Order in the Closet
Clothing-obsessed celebs such as Mariah Carey and Paris Hilton are famous for their luxurious closets with shelves of shoes that seem to stretch on for miles and boutique-like racks of designer apparel. While most of us have neither the square footage (nor the desire) to create our own wardrobe wonders, we could still strive for what those divas have perfected: the well-organized storage space.
"Every type of person" struggles with closet clutter, says Alejandra Costello, a co-founder of Arlington-based professional organizing service Color-Coded (866-612-6567). But learning to store your belongings in a neat, easy-to-maintain manner can help you spend less time searching for shoes and more time showing off the perfect outfit.
Even chaotic hallway closets can benefit from a face-lift; nobody wants to be digging through piles of first-aid supplies when they have a migraine or be assaulted from above by improperly stashed winter scarves.
Those "I've created a monster in my closet!" moments are just when professional organizers can swoop in to help. The pros charge between $50 and $100 per hour for their expertise, and their closet makeovers can take between six and 15 hours, depending on the size of the project, Costello says. But she's convinced this type of investment reaps long-term rewards.
"I always tell my clients, 'If you're going to spend money getting organized, you want to set up a system one time and do it right, instead of having to keep tweaking the system,'" Costello says.
Rehabbing your closet starts with an empty — not overloaded — space. "It's a lot easier to take everything out and go from there," Costello says. Color-Coded organizers often push clients to toss items that aren't in heavy rotation, in order to free up more space in small apartments or houses.
"We'll sort everything and go through each individual item asking, 'When was the last time you used this? Is it still good? Is it outdated?'" Costello says. After repurposing or donating any unwanted items, a complete makeover can commence.
We asked Costello to share some of her top tips for reorganizing any closet.
1) Shelve Your Issues
If blank walls make up a portion of your closet, consider adding custom shelving. While it's pricey, Color-Coded's Costello believes the installation is worth the money. She recommends the Elfa system, which is sold at The Container Store, because of its flexibility. "Once you install the shelving, you can always move shelves higher or lower depending on what you're storing," Costello says. "You can change a shelf into a hanging rod or a hanging rod into a shelf. You can add a basket. It's just very flexible."
2) Get More From Your Door
The back of your door — the side that faces the interior of your closet — is precious real estate. Hang up a door rack containing hooks or baskets to create a few extra storage nooks. Costello recommends using Elfa's Door and Wall Rack ($107) and attaching a few movable baskets. The installation is made for kitchens and living spaces but works equally well in closets, Costello says. "I love to use the baskets to store flip-flops, slippers, sunglasses, cosmetic bags and anything that you want to toss in, pull out or make easily accessible," she says. Another option to hang on your door: fabric pockets or shoe bag organizers. Try Christy Designs' versatile "Organizer" Gear Pocket ($35).
3) It's All About the Visuals
Sorting keeps a closet user-friendly. But all that order can get dull. Add intrigue with colored tabs that attach to the top of hangers. Costello recommends using the colored hanger snaps sold by Carlson JPM Store Fixtures ($3 for a bag of 50). "The more color you have in your space, the easier it is to organize," Costello says. "If you take a dress off a hanger that has a purple hanger snap, it's easy to say 'Purple belongs to dresses' and associate that hanger with the dress."
4) Label Liberally
If you have items to stash on shelves or in bins, keep track of everything with homemade labels. That's right, Costello recommends actually writing out "running shoes" for a bin holding your sneaks. It might be old-school, but "it makes a difference," she says. "A lot of people just put things back [into their closets] in a random order. If each item has a home in its section, I find that it's easier to maintain." Use pieces of Duct tape (in fancy new colors and patterns such as paisley and polka dots, such as the rolls above, sold by The Spoon Sisters; $9 per roll), covered with clear packing tape. Write what's inside each container or on each shelf using dry-erase markers — that way, you can re-label areas when you move things around.
5) Aim for Lots Of the Same
Most people amass a wide variety of hangers — it's hard to pass up free wire "We Love Our Customers" hangers from the dry cleaner — but an assortment of shapes and sizes encourages chaos. "Using uniform hangers is an absolute must in the closet," Costello says. She recommends sticking to wooden hangers ("The clothes hang off them really nicely," she says). Pick up a few sets at Ikea (five for $2).
MY THOUGHTS
good advice. i will need this in a couple of weeks as i attack my closets in my mom's house.
Clothing-obsessed celebs such as Mariah Carey and Paris Hilton are famous for their luxurious closets with shelves of shoes that seem to stretch on for miles and boutique-like racks of designer apparel. While most of us have neither the square footage (nor the desire) to create our own wardrobe wonders, we could still strive for what those divas have perfected: the well-organized storage space.
"Every type of person" struggles with closet clutter, says Alejandra Costello, a co-founder of Arlington-based professional organizing service Color-Coded (866-612-6567). But learning to store your belongings in a neat, easy-to-maintain manner can help you spend less time searching for shoes and more time showing off the perfect outfit.
Even chaotic hallway closets can benefit from a face-lift; nobody wants to be digging through piles of first-aid supplies when they have a migraine or be assaulted from above by improperly stashed winter scarves.
Those "I've created a monster in my closet!" moments are just when professional organizers can swoop in to help. The pros charge between $50 and $100 per hour for their expertise, and their closet makeovers can take between six and 15 hours, depending on the size of the project, Costello says. But she's convinced this type of investment reaps long-term rewards.
"I always tell my clients, 'If you're going to spend money getting organized, you want to set up a system one time and do it right, instead of having to keep tweaking the system,'" Costello says.
Rehabbing your closet starts with an empty — not overloaded — space. "It's a lot easier to take everything out and go from there," Costello says. Color-Coded organizers often push clients to toss items that aren't in heavy rotation, in order to free up more space in small apartments or houses.
"We'll sort everything and go through each individual item asking, 'When was the last time you used this? Is it still good? Is it outdated?'" Costello says. After repurposing or donating any unwanted items, a complete makeover can commence.
We asked Costello to share some of her top tips for reorganizing any closet.
1) Shelve Your Issues
If blank walls make up a portion of your closet, consider adding custom shelving. While it's pricey, Color-Coded's Costello believes the installation is worth the money. She recommends the Elfa system, which is sold at The Container Store, because of its flexibility. "Once you install the shelving, you can always move shelves higher or lower depending on what you're storing," Costello says. "You can change a shelf into a hanging rod or a hanging rod into a shelf. You can add a basket. It's just very flexible."
2) Get More From Your Door
The back of your door — the side that faces the interior of your closet — is precious real estate. Hang up a door rack containing hooks or baskets to create a few extra storage nooks. Costello recommends using Elfa's Door and Wall Rack ($107) and attaching a few movable baskets. The installation is made for kitchens and living spaces but works equally well in closets, Costello says. "I love to use the baskets to store flip-flops, slippers, sunglasses, cosmetic bags and anything that you want to toss in, pull out or make easily accessible," she says. Another option to hang on your door: fabric pockets or shoe bag organizers. Try Christy Designs' versatile "Organizer" Gear Pocket ($35).
3) It's All About the Visuals
Sorting keeps a closet user-friendly. But all that order can get dull. Add intrigue with colored tabs that attach to the top of hangers. Costello recommends using the colored hanger snaps sold by Carlson JPM Store Fixtures ($3 for a bag of 50). "The more color you have in your space, the easier it is to organize," Costello says. "If you take a dress off a hanger that has a purple hanger snap, it's easy to say 'Purple belongs to dresses' and associate that hanger with the dress."
4) Label Liberally
If you have items to stash on shelves or in bins, keep track of everything with homemade labels. That's right, Costello recommends actually writing out "running shoes" for a bin holding your sneaks. It might be old-school, but "it makes a difference," she says. "A lot of people just put things back [into their closets] in a random order. If each item has a home in its section, I find that it's easier to maintain." Use pieces of Duct tape (in fancy new colors and patterns such as paisley and polka dots, such as the rolls above, sold by The Spoon Sisters; $9 per roll), covered with clear packing tape. Write what's inside each container or on each shelf using dry-erase markers — that way, you can re-label areas when you move things around.
5) Aim for Lots Of the Same
Most people amass a wide variety of hangers — it's hard to pass up free wire "We Love Our Customers" hangers from the dry cleaner — but an assortment of shapes and sizes encourages chaos. "Using uniform hangers is an absolute must in the closet," Costello says. She recommends sticking to wooden hangers ("The clothes hang off them really nicely," she says). Pick up a few sets at Ikea (five for $2).
MY THOUGHTS
good advice. i will need this in a couple of weeks as i attack my closets in my mom's house.
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