If you could ask any professional organizer what their #1 pet peeve is, I guarantee at the top of the list would be builder-grade closets. They're literally the worst. They are rarely designed with any input from a professional organizer, interior designer, or human with any sort of reason. They lack functionality and purpose, and they commonly create more headaches than alleviate.
This was the situation I walked into earlier this year when I consulted with a young client moving into a new-build townhouse. She was having trouble with the closets - both the size and design were frustrating and she needed my help. See below for the before pictures.
This client had just moved from New York, so had a large collection of heavy coats. She stored these in her guest room closet.
Her primary closet had double hang on the right wall, and shelving and space for double hang on the back wall, but no actual hanging rod (remember what I said about builder-grade closets?!). Her pants were piled on the shelf, and shoes all across the floor, making it difficult to access the actual hanging clothes.
We used several small-space ideas to help use all the vertical space she had:
1. A standard shoe shelf to stack her pants on, instead of hanging, allowed more room for hanging clothes and easier access to her pants.
2. These gorgeous drop front shoe boxes helped create a sense of structure, allowed her to see her shoes, and also kept them off the floor and free from dust!
3. We organized the remaining hanging clothing by style, season, and frequency of use. We pushed her heavy winter coats to the back of the closet, with the intention of reviewing their use after a year of living in this new climate.
4. I found this product after the project, but this hanger allows for a long hang dress to be doubled up and fit into a double hang space with no overflow! Brilliant!
All in all, it seemed like a scary project, but turned out really well with the help of some creative solutions for small spaces! What's your favorite small-space tip for organizing? Let me know below in the comments!
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