Making space

Closets are funny things...there's never enough space in there, but there's always wasted or empty space.  Whether above or below, I bet there's square footage (or at least inches) in your closet that can be put to better use. 

Over the years, I've found a few ways to put dead space to use for storage in various closets.

My favorite solution is to add a dresser:

The above dressers are in my closet.  I did this for BabyGirl's closet as well:

It's not the perfect size, nor is it very good-looking, but it does get the job done.  I use it to store clothes that she doesn't yet wear, but will tomorrow morning when she grows two inches over the course of the night, as babies often do. Dressers in closets take advantage of all the usable space below the clothes racks.

Another solution is to just add another rack:

We went this route when we readied the Little Guy's "big boy" room.  A clothes rack was added to the bottom half of the closet.  You can see that this is where all of his shirts go.  They are well within reach for our 3-year-old, which makes the morning routine so much easier.

Use a sweater hanger (is that what this is called?) for something other than sweaters:

It's meant for sweaters, but this thingy is in the Little Guy's closet to store extra blankets, sheet sets, mattress pads and afghans.  Not everything is a perfect fit, but it's all easy to reach whenever we need it.

Finally, try a rolling cart for added storage:

This is my new solution to a pesky problem:  the guest room closet is filled with sewing projects that I swear I will get to one day.  My plan is to store my sewing machine and supplies on this rolling cart so I can wheel it out whenever the sewing urge strikes.  Which it occasionally does.  And when it does, I'd like to be ready.

How do you get more storage out of your closets?

My closet makeover

It's finally done! It took four days, nine boxes and two trash bags, but I'm done...my master bedroom closet is clean and organized.  My original guesstimate was correct:  over one-third of my total closet volume was expendable. 

Take a look at the clothes rack in the very back before I got to work:

Here's a better view of the purses on the shelf. I had 12+ purses up there, and only a few that I will ever use in the future.  See the box on the right?  It contained an odd assortment of items: clothes, perfumes and keepsakes from the Little Guy's baby years.  The box had never been unpacked from our move two years ago, and I had almost completely forgotten about all of the items in there.

After some sorting, this is what the back rack looks like: 

From left to right I've arranged sweater sets, long sleeve blouses and nice short-sleeve shirts.  At least 25% of the original items did not make the cut, and are now in a box waiting for my summer yard sale.
The rack below held everything from old maternity clothes to my everyday work clothes.  There was no order here.  At all.

I got rid of the maternity clothes, took a hard look at what was left, and then got rid of some more items. At least half of the contents of this section are now gone. This is what I have left: 

Here is the portion of my closet dedicated to my suits, skirts and dresses.  Some maternity clothes were also in this section.  Many things hadn't been worn in years, so letting go of those pieces was fairly easy.  I actually cut the volume of this rack in half, too!

Here's the finished rack:

The dresses and suits are nicely grouped together.  Before, the suit shirts were on a different rack. Now, they are hanging with the suits which makes a lot more sense.

This was my shoe rack/area before my organizational rampage:

Isn't the "after" photo such a relief?  I trimmed my shoe collection by a full third.  Many shoes were so worn (holes in the soles!) that they had to be tossed, which had me wondering "Why did I keep shoes I could never again wear? Why?  WHY?"  I stood there shaking my head for a while over that one.   

 



 My closet makeover was not limited to the racks and shelves.  Oh no, my dearies...I tackled my dressers, too.  Between the two dressers in the closet, and the dresser and nightstand in the bedroom, I got rid of two boxes of clothing, and freed up two entire drawers!  Plus, I found a few items that I had forgotten about.  Now, all the drawers are manageable and everything is in its place.

This is a great visual representation of all the clothes that are no longer hanging in my closet.

So now my master closet is clean, organized and entirely functional.  There are no more piles of shoes on the floor, no more fleece shirts bulging out of the dresser, no more clothes that I don't wear taking up space.  It's amazing!  If I kept cookies in my closet, it would seriously be my favorite room in the house right now!

The purge felt great.  This had been a huge chore hanging over my head for the past two years, and I'm glad I finally tackled it. 

So, are you inspired to give your closet a makeover?  Have you already started?   Getting organized is a great way to start the new year and a great way to live every day.  You can do it!

What to do with castoffs

Once you've gone through your closet (or any room in your house, really) and made your big pile of stuff of you no longer want/need, you'll have to make a decision as to what to do with that pile.  As I see it, there are only five things you can do with clothing or household item castoffs:

1. Trash the junk.  Seriously, if no one else would be happy to see this stuff on their doorstep, then pitch it.  If your items are in good condition and could easily be reused, then read on!

2. Give it to friends/family.  Got a bunch of kids clothes your cherubs have outgrown?  Give the items that are clean and in wearable condition to someone else who can use them.  I have this arrangement with my friend Mary Anne.  When the Little Guy outgrows his clothes, we put them aside for Mary Anne's son, who is 2.5 years in age behind him.  Mary Anne saves the clothes her daughter has outgrown for Baby Girl, who is 2.5 years behind her.  It helps that our firstborn children were born within days of each other, and the second children were born within three months of each other.  This is a wonderful arrangement; we both save a ton of money on kids' clothes, and clothes that have only seen a few wearings (because kids grow so fast!) get a second life.  Also, we save a ton of money on kids' clothes.  Did I mention that one?

3.  Sell it through a resale or consignment shop.  In the Chicago area, we have a few chains of resale shops:  Once Upon a Child, Clothes Mentor and Plato's Closet.  These stores will purchase clothing items from you, depending on the brand, condition, style and their current stock, and you get the money immediately.  Consignment shops work a bit differently:  they will sell your items for you, but they take a portion of the purchase price that you set.  You get paid after the item sells, and sometimes according to the store's pre-arranged schedule (IE. monthly or quarterly).  Either option is great: you are recouping some of the cost on your clothing investment, and someone else is doing the work to sell the items.

4.  Donate the clothes to a charitable organization.  Goodwill, the Salvation Army, Purple Heart and more...there are countless charities who are willing to take your usable clothing and household items and resell them.  The money they make goes to fund their programs; read about Goodwill's Success Stories here.  By donating your items, you not only help out a worthwhile organization, but you also get a tax deduction.

While donating items is an easy process, please carefully consider which organization will get your items.  Make sure the organization is a legitimate charity by checking with your Secretary of State or State Attorney General.  Some solicitors say they are collecting items for a charity, but in reality they are taking your old stuff for themselves and giving only a small fraction of the profit to the charity they mentioned.  You can also contact your local Better Business Bureau to see if the organization is in good standing.  Finally, there are several online sites that provide information about charities:  Charity Navigator, Philanthropedia, and GuideStar  are reputable places for researching nonprofit organizations.

Once you've found a worthy charity in your area, check with them BEFORE you take in your donation.  You don't want to take your old electronic equipment to a place that only resells furniture.  And you don't want to haul 12 boxes of old clothes to a storefront to find out that their donation point is across town. 

Also, think outside of the box when it comes to donating items to a charity.  For example, a local animal shelter would probably like to have your old towels and bedding items for the animals.  A neighbor's Girl Scout troop would love to have your old crafting items for their own projects.  Opportunities to get your good, clean and usable castoffs into the hands of people who truly need them abound. You just have to look.

My good friend Ashley adds:  "If you live in the city limits of Chicago, another great charity to donate gently used clothes to (child, teen, and adult) is Misericordia Home. They are a non-profit Catholic Charities organization that is home to 600 disabled children and adults. I have a ton of experience with this organization and they are legitimate." 

5.  Have a yard/garage/rummage sale.  For this closet purge, and for the purging I have been and will continue to do over the next few weeks, this is the option for me.  I'll be having a yard sale or two this summer in an attempt to clear out my clutter and make a few bucks.  For anything that doesn't sell, I'm going with option #4: all yard sale leftovers will go to charity. 

Have you started cleaning out your closet yet?  Do you know what you'll do with the stuff you no longer want?  I suspect that for many people, the agony and confusion about the decision (What do I do with all this stuff that I know I don't want?) keeps them from purging the unwanted items in the first place.  Don't let this happen to you!  As long as you are getting rid of the clutter, any option you choose from the above list will be a good one.  Now get busy cleaning out that closet!

Should I stay or should I go now?

If I go there will be trouble, if I stay it will be double.  So come on and let me know, should I stay or should I go? 

If the stuff in my closet could sing, this would be its' song.  My closet is a mess and I am on a rampage.  At first glance, between the clothes on the racks, the two dressers and the boxes, I'm guesstimating that one-third to one-half of the contents have got to go. 

But how do I decide? 

Easy.  I scream at each piece:  JUSTIFY YOUR EXISTENCE! WHY ARE YOU TAKING UP SPACE IN MY CLOSET?

What can I say? Sometimes, I just have to get loud.

In the past, after I asked this question, my clothes would say, "Meh, we don't know. But we're fine here, so why don't you just close the door and let us get some rest?"  And I would quit on my closet makeover before it even started.

But no more.  Now, as I'm cleaning out my closet and screaming "JUSTIFY YOUR EXISTENCE!" I'm not even waiting for an answer--into the "get rid of" box they go.

However, should you decide that a calmer process would make things easier in your quest for closet zen, then here are some handy questions you can ask yourself as you ponder over each piece of clothing:

1. Do I love this item?
2. Does this item love me back?  By that, I mean: does it make me look good?
3. Do I already have something else just like it?
4. Is this item in good condition? If not, can it be easily and inexpensively fixed? Is it worth repairing?
5. How often do I wear this?

Each article of clothing you save should be something you really like, feels good to wear, makes you look good, and wearable within the next three weeks (seasonally appropriate, of course).  If a garment is ill-fitting, no longer your size or style or causes you pain to wear it, then by all means, get rid of it. 

Everyone deserves a wardrobe they are happy with and a great closet space.  By tossing/donating items that don't work for you, you allow great pieces to shine and do what they should be doing...making you feel (and look) your best. Plus, a cleaner closet will save you money in the long run, since you will be able to see what you already own and thus avoid buying duplicate items, and your clothes will have less wear and tear if they are hung/stored properly.  Clear out your closet now and reclaim your wardrobe!

My messy closet

As I promised yesterday, here's my master bedroom closet, in all of it's disorganized glory:

Isn't it a mess? I am determined to conquer this clutter.  No hanger, drawer or box is safe--I'm going through everything!  Well, at least in my half of the closet.  The Big Guy is on his own.

Martha Monday--Messy closets

Sometimes, despite our best efforts to stay organized, clutter and chaos get the best of us.  It happens to me, I'm sure it's happened to you, and believe it or not, it occasionally happens to Martha herself. 

Last February, Martha blogged about how out-of-control her two main clothes closets had gotten.  I blogged about it here.  As it turns out, her post about her closet makeover was one of the top five most popular on her blog in 2010.  Isn't that something?  People take notice when Martha gets real--I know I do!

Here are some pictures from Martha's messy closet:

Of course, because Martha is Martha, this mess simply wouldn't do!  As she stated on her blog, the process took over two days, but in the end she had a completely organized and neat closet.

Right now, I'm in the same boat.  My closet is a disaster area.  Here's a sneak peek:

And since I'm trying to get organized and purge my house of all the things we no longer want or use, it's time for my own closet makeover.  Stay tuned, because tomorrow I'll show you the closet mess, the whole mess and nothing but the mess.

So help me, Martha.