Many of us hold on to too much stuff. Sometimes it's because we're not sure what we need to keep, we have a hard time letting go or we just don't want to take the time to go through everything and organize. Even people who travel lightly will find themselves accumulating clutter. Keeping belongings that are no longer useful, however, is not an option when you have limited closet space. Does this Spark an idea?
Basics
Purge mercilessly. No one but you will think it's fun to pull out dusty boxes and reminisce over generic greeting cards with no personal message and schoolwork from yesteryear. If you're an adult, you should no longer have your childhood stuffed animal collection hanging around. Face reality. You don't have the space to keep this stuff. Preserve memories by taking digital photographs of sentimental items, then toss the actual stuff and move on.
Try on every single item of clothing you own. Throw away frayed, torn or stained clothing. Donate clothes that don't fit, aren't comfortable or that you seldom wear, regardless of what they cost once upon a time. The same goes for shoes. Outdated clothing and accessories should also go. Keep and wear only clothes that you love, that look good on you and that you would grab first if forced to fill only one bag of your favorites.
Materials
If there is enough height in the closet, add double rods to maximize space. You will now have two rows to hang clothes on. Use multiple tier trouser and skirt racks as these usually hold up to five items per rack, quite a space savings. Organize belts, necklaces and bracelets on over-the-door or hanging belt holders. Pegs can be placed in corners; all you need is a screwdriver. Keep miscellaneous items like sweatshirts or coats accessible on pegs.
Add shelving. Closet shelving systems can be custom measured to fit any size of closet. Shelves can hold boxes, baskets and bins in which you've organized like items. Shelves can also be low tech. Line up inexpensive plastic crates at the foot of the closet, or place one crate in each corner, one in the center and lay a long board on top. Shoes can go into the bottom squares, and light boxes on top.
Techniques
Organize like items into boxes, baskets or bins. Books should have their own container, DVDs their own container, and so on. Label the container on both sides to make the contents easily identifiable. To store, start on the outer edges of the closet and move toward the middle. Place containers with infrequently used items on the outer edges and top shelves. Heavy containers could go on bottom shelves or be stacked on the floor of the closet.
Hang clothes you wear the least on the far left and right of the closet and work your way in. Arrange clothes by color and type, all black shirts together, all pants together, and so on. Seasonal items such as swimming suits, hats, gloves and scarves can be placed in shoe boxes or clear containers, stacked and tucked into corners.
Tags: baskets bins, boxes baskets, boxes baskets bins, clothes that, like items, outer edges