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Closet Basics: Part 1 The Well-Organized Closet

We have always wondered about those wonderful, spacious closets we see pictured in designer and home magazines - expansive rooms filled with shelves, drawers, trays, and baskets on all sides but containing exactly 6 suits, 12 shirts and one drawer of socks - all in white. If all you own is 6 suits, 12 shirts, and one drawer of socks, why do you need a closet the size of Yankee Stadium?

These pictures are all fantasy, of course. We don't have giant, garage-size walk-in closets; we have small walk-in closets if we're lucky and tiny reach-in closets if we're not.

If any of us actually did have a closet the size of a gymnasium, we would already have it filled to the rafters with stuff.

Because we all collect stuff. Lots of stuff. And it all has to be put somewhere. It resides mostly in closets. The closet keeps us from constantly tripping over stuff.

The closet is some of your home's most valuable real estate. But it is also the most under-utilized, unappreciated, and least respected part of your home.

Closet Clutter

The biggest problem with our closets is clutter - and the fact that most closets have a door. By shutting the closet door, the catastrophe that lies inside the closet is out of sight and out of mind, so we can ignore the clutter problem - until we have to actually find something, that is. Then it's hard to ignore.

There are three basic reasons why our closets suffer from clutter:

1. We have very distinct seasons in Nebraska. They all require different ward­robes: winter, summer, and football.
2. Everybody knows that bulky winter wear takes up many times the space of summer wear. Plus, we need a whole third ward­robe of red clothing just to watch Husker football - something that utterly mystifies folks who aren't from around here.
2. We live in an age when fashions change rapidly by design. We like to hold on to the clothing that is so out of fashion that we don't really wear it anymore - just in case it ever comes back into style - it won't but hope springs eternal.
3. But the third and most dreaded reason for closet clutter is that a lot of our clothes just don't fit anymore. But we keep them around anyway - because they will fit again as soon as the ol' diet kicks in, right?.

Getting Organized

There is only one way out of the closet catastrophe: Organize your Closet. That's it. We wish there were another way, Unfortunately, there isn't. But, before we get to actual organizing, there are some preliminary steps.

Go ahead and very carefully  open the closet door and stand well back until everything stops quaking. This may take a few moments. Just be patient.

Now, carefully remove everything from the closet. This requires the utmost dedication and concentration.

You are inevitably going to find things you have not seen for years, if not decades: your high school yearbook, that souvenir kayak paddle you thought was lost, and so on.

These archaeological treasures tend to bring on bouts of nostalgia and daydreaming. Resist these temptations and stay focused. Otherwise, we'll be at this all day.

Organize your ward­robe into piles. If you are like most people, you only wear 20% of your clothes and shoes on a regular basis. Sort them into seasonal groups and then further separate those clothes into the "keeper" group, the "may come back into style" group and the "may wear sometime" group.

Then, donate all but the "keeper" group to the Salvation Army or Disabled American Veterans. They will thank you warmly and make very good use of them. And, you get a nice tax deduction for your generosity.

This may seem needlessly ruthless at first but it will make your closet reorganizing so much easier and more meaningful.

Take out-of-season items, pack them into containers and store them in the attic or basement so that they are out of your closet but accessible when needed as the seasons change.

Now you are ready to organize your closet.

Making Better Use of Closet Space

Let's face it, our closets are typically pretty small. In an older home, we are lucky if we have closets along one wall of our bedroom - those rows of unsightly bi-fold doors. If we're not lucky, our closets are suitcase-size, stuck in one corner as an afterthought by the builder.

When our houses were built we simply did not have so much stuff, so not much thought was given to where to put it all.

Still, there is much that can be done to relieve the situation. Even a small closet can hold lots of stuff, organize it and make it more accessible when we need it.

Most closets just do not make efficient use of space. There is more wasted space in American closets than there is in all of Arizona. (The guy who figured that out obviously had too much time on his hands.) Making more efficient use of that space is the art and science of closet organizing.

There are two main plans of attack. Hire a professional, or do it yourself. Let's look at both options.

Doing It Yourself

If all you need is a shelf or two and maybe some pull-out baskets, doing it yourself is definitely an option. You will need to be able to handle a hammer and screwdriver without hurting anyone but if you can do that, you are a definite do-it-yourself candidate.

The sources of supply for closet organizers are almost endless. Wire shelving from Rubbermaid and Closetmaid is almost universally available. All of the large home centers: Menards, Home Depot, and Lowe's carry lines of DIY-ready wire shelving and accessories, as do most hardware stores and even Wal-Mart.

These are wire grids coated with an epoxy or vinyl finish that is almost indestructible. There are dozens and dozens of accessories available to make the most of the smallest closet space: drawers, baskets, belt and tie hangers, you name it.

These are very easy to install. The only tools you are likely to need are a hammer, flat bar (for extracting the wood shelf now in the closet), screwdriver, 2-foot level, a hacksaw, sandpaper, and possibly a cordless drill.

The first step is to remove the single shelf and clothes hanging rod. Spackle and sand any nail or screw holes left in the plaster and apply a fresh coat of paint. (Once you add shelving and brackets, painting gets much more difficult.)

Then measure the space carefully to see how much area you have to work with as you plan storage groupings.

Now a visit to your home center is in order to buy all the shelves, brackets and accessories. While you are there, pick up one of the free brochures that show how to install the closet system you just bought.

Use our handy Closet Dimension chart (above right) to locate the new shelves at the right height. Cut the new shelves to length (follow the manufacturer's instructions), screw the mounting brackets to the wall, and snap the shelves into place.

If you have bought drawers, sliding trays, or other accessories, they mount right to the shelves in most instances.

There, wasn't that easy! Now put all of your clothes and shoes back into the closet and admire how neatly they are organized.

You might want to leave the doors open for a few days to receive justly deserved accolades from your spouse, children, friends, the cable guy, etc.

Hiring a Professional

If the organizational problems are more than a few shelves and baskets are going to handle, or you are just not the do-it-yourself type, then you may consider hiring a professional to organize your closets for you.

There actually are professional organizers - folks you can hire to organize your entire house - or your entire life.

They even have a national organization, the National As­so­ci­a­tion of Pro­fes­sion­al Or­gan­i­zers that defines a professional organizer as one who…

".. enhances the lives of clients by designing systems and processes using organizing principles and through transferring organizing skills."

And there you have it: the professional organizer …

For your closet, however, such large-caliber assistance may not be needed. What you do need is a firm that designs and builds storage organizing systems.

Franchise Closet System Providers

Closet organizing is big business, and almost all of the national chains like Closet Masters, California Closets, and ClosetMaid have local franchises in our area, or you can shop online at Easy Closets.

They are very good at what they do.

What they do is provide you with a modular closet organizing system made of vinyl or epoxy coated wire (yes, the same stuff you can get at Home Depot), or laminated particleboard.

Typically the laminate is Melamine but some also offer high-pressure laminates like Formica®, which is usually patterned to look like wood grain. (You do know that the "oak look" is not really oak, it's paper veneer printed to look like oak.)

They offer

1. Free in-home consultation,
2. Free design,
3. Free delivery, and
4. Free installation (sometimes).

We offer all of the above, plus…

5. Customization to a degree that the franchise companies cannot provide,
6. Real wood or cabinet-grade plywood instead of particleboard with simulated wood grain,

7. An innovative, state-of-the-art design service that goes beyond looking merely at the closet (see more below), and
8. A lifetime cabinet warranty. (Try to get that out of the other guys).

And - now, here's the best part - we do all this extra stuff for less money than they charge.

How can we do that? Very easy.

1. They are franchises and pay big franchise fees. We don't.
2. They order their materials from distant places, paying lots of shipping charges. We buy ours here.
3. They maintain large, expensive showrooms. We don't keep a showroom, so we don't need to pass on that large overhead expense.

We also differ considerably from those "other guys" in the way we approach storage problems, so we can deliver broader solutions than merely outfitting your closets with organizer modules.

We look at all of your storage requirements and suggest solutions that may have nothing to do with your closet. But, if your storage problems are best solved by better closet organization, we can build systems to exactly fit your situation. We are not limited to whatever storage modules the factory happens to provide.

If you have, for instance, ample drawer space in a chest or bureau, you don't need much drawer space in your closet.

If you own lots of suits, we need to organize your closet differently than if you ordinarily wear jeans to work.

Does your closet have interior lighting or does it rely on room lights? This will have an effect on the materials we use - or we may suggest you install a light.

The Closet Door

We look at your closet doors. Doors provide marvelous storage opportunities.

The best doors, if you have room, are swinging closet doors, because you can hang organizers on them.

These swing out into the room to you when you open the door - very handy. They also allow the most access to reach-in closets.

The next best are bi-folds, and finally sliding doors. Sliding doors permit access to only one side of a closet at a time - not good. You spend a lot of time moving the doors back and forth to reach stuff.

If you do not have swinging doors, and you have space for them. We generally recommend you replace your bi-fold or sliders with swinging doors.

That's an automatic 20-25% addition to your effective closet space. And it's actually not very costly to replace the doors.

The Inside Scoop

Finally, at long last, we look at your closet.

The standard American closet is a small room the same height as the rest of your bedroom enclosed by a standard height door.

This arrangement does not allow good access to the top of the closet - as anyone who has ever tried to retrieve a heavy box from the closet shelf well knows.

Closets are the traditional storage option for clothing because:

• They can be built by regular carpenters,

• They're relatively inexpensive, and
• They're traditional.

They are not necessarily the best ward­robe storage solution, however.

Closet Alternatives

It could well be that a non-traditional storage solution would work better for you.

Imagine opening up your closet from floor to ceiling, then take a look at the space and visualize how it might be better used.

Here's a radical idea - let's get rid of the closet altogether and replace it with a ward­robe wall. Built-in cabinets hold all of your hanging items. Built-in drawers with specialized organizers hold everything else.

But, if what you need is organization in your current closet, we take measurements, discuss with you your storage needs and expectations, and go back to the office and prepare up to three different closet designs.

Once that's done and you have selected one, we order the materials, fabricate what we need to fabricate, and put it in. The fabrication generally takes place in our shop, and the installation usually requires about a day.

Once it's finished, might want to leave the closet doors open for a few days to receive justly deserved accolades from neighbors, friends, the UPS guy, etc.

Non-Traditional Storage Solutions

There is something very wrong with the typical small closet.

It is very often ridiculously inconvenient storage. It's likely to be poorly lighted with lots of dark places and shadows. Clothes get tangled, fall to the floor, are seemingly always out of sight or reach. There is no good place for shoes, belts, or ties. There has got to be a better solution . . .(Continues)

Rev. 04/15/22