Closet organization - YouLookFab Forum

Janet

I love closet organization stuff! Posts and articles with photos are even better.

I have my small collection of belts — maybe a dozen or so — hanging on a rack on the back of our closet door. I’m always a little annoyed that they swing around when the door is opened or closed, and I’ve wondered about storing them rolled in boxes, since my hanging space is pretty full. I like her little carts but we don’t have floor space in the closet for that. I do have space in a cabinet — I may have to test rolling the belts to see if they sit neatly in a storage bin.

The stuff about boxing and photographing every pair of shoes made me really happy that we dedicated the back wall of our closet for shoe storage! Just open shelves but the shelves are adjustable and it’s easy to see what I have!

3 weeks ago

unfrumped

Veteran

Pretty organized! I love closet candy.

I’m not there. But, I do store my shoes very similarly , except no photo. All but a few of my shoes are stored above my top hanging rod. On that closet shelf I have these ~ 36” long shelf stackers that I’ve had for maybe 40 years, used in several different homes. So 2 rows of shoes are “ out” , unboxed. On the top shelf of the stacker I start stacking my Container Store shoeboxes. She’s right about some shoes being too big, including some regular sneakers due to the increasing sole size, plus short boots, so I have to use the “ large shoebox” for them. I’ve always had my shoes “ up” like this— lets the lighting hit them as a shallower row, and then hanging items are below and mostly 2 levels with rod - extenders. I do need a small stepstool to reach the top but it stats right in the closet and I rotate seasonally what’s most easily accessible.

3 weeks ago

LJP

Veteran

Oh I love her, and I love her ideas. I draw the line at a $450 5-drawer little cabinet as great-looking as it is. I do use the same hangers , and would love to duplicate the shoe storage idea- I did it many years ago using just the shoe boxes but put little photos on the boxes and it was great, until it wasn't. One must be meticulous to maintain those habits.

I envy your country's Container Store. I'd be in there all the time!

3 weeks ago

SarahD8

Veteran

Oooh that was great. Like a sartorial version of Joan Didion's Thanksgiving planning!

Is there a link between being obsessive about domestic order and being a great journalist? I don't know but it sure makes me feel less inhibited about obsessing over wardrobe management etc. (I am a journalist lol.)

3 weeks ago

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

I should read before I comment but thanks for the link!

3 weeks ago

MsMary

Veteran

Haha I have Thanksgiving notes like Joan Didion's! And afterwards I do post-Thanksgiving notes for next year!

Anyway I am very lucky to have a whole room as my closet and I have shelves behind doors for my shoes, so I don't have to do boxes. Although I will note that clothes and shoes do expand to fill the space available!

Janet: I used to put my belts in the scarf closet (looped over dowels) but these days they live draped over the end of a short bookcase and that works well for me.

3 weeks ago

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Oooh, that was a fun read! I love her little MOMA accessory drawers. And it's quite inspiring that she has thought so thoroughly about this subject! She belongs on the forum!

She says a lot of the stuff that Angie says about organization. And I use Finds the way she uses Indyx.

I don't use her shoe system (don't have as many shoes) or the garment bags (I am blessed with fewer moths where I live) but I do use pretty much all her other recommended tricks. I keep my belts in a box, UmmLila -- for the exact reason you mention. It works well for me. They are in a narrow Ikia box between my different jeans.

3 weeks ago

The Cat

Veteran

Janet, I need to have my belts (and some other long items, like dresses and bathing robes) hanging on the back of the door to my small bedroom, and initially I was annoyed by the sounds they made when the door was opened or closed. However, I found an easy solution: A soft flannel sheet placed close to the door (and behind the hanging items) mutes the sounds. Perhaps a similar idea could work for your closet door.

3 weeks ago

cat2

Veteran

Ugh; these are all the things I don’t like about organization posts. Buying weird plastic storage solutions; labelling things with plastic strips; and buying MDF organizers. I have my belts rolled up in fabric boxes, and that’s the only bit of organizational junk I have bought.

3 weeks ago

Sisi

Veteran

Time ago I have accepted the fact that I'm basically a messy person so I just need my wardrobe to be "organized enough" for my needs. These articles about closet organization are often "too much" for me. To be honest, the closet in the photo doesn't look very organized to me: all that stuff crammed together...

3 weeks ago

Star (Lise)

Veteran

What SISI said.

3 weeks ago

Dee

Veteran

I would never bother keeping shoes in a special box and then putting a photo on it, way too fussy for me and time consuming to maintain.
I also dont fuss with identical hangers either. I have thicker supportive ones with twisting hooks for heavier things like coats and jackets but some thin coated wire hanagrs for my tops. Also wooden clip ones from ikea for my pants.
I do hang my clothes by category, colour and length, that's about as fussy as I get.

3 weeks ago

Janet

(website)

Veteran

I do have to say that gradually switching my hangers to matching thin flocked ones made my closet so much more pleasant. The ones in the article look interesting but I can’t get over how expensive it would be to redo a whole closet worth of clothes with them!

As for little organizational tools for keeping wardrobe tidy, that’s what Home Goods and Home Sense are for — I have some bins and boxes from them that keep us pretty organized. I also can’t see paying tons of money for something like that, unless it’s an actual piece of furniture that will be on display out in the bedroom.

Oh, and thanks for the suggestion, The Cat! Something like that is a possibility. I’m going to play with ideas before we have our room painted and get new flooring later this year — that will be the time to paint and repair that door (which sticks and does not close all the way, much to my frustration).

3 weeks ago

cat2

Veteran

Janet: Good point about the furniture. I buy case goods second hand and one can almost always find something fun that works.

2 weeks ago

Cookie

Veteran

lol Sarah I am a magazine copyeditor and a total slob. I love Susan Orlean but will ever have her closet.

2 weeks ago

Joha

Active Member

I haven’t had time to read the article yet but my grandma had her own solution for the belt problem. A small fancy cord tacked loosely across the lower third of the belts. Affixed to the wooden closet door with two thumbtacks.

2 weeks ago

Cookie

Veteran

Will NEVER have her closet. Of course I make a typo in the comment revealing that I am a copyeditor.

2 weeks ago

Jenni NZ

Veteran

Thanks for making me laugh, Cookie!
I just read the article for the second time. I don’t think I am as organised as her but pretty good. I would HATE having to climb up on a step-stool to get my shoes. I also don’t need 4 kinds of black sandals, though I do have 2 kinds of green sandals, ha ha. My very favourite thing about my walk-in wardrobe is the open shoe shelves. I dust them and swap the seasonal shoes from top to bottom twice a year. My tall boots and high shaft boots in their box, and my slippers, are in a different place. My handbags, tote bags, aprons etc are loose on shelves and more of a mess.

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2 weeks ago

Lisa

Veteran

Interesting article, thanks for sharing!

Jenni NZ - Excellent shoe storage! How fun that you can see everything so easily!

2 weeks ago

Staysfit

Veteran

I hate the idea of storing frequently used items on the top shelf. Inevitably, something falls down on my head! Therefore, I use the top shelf for out of season items, infrequently used handbags, totes, summer sun hats, and heavy Aran knit sweaters. There is plenty of room for shoes on racks beneath my hanging clothes and on two cotton twill hanging shoe storage containers. I can see everything and they don’t take much space. I hang belts on a carabiner attached to an over the door hook. I also hang tank tops and camis using a carabiner on a small hanger.

2 weeks ago

Janet

(website)

Veteran

I decided the other day to take the hooks off the inside of our closet door and repurpose a storage box to hold my belts, which are now rolled up. It’s not perfect, but I do not wear my belts frequently so I don’t mind this solution so far. In the process, I took out two belts that are so infrequently worn that I can’t even remember the last time I reached for them — off they go for donation/swap!

I agree about upper shelf usage, SF! I use the upper areas of our closet for out of season footwear and evening bags (all stored in boxes). Our closet has an angled ceiling so some upper shelves are quite high — I keep a small collapsible step stool tucked in the corner of the closet to access those areas, which doesn’t happen often.

2 weeks ago

karen23

Active Member

She must lead a very different life!

My closet is small and has very little floor space, so my shoes are on low shelves. The shelves above the hanging clothes are used for storing things like sweaters. Only seldom-used or out of season items end up in big plastic boxes.

That and art, craft or sewing stuff (but that's elsewhere.)

I will admit, it all needs to be organized better, especially the accessories. But tax time is approaching and the home-office area is next.

2 weeks ago

Cookie

Veteran

Jenni, those shoe shelves are enviable!

2 weeks ago

Jenni NZ

Veteran

Thank you Lisa and Cookie for the shoe shelf appreciation. Staysfit, I have hats on my very top shelf and a woven footstool that belonged to my beloved paternal grandmother to stand on to reach them! They do occasionally fall on me but at least they are soft.

2 weeks ago

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