If you’ve ever opened a closet door and been buried in clothes, you know that designing a great space is more challenging than it seems. Your closet is an oddly shaped space with strange obstacles that makes it hard to keep things organized and looking good. The trick to creating a better closet is understanding its strengths and weaknesses, and then planning accordingly. After all, even if your closet isn’t perfect (yet), it can still be improved with the right design concepts and organization techniques. There are lots of ways to make your closet work for you: by thinking about storage options, using smart tricks like hidden shelves, rails or drawers, or investing in built-ins if you have the budget for that sort of thing. Whatever you choose, these tips will help get you started on making your closet something you love coming into every day.
Plan Before You Buy
Before you get knee-deep in your closet transformation, make sure to do some pre-planning. This will help you identify any issues with your closet that need to be addressed before you buy anything. If your closet is on the smaller side, you might need to get creative with how you store things. Look for smaller, foldable items that will take up less space, like smaller boards for shirts or sweaters. If your closet has less hanging space than you’d like, consider adding a shelf for folded items, like scarves or smaller tops.
Use the Space You Have
Closets are often narrow and deep, which can make it tricky to fit everything in. But it’s important to make the most of this odd shape by utilizing the top, bottom and sides of the closet. In a shallow closet like this, you can stack items on top of each other to save space. Stack large items like sweaters, shoes, bags, or blankets on top of smaller items like socks, underwear, or t-shirts. If you have a deep closet, you might want to consider building some shelves or drawers to save space. With shelves, you can store folded items, larger items that don’t fit on the rod, or smaller items that you don’t use often. Drawers can be used for just about anything, but are especially handy for storing socks, underwear, or tights.
Make Everything easy to Find
The most common mistake people make with their closets is assuming they’ll just be able to see what they have. But if you don’t organize your items, you’ll end up digging through a mess every time you need something. When organizing your closet, start with one section at a time. Find a place for everything. This includes items that don’t belong in the closet, like shoes, bags, seasonal items, or cleaning supplies. Use bins, shelves, and hooks to keep your items sorted and organized. If you want to add a pop of color to your closet, use colored bins to help keep things organized. You can also use color to draw attention to the things you use most often, like your go-to outfit, your workout clothes, or your favorite jacket.
Organize With Layers
Almost everything in your closet should be folded, stacked, or hung. This not only creates a neater-looking closet, but also makes it easier to find what you’re looking for. Hanging clothes. If you want to hang your clothes, you can either create a DIY wooden clothes hanger, or buy a metal one. If you decide to go with the latter, make sure to hang them in sections by type and color—not by outfit. Stacking clothes. If you want to stack your clothes, make sure to layer them so they don’t get wrinkled. You can fold and stack small items like socks or underwear, or larger items like sweaters or bags. Folding clothes. If you want to fold your clothes, make sure to use the fold method that suits your closet best: the middle fold, the horizontal fold, or the vertical fold.
Don’t Forget the Bottom Shelf
The bottom shelf is often forgotten when designing a closet, but it’s an important part of the equation. You can use this shelf to store items that don’t fit anywhere else, like shoes, bags, or seasonal clothing. You can also use this shelf to store items that you don’t use often, but don’t want to throw away. Think about things like old t-shirts or hoodies, or even your high school letter jacket. If you want to add a little extra storage to this shelf, consider adding a few baskets or boxes to the bottom shelf. You can also add a tray to this area if you want to display your footwear. If you want to spruce up the bottom shelf even more, add some decorative accents like a tray or a basket.
Closets are a big part of our everyday life, so it’s important that they be well-designed. You can make your closet even better by following these tips. You can create the perfect closet by using the space you have, making everything easy to find, organizing with layers, and not forgetting the bottom shelf. Now all you have to do is get started!