Small Closet Organization Tips
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Most homes in New Jersey have one or more
small closets
. They might be located in the bathroom, the hallway, or in your children’s rooms. These small spaces can be challenging because they might seem to have an inadequate amount of space that you have for storage. The good news is that custom closet components can help you increase your storage space in these small areas. Keep reading for our top tips on organizing your
small closets
.
The Entryway Closet
Your entryway closet might change over the course of the year thanks to our temperate climate. In the winter, this closet will likely hold coats, boots, and perhaps mittens and scarves. In the summer, light jackets, umbrellas, and sandals might take up the space. If you are not switching out what stays in your
entryway closet
based on the season, doing so would open up a lot of space. Keeping ski jackets in the space in July or littering the floor with flip-flops in February will contribute to the clutter in this closet.
Here are some more tips on organizing the entryway closet:
Consider sliding in a chest of drawers.
Using a chest of drawers (or asking your
custom closet
company to install drawers) gives you the chance to assign each one to one member of the household. They can use these spaces to keep their smaller gear that might otherwise end up on the floor. One caveat: Make sure items are dry before they get put into a drawer.
Use the vertical space.
Don’t forget about the walls. Installing hooks will give you more space to hang your purse or for your children to put their mittens while they dry. You might even use the back of the door to hold a calendar so everyone knows where various family members need to be on a given day.
Add a shoe rack.
If you are storing shoes in this area, they’re likely to get stepped on occasionally if they are just left on the floor. Install a shoe rack to hold a pair or two of shoes for each family member. The rest of the shoes should be in bedroom closets, in most cases.
The Linen Closet
The linen closet will generally be where you keep your towels and, in some cases, your sheets, but that’s not all. Many people will keep extra toiletries in this closet. Also, bathroom essentials like makeup, a hairdryer, a curling iron, and hair gel might make its way into this space. Here are some ideas for keeping it organized.
Make good use of containers.
Baskets and storage containers will help you keep all of the small items corralled in your linen closet. Keep toiletries in plastic containers on one shelf and washcloths in a basket on another. Anything that might drip or leak should be stored in a container that can be washed.
Pare down your towels and sheets.
Think about how many towels you really need, add a few for guests, and consider donating the rest to an animal shelter. Do the same with your sheets. The general rule of thumb is that for children’s beds, you should have three sets per bed and for adults’ beds, two sets are probably enough. Keeping extra pillowcases on hand is wise. Fortunately, those don’t take up too much room.
Use an over-the-door organizer.
Small items like nail polish, travel toiletries, shower poufs, and extra combs can be kept in an organizer that slips over the linen closet door. This is a great way to open up space on the shelf or in the medicine cabinet.
Children’s Closets
If you have children, you know the frustration that can occur when they do not keep their closets neat and tidy. By incorporating some
closet organizers
, however, you can make some sense of the mayhem and keep
kids’ closets
in better shape. Try some of these hints:
Forget about the high hanging rod.
Unless your child is in middle school, he or she probably can’t reach it easily anyway. Either bring the rod down a couple of feet or look for a more child-friendly option for putting clothing away (like drawers or cubbies).
Limit the number of outfits your child has access to.
If your little one likes to pull out several different outfits each day and then ends up tossing the unwanted garments on the floor, try giving him or her less to work with. Choose a week’s worth of outfits and hang only those in the closet. Keep the rest somewhere else, perhaps folded up on a high shelf that your child can’t access.
Plan on this being a long-term learning opportunity.
The fact is that most children are not able to care for their own closets until they are at least in the later elementary grades, if not middle school or even high school. Go in daily or weekly to help your child straighten up. This is an extra task on your plate, but it will pay off later when your older child is able to care for his or her things properly without your intervention.
If you have guest room closets in bedrooms that you and your children aren’t using, you’ll want to check out this piece by
Mike Beard
of
Memphis Garage & Closets
, titled
Top 5 Tips for Organizing a Guest Room Closet
. Mike has some good tips for making these traditionally small spaces welcoming to your guests without losing all of your storage space.
Whether you are dealing with disorganization in your
large closets
, your
small closets
, your
garage
, your
kitchen
, or any other area of your home, the
closet organizers
at All About Closets can help. Contact us to schedule a free in-home consultation. One of our designers would be happy to listen to what you need and come up with a
custom closet
design that will work for your lifestyle and budget. Get in touch with us today and get the process started!
