When you look into your
w
alk-in closet, what do you see? If you are like many homeowners, you might find boxes of children’s outgrown clothing, seasonal decorations, and other items that are not things that you or your partner wears. Or maybe you have ample storage elsewhere in your home and you have limited your closet to only your wardrobe, shoes, and accessories. Still, if you don’t have a good storage system, it’s easy for these items to fall into disarray.
The good news is that it is not a difficult process to organize a
walk-in closet. It takes some time and determination, but it can be done, particularly if you have the help of a custom closet company like Closet Gallery. If you are in the Sacramento area, contact us for help. In the meantime, read on to learn how to organize a messy
walk-in closet.
Remember the Pareto Principle (AKA the 80/20 Rule)
You might have heard about the Pareto Principle before: It is also sometimes called the 80/20 rule and the basic principle is that 20 percent of your activities will account for 80 percent of your results. In the case of a closet, the application would be that you most likely wear 20 percent of your clothing 80 percent of your time.
If your
walk-in closetis stuffed to the gills, the problem might be that you are hanging on to the 80 percent of your wardrobe that you seldom wear. The way to remedy the issue is to take every item out of your closet and decide whether you need to keep it. This is, of course, easier said than done; nobody wants to eliminate 80 percent of their wardrobe! But getting rid of even 10 or 20 percent of items, just the ones that you haven’t worn in a year or more, can free up a lot of space.
Don’t think you have to do this all in one afternoon. Instead, take out a handful of hangers and look at each item carefully. Does it fit? Do you feel good when you wear it? Are there stains or loose buttons that you have put off fixing? Is it still in style? Do you have a place to wear it? If the answers to these questions indicate that you don’t need the item any longer, put it in a box to drop off at your local thrift store. Then go through another handful of hangers. Don’t spend more than 30 to 60 minutes on this project at once; stretch it out over several weekends if you have to.
Group Your Belongings by Type
Once you’ve decided what you’re keeping and what you are donating or giving away, chances are good that you’ve got some breathing room in your closet. Move items around, putting all of the pants, blouses, and dresses together by type. Do the same for your spouse or partner, if applicable. This might help you decide to eliminate more items. For example, if you have eight pairs of black slacks, you might decide that you only need half that many. When everything is grouped by type, you’ll also notice that it’s easier to find what you need.
See What Can be Moved Out of the Closet
Assess how your closet looks now. Also, use it for a week or two and see how it functions. It’s likely that there is a big improvement just from reducing the number of items you have in the closet, but you might find that there are some belongings that could be moved out of the closet altogether. If you’ve been storing things other than clothing and shoes in this space, those might be the first to go. Make room in your garage, attic, or guest room closet for some of them.
You might also find items that would be better off stored in drawers. Sweaters and t-shirts, for example, usually hold up better if they are folded rather than hung. Jeans might also be more easily accessed if you fold them and put them in a drawer. Remember that your
Closet Gallery professionalcan add drawers to the closet space itself if you would prefer not to have a separate dresser or bureau in the room.
Determine What Kind of Closet Accessories You Need
Once you have been using your pared-down closet for a while, you’ll probably see some challenges that you need to address with
closet accessories . If your neckties are constantly falling to the floor, for example, a tie rack can make a big difference. If you have mostly separates along one rod, having a double-hung rod will free up more vertical space. Shoe racks, a jewelry tray, drawers in the closet, and even a pull-out mirror or a fold-down ironing board can make your closet even more organized and useful.
If you aren’t sure what kind of organizers you need, no worries: At Closet Gallery, we offer a free in-home consultation that includes a free closet design. You will get recommendations from a professional closet designer and you’ll even be able to see what your finished closet storage system will look like thanks to our 3D software.
Contact Closet Gallery today to schedule your appointment and to learn more about what we can offer homeowners in the Sacramento, CA area. Call or
fill out our online form today!
