Description

Without delving into any psychobabble here,it’s safe to say that a messy closet does not contribute toanyone’s happiness. Conversely, an organized closet can bring fortheuphoric joy — or, at the very least, a sense of relief at finallyfinding that long-lost sweater or pillowcase.

Here are four easy closet organizing steps you can take thisweekend to get your closet in tip-top shape.
1. Take stock of what’s currently in your closet. Yes, we’ve heardmany an organizing expert on TV blather on about this, but it’strue. A closet can’t ever be truly organized if it’s hiding itemsthat haven’t been touched since the Bush administration.
As painful as the process may sound, unloading a closet entirecontents will give you an honest account of what lurks in therecesses. Donate or toss as necessary and start from scratch. Thissingle act will liberate you from having a bunch of useless stuffweigh you down and crowd out what you do value.
Once you know exactly what you want to keep, adjust any shelves asnecessary, as in this hall closet system created by San FranciscoOrganized Interiors. Towel bars (see step 2) affixed to the doorprovide greater efficiency, as do baskets that keep smaller itemsfrom getting lost.

2. Make use of empty wall or door space. Empty sections of wallsor the insides of doors are prime real estate for towel bars, hooksor dowels, like this artistic example of a tie collection createdby Cantoni Design.
Tip: Hardware doesn’t have to be elaborate to work. You might evenhave everything you need already in your garage. Just make sure thehardware is appropriately sized to bear the weight of the intendedload.

3. Add lighting. Lighting is key to finding anything in acloset, though so often there’s not enough of it. Newer homes mayhave a single overhead light that is minimally helpful, while olderhomes may not be equipped with any light at all. Having anelectrician add shelf lighting would be optimal, but it isn’tcheap, and it’s a momentum killer. Instead, use stick-on orscrew-in battery-operated LED lights on each shelf to achieve thesame results for a fraction of the cost.

4. Corral like items together. Think of your bedroom closet asyou would your desk files. If those files weren’t organized in somesort of comprehensive fashion (by date, client name, order ofurgency etc.), you’d never accomplish anything at work.
The same is true for the closet, but with slightly differentobjectives. The closet needs to provide you with the tools to lookgood and get you out of the house as efficiently as possible. Thebest way to accomplish this is by grouping like items together(colors, styles, uses, occasions) to speed up the morning outfithunt.