Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Design Closet Organizing Systems

A neat closet without too much clutter takes careful thought and planning.


A well-organized closet helps to control clutter, but it also creates a system to retrieve items much easier. Designing a neat closet for any room in the house requires careful thought and planning. It's important to utilize every square inch of the space effectively, so take time to write down all of the items that will be stored there. Every individual has different needs in organize a specific closet, so picture where items will go ahead of time. This is crucial for buying the correct closet storage accessories. Does this Spark an idea?


Instructions


1. Review home design books that feature well-organized closets. Make notes about ways to group items, such as shoes or purses, that are appealing. Go over home magazines that demonstrate ways to redo a closet for maximum efficiency. Study online resources demonstrating good organizational tools and accessories for closets as well.


2. Measure the space available for closet organizing systems. Sketch the hanging rods for clothes, first of all. Create the storage systems, shelving and hanging pegs around the space for clothes. Draw a double hanging rod to maximize floor-to-ceiling space. Plan to install a rod about 15 inches from the closet ceiling and another rod about 48 inches from the closet floor. Sketch a top shelf above the double hanging area to use ceiling space for items that are seldom used.


3. Develop a list of items to be stored on shelves in the closet. List items such as folded sweaters, scarves, neck ties, lingerie, shoes and blankets. Write down the storage systems to be used in various spaces, such as wire shelf systems or vertical hanging caddies for shoes. Sketch the spaces in the closet to be used for storage accessories. Include one or two chests of drawers in the bottom of the closet as well. Don't forget the valuable hanging space on the back of the closet door.


4. Draw the closet in detail using graph paper. Allow one square of graph paper to represent 4 inches of closet space. Consider how folding or standard closeable doors will be placed across the front of the closet. Review how the closet will be used to ensure everything is placed correctly. Picture getting dressed each morning for work, for example. Envision how each item will be retrieved and how easy it will be to reach it.


5. Take time to devise where to place boxes or bins to store items that produce a lot of clutter, such as belts or small purses. Plan to purchase bins, boxes or plastic containers that all match or coordinate with each other. Create a closet system that looks uniform by installing storage containers in the same neutral colors, for example. Don't forget to include a large container in the bottom of the closet for dirty clothes, too, if dirty laundry headed for the washing machine will be stored there.

Tags: items that, about inches, about inches from, bottom closet, careful thought