Closet Organization: Tips

     The following are some helpful organizing and cleaning tips learned thus far in my closet-organizing... adventure (see disclaimer below):

Hubby's stations & rolled t-shirts in bins

• Have a plan. Give time for ideas to germinate and evolve (isn't that perfect justification for why I didn't rush into this project?)
• Invest. It is worthwhile to spend the money for the right tools (shoe organizers, baskets).
• Cover your nose. If you have dust allergies, wear a dust mask. Vacuuming as much as possible before moving the clothes and shoes will alleviate allergies (I ended up sneezing with a stuffy nose).
• Promote visibility with lighting. To prevent the clothes-hiding factor, and to speed up your clothing and shoe searches, it is imperative to clearly see. I upped the wattage in my closet's bulbs; or, buy a few battery-operated dome lights, and place them on the inside walls.
• Provide clothing stations. My husband's workout/casual wear is now in one station (shoes, shirts, and pants), and his work clothes are in another station.
• File, file, file. As you hang your clothing, treat it like a filing system. Place your dresses together, your pants together, and so on. Within each section, align items by color, on color-coordinated hangers (c.-c. hangers are a dream idea from a website... it's not necessary, but certainly sounds professional).
• Store to save space. To save closet rod space, hang pants lengthwise (don't fold them in half--that bulks them up and encourages unsightly knee creases). Use hangers that have grips.
• Store for practicality. Sweaters and heavy knits keep their shape better when kept folded on a shelf. (If sweaters end up a bit wrinkled as you dress, use a water sprayer for wrinkles.)
• Roll with the flow. I rolled my husband's t-shirts (he has millions of them) for storage into handy bins pictured above. It is now easy to see his array of t-shirt options and quickly grab.

     Synchronized Take-away: 1) Don't be penny-wise and dollar foolish, and 2) It is robbing yourself to buy something never worn.

Disclaimer: The size and shape of every clothes closet is unique. Mine tends to be... somewhat generous. However, most of the tips in this blog could work in conjunction with a closet/dresser combo.