Home Improvement

Love this idea – the name “dropzone” says it all. We cannot afford to have a mudroom at our home but we can designate a space for “dropping” all stuff when we get home from work or school here, we just need to illuminate a dark corner with a led light bulb. It is better to organize things like this so nothing gets lost!

Whether you have one of those healthcare medical jobs that require you to be in uniform or a career executive that needs to have a full-sized wardrobe, chances are, you still struggle in keeping your closet organized. If you have a small-spaced closet, you do not need to suffer in silence. With some great management tips below, you will be able to navigate and efficiently use every single space in your closet without having to search through everything to find one piece of clothing when you are in a hurry.

Go uniform. The easiest way to make your closet look more orderly is to use single-color multiples. If your current organizers are mismatched, you can avoid buying more stuff by spray painting or decoupaging the containers. Similarly, grouping like with like — dresses together, etc. — will make things look more orderly, can free up space, and might even make outfit-picking easier.

Upgrade your hangers. Replacing mismatched or wire hangers with ones that are sturdier and a single color — wooden in the coat closet and maybe plain white plastic for clothes — makes a cost-effective, instant upgrade. Make sure the hanger hooks are facing in toward the back of the closet (unless, of course, you’re following Abby’s tip for weeding out clothes you don’t wear). To save space, you can also try slim profile or tiered hangers.

Look high and low, back and front. If well planned, even a small closet can hold a lot. For example, the closets in my apartment aren’t wide or deep, but they are extra tall. Adding just one stool-accessible shelf can help corral scarves, sweaters, etc. Similarly, don’t forget to use the back of your closet; mine holds bigger items that I use less frequently, such as my suitcase and deflated air mattress. With hooks or a pocket organizer, the inside of the door is also the perfect place to store scarves, belts, or shoes.

Give clothes breathing room. When you’re configuring, your closet shouldn’t become too much like Tetris (or worse, Jenga). You still need to have space to move hangers and see what’s in there. Evaluate what you don’t wear (see Abby’s tip above), and sell or donate it. Also potentially helpful is re-thinking how you divide clothes between dresser and closet; see Martha Stewart Living’s tips here.

Add personality. Even if your clothes closet can’t magically become a luxurious dressing room, it doesn’t have to be dull. Try hangers in your favorite color instead of white (check The Container Store), add liners to your shelves, or, for a slightly bigger project, paint the walls. I didn’t even use a full quart to redo mine in petrol blue, but the color alone makes me happy to open the closet door.

(Tips from Apartment Therapy)