Today’s Question of the Day comes from JKW.
She asks:
Hi Shannon! You know I’m a big fan of your blog. The Q & A is a great idea! I’d like to ask you about storage — how utterly exciting…NOT! I have a huge problem when it comes to having enough space for my clothes. (Well, I suppose the “real” problem is that I buy too much clothing, LOL!)Do you have one of those closet organizer systems? Do you have a “method” for hanging, folding, etc? What works for you? Your advice is greatly appreciated.
Hi JKW, thanks for your question! I wish I could say I have a fantastically organized closet but the truth is I have the same problem as you lol. I have a teeny little house complete with minuscule sliding door closets. I share a closet with dh, so the only option I have for more space is to intrude on his side. Although he is fond of keeping his clothes on the floor, I think he’d be a little upset if I booted him out completely.
There are a few things I do to control the closet chaos. One is I am completely brutal about weeding out what I don’t wear. There is very, very little in my closet that is more than 2 years old. This is not becasue I believe in throwing out perfectly good clothes. It’s because, I use to buy cheap junk that didn’t hold up to wash and wear. I was also too forgiving about fit. I would often buy things that were too big for me or fit uncomfortably. I’ve also refined my style a LOT over the last couple years. Everything that doesn’t live up to my current standards has got to go.
A bad habit I had for a long time was hanging on to my sloppy lounging clothes. Sweatshirts, unflattering tees, jeans that didn’t quite fit. Every summer we do some home remodeling, so I do need some things to garden, paint, and be truely grubby in. But I don’t need an entire drawer full of this stuff. Two bottoms and two tops fit the bill. Another thing I’ve done is hang on to these types of clothes for pajamas. But again, I only need a couple of pieces to fill the jammie wardrobe.
In the last 9 months or so, I’ve gotten rid of a lot these sloppy clothes. I’ve found that not having so many tees and sweatshirts means I can’t be lazy and reach for them. I force myself with lack of selection to wear the nicer clothes in my closet that I feel good in.
Okay, I’ve gotten a little off track here lol. So when I do one of these closet clean outs, I gather up everything without second thought and throw it into a bag. A system I have developed out of being too lazy to drive to the Goodwill lol, is the donation bag sits in the bottom of the closet for a couple months. If I don’t reach for a single thing in the bag, then I know I can part with it without regret.
Another thing I do to make more room in my closet is only hang what I need to. I do not have the room in there for an organization system but I do take things that won’t wrinkle, jeans and sweaters, and put the on the shelf above the rack. I also like to keep bulky or out of season pieces in the back of my daughters closet. Winter is the worst time for my closet because I dress in layers and therefore need everything from sweaters to tank tops. In the summer after I’ve moved out the heavy tops and coats, things get a lot easier to find.
I don’t know if this is good advice lol, but I double and triple up my hangers. I have 5 or 6 tanks tops looped over a single hanger. If there is a cardigan top combo that I wear often, I hang them together. Scarves and coats that work well, also share the same hanger.
My last bit of advice would be to try out Huggable hangers. For a long time I had a mess of every different type of hanger imaginable and they really do take up a lot of space. I bought a couple sets of huggable hangers and they definitely made an improvement.
I hope that gives you a few ideas JKW. If anyone reading has some closet organization tips, please post!!
Fold as many sweaters as humanly possible! They stretch and can be ruined if you let them hang too long. I own an antique fur coat that needs repairing due to hangers. I have a teeny tiny closet, but I have been blessed: my mom is letting me “borrow” an antique pie safe that belonged to my great grandparents. It’s a beautiful piece of furniture and it allows me to stack my jeans and sweaters in way I can easily see them. I also keep all my socks and undies in pretty hat boxes.
I have refined my style completely once I discovered Anthropologie a couple of years ago. I threw out a lot of clothes from the past and started my wardrobe over. I would rather save money to buy a few good quality and good unique clothes than to buy many pieces that I do not quite like. As a result, I have only a few pieces of Anthro uniques, but I love them so much, I mix and match them to make many outfits. In addition, because they are good quality and good craftmanship, I find that I could use them for a long time. Lastly, I always ask for the garment plastic bags when I buy clothes from the store. I hang clothes up in a big or wooden hanger and cover each piece with the garment bag. Although it takes time to take a blouse or a dress in and out of the plastic bag, at the end, they stay fresh and keep their shape whenever I wear them.
Cindy.
I have a hard time letting go of things that no longer fit if they’re items I especially loved when I was able to wear them. And then I have to buy more things because I’ve gained weight! In the past year I’ve learned to be pretty selective about bringing in new items as I spent five months without a job and really had to reign in my spending. I’ve gotten pretty good at talking myself out of things…although sometimes I have lapses when it comes to eBay, LOL. Or when shopping with my mom at Loft (discount!).
As for my closet org, I took over the closet in our second bedroom, which is really the computer/office room. It used to have these awful sliding doors that didn’t allow for much viewing of what was in the closet, so I took them off and put up curtains using one of those shower curtain tension rods. All my shoes are in clear plastic boxes stacked on the shelf as opposed to the floor, and I put in some of those laminate shelves to hold folded items. Everything that’s hung is on wooden hangers, which take up more space, but I like how they look. I tend to hang anything that will wrinkly easily as I don’t/won’t iron. I also have a bunch of those nice clear plastic drawers from The Container Store that house my socks, tights, and undergarments.
I can’t imagine sharing a closet with my husband with all my stuff! I have one item of mine in his closet, though- my wedding dress! LOL. Hopefully when we upgrade to a house someday we will have a HUGE closet so we can keep everything together…but I’m sure that his stuff will still gather on the floor on his side of the bed.
Keep out of season clothes in storage bins. Keep sweaters folded nicely in drawers, stacked in closet, or any other organized area. Get rid of anything you don’t wear – sell on ebay or donate or throw away if it’s that bad! Use plastic storage drawers or hanging stackers for tee shirts, cardigans, camisoles, etc. Use nice pants hangers for trousers or nice jeans and skirts. Choose carefully the hangers for blouses and dresses and knit tops so that shoulders don’t stretch out. Organize in a way that you know where everything is and you make use of all your storage space. Put clothes away right away, have system for washing, ironing, etc so that you maintain your nice clothes as investment pieces.
Thanks for your posts ladies! Lots of great suggestions here!
I am dreaming of one day having my own office with an extra closet. Just imagine, ribbon, beads, clothes and shoes everywhere. Ahh heaven lol
Thanks, Shannon and everyone else for sharing thoughts and ideas about closets. I must be living under a rock b/c I’ve never heard of Huggable Hangers…just checked them out online and I think I’ll give them a try. Jennifer, you’re so right about getting rid of stuff we don’t wear anymore. I need to get organized and try selling things on eBay. I’m very good about hauling things to Goodwill, but many pieces are still very nice and stylish, and there’s no reason why I couldn’t sell them online. Again, thanks for all of the great ideas!
LOL, sharing a closet is my nightmare. I’m afraid my BF & I wouldn’t last more than a week if we had to share. We just moved and now we each have 2 closets plus a fairly large coat closet. I’m still working on organizing the closets properly to accomodate my embarrassingly large wardrobe.
I like the huggable hangers (BBB knockoffs, actually), too. They really do help increase your hanging space.
I highly recommend the DIY wire closet organizer systems (ClosetMaid, Rubbermaid, etc). They’re much more attractive and efficient than the single rod + high shelf.
I also recommend the assemble yourself bamboo shoe racks (http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?order_num=-1&SKU=14387765). They’re way overpriced IMO, especially if you have a lot of shoes, but they’re sturdier and more attractive than most of the alternatives.