DIY shelving and wicker baskets help organize your closets.
Whether your home features enormous walk-in closets or tiny cramped ones, organization helps make the most of the space you have. Closet organizer systems offer lots of storage solutions, but they can hit your wallet hard. A customized closet storage solution doesn't have to put you in the poor house if you attack your problem with some planning, some basic DIY skills and an eye for creative uses of everyday items. Does this Spark an idea?
Plan for Your Needs
An organized closet needs a good skeleton, one designed with your needs in mind. Before you start building or buying, take stock of your possessions to help you decide what kind of storage you need. Empty your closet completely to get a better idea of the space you have, and divide it with masking or painter's tape to visually define your areas. Include full- and half-height hanging space, room for shelves and drawers and spaces to install racks for jewelry, ties and scarves. Many people overlook the back of the closet door or the area above the hanging rods when planning for storage. Ensure you include the entire closet in your plans.
Double Your Hanging Space
Most of the clothing you hang only requires half the height of your closet. Instantly double your hanging space by installing a second closet rod halfway between the first rod and the floor. Chains hung from the ceiling or from the original rod allow you to position a second rod away from the wall, preserving some full-length space for hanging dresses and coats. A set of shelves installed in the middle of the closet can double as an anchor for hanging rods, allowing you to install one rod for full-length hanging on one side and two for half-height hanging on the other.
Install Versatile Shelving
Shelves are not an end solution for storage; they're a framework for bins, drawers and crates to help you organize all of your belongings. Sturdy wire shelves will hold most storage containers without taking up too much valuable space themselves. Repurpose a bathroom storage tower as a set of closet shelves that doubles as a divider. If you'd rather not screw supports into the closet wall, suspend chains from the closet ceiling, and slide shelf supports through the links.
Get Creative With Drawers and Bins
Scour the dollar store for milk crates, colorful plastic storage bins and small square laundry baskets that can hold folded shirts, undies and sweaters in your closet. If you choose milk crates with mesh sides, slide wire cut from clothes hangers through the mesh to serve as supports for shelves or dividers.
Rack Your Doors and Floors
Install a wire grid on the inside of your closet door to provide space to hang handbags, scarves and other items that can be hung on S-hooks. Attach small plastic bins to the grid with a pair of S-hooks to hold hair notions and other little necessities that get lost in drawers. Narrow towel racks installed on the back of the door provide a place to drape ties and belts in plain view. Build a shoe rack to fit your floor using 2 x 4s and wooden dowels; just hook the heels over the dowels to keep them neat and organized.
Tags: your closet, closet door, door provide, half-height hanging, hanging rods, hanging space