schedule the project for a day when you can be home to answer questions if needed.

After the project is completed, it is time to take a step back and soak in the beauty of your new closet. Now everything in there has a place, and even better, everything is in its place.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Daniel_Volov

Closet Organization Systems - A General Overview

A closet is a storage unit that is enclosed in a small place. While providing extra storage space for the household stuff, these closets also add beauty to the house. When you have a proper closet, house looks more spacious and clutter free. A well-organized closet makes things easily accessible and makes life much easier. However, most of the times, the closets that are in built in the house become very cluttered over the period of time and it really becomes impossible to find the required item in the closet. This is basically due to the inefficient utilization of the space within the closet. If you have one of these kinds of closets, then closet storage system is ideal for you to organize various items. A proper closet organizer system helps to maximize and optimize the storage space. These closet organizer systems are not only used to store cloths, but they are also ideal to use in the garage, pantry, office and so on.

Varieties of these systems are available in the market such as custom fit, customizable organizer systems and do it yourself organizer systems. While custom fit is entirely made specifically for the customer's closet space, customizable organizers come with fixed designs and adjustable sizes, which can be adjusted to customer's closet. Do it yourself is the most cost effective closet organizer system, which gives the customer the flexibility of fixing the storage organizer.

In do it yourself, one can choose rods, hangers, shelves or racks depending on his need. Closet organizing systems have specific designs, so that they can be used to store specific items. While hanging racks can be used for shirts and jackets, long racks can be utilized for pants and dresses. Shoe cubes are specifically deigned for shoe storage and small box organizers are ideal for keeping the fancy jewelries. Those, who like to customize the closet can buy closet storage accessories separately and can install them in the closet, so that maximum utilization of the space is possible. It also provides an option to customize the closet depending on the user's individual requirement. Mixing and matching various storage systems help to make the storage space more unique and spacious.

Closet storage system is also available as complete kit, which usually includes all the required accessories such as shoe cubes, baskets, drawers and so on. Each one of these complete systems are made for specific usage such as child's closet, teen's closet, deluxe closet and so on.

Installing the closet organizer system is a very simple task. One need not be a professional closet designer to fix a functional and beautiful closet. With proper tools, any amateur can install the closet organizer system. However, if you are not a person who likes to do it all by yourself, professional organizers are always there to help in installing the storage systems. Of course, this will cost you extra money and time. However, one does not have to break his head with measuring the length and width of the closet.

Closet organizer systems are usually made up of either wood, wire, steel or plastic. Wooden closets are stronger and are sally built with oak, pine, maple or cedar wood. Plastic organizers are not as sturdy as wood. However, people usually prefer plastic and wire storage shelves for child's closet. Wire storage units are of lightweight and can be painted to go along with other room decors. Closet organizer systems are available in large department stores like Wal-Mart, Target and specialty stores like IKEA, Bed Bath and Beyond and so on. Choice of the closet organizer systems depends on the purpose of use, the budget and the living arrangements.

Closet organizer systems make closet aesthetically appealing and functionally efficient. Having these organizers at home makes life more comfortable and convenient.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Paul_Bomers