Closets can be difficult to keep organized, and the problem can be magnified for small closets. If you have a closet that is narrow, shallow, or just plain small, you might not know where to start when it comes to getting it whipped into shape. Read on to learn what you can do and what a professional Duluth closet organizer can do for you when it comes to these tiny storage spaces.
Organizing the Linen Closet
The linen closet often comes with several wire shelves, and most people fill these with towels, sheets, toiletries, and other items that you might need in the bathroom. The problem occurs when stacks of towels and washcloths topple over and when you can’t find the toiletries you need due to a lack of general organization in the space.
What you can do yourself:
- Purchase plastic bins for storing toiletries. Choose clear bins or label them well so you know what is in them. You can stack these on one shelf or even on the floor of the linen closet.
- Pare down your towels and sheets. The general rule for sheets is that you should have two full sets for each bed, plus some extra pillowcases. For towels, consider paring down to two per person plus two more for guests. If you have pets, you’ll want to keep a few additional towels for baths, drying off muddy paws, and so on. Having less in the linen closet will help you keep it tidier.
- Look for different ways to store these items. You might have better luck with your towels if you roll them and place them in baskets on the shelves. Sheets can be folded and placed into the pillowcase that goes with the set. Then all you will need to do is grab a “packet” of sheets when it’s time to change your bed.
What your custom closet company can do:
- Install moisture-resistant shelving for the linen closet. Wire shelving can be difficult to deal with because it ends to let small items fall between the wires. Wood shelves with a melamine coating will be resistant to moisture (important if the closet is located in your bathroom) and will keep everything in place.
- Install drawers in the closet. You might not have thought about putting drawers in your linen closet, but this can be the perfect solution for storing various items that simply don’t stay on the shelf well.
- Installing pull-out shelving. These make storing small items, like extra toiletries, simple. You can reach everything without bending and reaching around and over items, and you will be able to see what you have at a glance.
Organizing Children’s Closets
Children’s closets are notoriously difficult to organize, in part because children are usually not big enough to properly use common closet components like the hanging rod and the overhead shelf.
What you can do:
- Put a shelf or cubbies in the bottom of the closet. Encourage your child to use these storage spaces instead of trying to hang clothing on a rod that is too high.
- Install hooks on the walls of the closet. Let your kids hang their sweatshirts, jackets, backpack, and other items on the hooks rather than trying to hang them or put them on a high shelf. This should reduce the number of items that end up on the floor.
- Move most of your kids’ clothes to his or her drawers. If your child has a bureau or dresser, move most of the clothing he or she wears on a regular basis to the drawers. Be sure the chest of drawers is anchored to the wall if your child is young for safety purposes.
What your custom closet organizer can do:
- Install drawers right in the closet. Drawers that fit the closet’s dimensions perfectly are a handy solution for storing all types of items that your child would like to keep in the closet. As an added benefit, these are wall-mounted, so you won’t have to worry about anchoring them to the wall yourself.
- Install a lower hanging rod. A child under the age of 10 or 12 might be too short to use the standard hanging rod. As a result, clothing ends up pulled out of shape or heaped on the floor. A rod hung at the right level will be much easier for him or her to use.
- Use adjustable components. A professional closet designer will use adjustable components whenever possible in a child’s closet. This means that the closet you purchase for your 4-year-old will still work in a decade when he or she is about to head to high school.
Incidentally, if you aren’t sure whether investing in a children’s closet is worth the expense, Closet Decor & More, a custom closet company in South Florida, recently published a post titled, Are Children’s Custom Closets Worth It? that we think you’ll enjoy.
Organizing Hallway Closets
Whether you’re storing board games, holiday gifts, coats, or something else in your hallway closets, we’ve got some ideas for keeping them organized.
What you can do:
- Use a variety of bins to hold like items. A hallway closet often becomes a catchall of a wide range of items. Group them together in a way that makes sense and look for bins of different sizes to hold what you need to store. For example, a heavy wastepaper basket can hold umbrellas, plastic bins can hold puzzles, and so on.
- Slide a stepstool into the closet. If you are using your top shelf to hold items, a stepstool right in the closet itself will make it convenient and safer for you to pull these things down when you need them.
- Use an over-the-door organizer. Find the type of plastic organizer that you might use to organize shoes and hang it over the back of the closet door. This will give you a handy place to keep all sorts of small items.
What your custom closet designer can do:
- Add shoe racks to an entryway closet. If you are using a hall closet as an entryway closet, a custom shoe rack can help keep everyone’s footwear in good order.
- Offer various closet organizers depending on what you are storing. These would fulfill the same function as the bins suggested above but would be customized for your needs, would not fall over, and would make the configuration more permanent.
- Build components for an oddly shaped space. If you have a hall closet with a sloped ceiling, a cubbyhole access door, or some other unusual feature, a custom closet company can work with it and build around it without compromising the function of the closet or the feature itself.
If you are considering having custom closets installed in your small storage spaces, contact Northland Custom Closet & Garage to schedule a free in-home consultation appointment.
