Master Clutter-Free Living with These Tips for an Organized Custom Closet

1. Use Storage Baskets

Wicker storage baskets are hardy, efficient organizers for a neater closet space. You can store a lot of items of assorted sizes in the baskets, then slide them on an empty shelf in your closet.

Create a theme for each basket. Randomly-placed items are just as bad as strewing your stuff around the closet. You’ll still waste time struggling to find what you need.

For example, you might keep accessories (that aren’t jewelry) in the baskets, or perhaps you fold linens and keep them in there.

Adding labels to the wicker baskets will help you find what you need in an instant. Alternatively, you can consider translucent plastic storage buckets, which are easier to see into.

2. Add a Donation Bin

Do you struggle to give up items in your home even though you know you should? Is part of your issue being overwhelmed with getting started? That’s a rightful concern, but you can’t let clutter accumulate to the same degree as before you had your custom closet.

That’s why installing a donation bin in the closet is an optimal solution. You can take your donating efforts one item at a time to reduce feeling overwhelmed. You can also make quicker decisions about what to keep and what to get rid of.

When your donation bin fills up, drop it off at your nearest donation center and begin filling it again. There’s no rush to this process, but you will feel fantastic once you realize you can give those clothes and items that don’t fit or are unused to someone who needs them.

3. Store Small Items in Drawers

Many homeowners struggle more with organizing small items than bigger ones. It’s a matter of where the items will go, as their size makes them difficult to find a suitable home.

The drawers in your custom closet should provide safe keeping for small items that aren’t jewelry or accessories. If you worry about items in the drawer becoming disarrayed and negating your organizational efforts, dividers will help you sort through them.

4. Try Shelf Dividers

Dividers are handy for more than drawers but also for shelves. You can use dividers to reapportion shelves and organize your items in a whole new way.

According to the pros at Home Storage Solutions, shelf dividers are advantageous because you can use them to subcategorize. For example, rather than storing all your pants on one shelf in your closet, you can divide your pants into work slacks and casual jeans.

Dividers also enable you to store more items on your shelves than before, as the shelves might have been too large. You might keep purses, towels, sheets, books, or accessories on the divided shelves.

5. Vacuum-Seal Big Items

Summertime closet storage is easy, as you use lighter blankets, smaller shoes, and wispier fabrics. However, autumn and winter storage often pose a substantial problem for homeowners, as they struggle with where to put large items, like comforters, coats, and winter boots.

Many of those items are eligible for vacuum sealing. Store your items in the included plastic bag, tighten the seal, then attach the vacuum hose. Watch as the air disappears from the bag, leaving you with a much more compact item than what you started with.

You can vacuum seal stuffed animals, spare linens, off-season items, and even mason jars, so the sealer is worth having.

6. Organize Seasonally

Speaking of off-season items, you must have a storage solution in mind for them. Building a bigger closet space with a custom solution doesn’t mean it’s wise to store all four seasons’ worth of clothes, shoes, and linens in one space.

You’re only making more work for yourself in finding the items you need and creating unnecessary clutter in your closet.

You can store off-season items in your closet, just not on clothing racks. Use the vacuum sealing method above and then organize the items on spare shelves, using dividers to keep everything neat.

What if you don’t have any closet space left? Use storage containers and keep the items elsewhere, perhaps under your bed or in another part of the house.

7. Store Shoes on a Rack

Shoe clutter can make your closet seem five times smaller as your favorite shoes erase any available floor space. You could damage your shoes by piling them up like that, and you’ll also add extra time to your morning routine if you don’t pair your footwear together.

A shoe rack is a game-changer. Your shoes will be organized against one wall of your custom closet, opening up the floor for walking around. You can spare your shoes from dust, damage, and crushing.

You’ll also appreciate how easy it is to find your shoes in the morning so you can be out the door without consequence.

Other great options for organizing shoe clutter are shoe fences or cubbies.

8. Add Wardrobes or Clothing Racks

A bustling wardrobe might not be containable, even in a custom closet. Rather than trying to force your clothes here, there, and everywhere until they’re bursting at the seams, consider external organization solutions instead.

For example, clothing racks stored in the closet or outside of it give you more open space for hanging your favorite garments. You could also consider an external clothing armoire or wardrobe.

These solutions can also work for off-season clothing storage if you have no space for plastic tote buckets.

9. Rely on Jewelry Trays

Disorganized jewelry is a major stressor, as these precious pieces are meaningful. Store them somewhere special, such as jewelry trays within your custom closet. Jewelry organizers can keep earrings, necklaces, and bracelets.

You’ll know just where to find your favorite piece for accessorizing your outfit, and you won’t have to worry about the chains becoming hopelessly tangled.

10. Consider an Island

A countertop or center island in your custom closet is another solution for expanding space. This high-end solution works best in bedroom walk-in closets. The island adds a luxe appeal to your closet and should have shelving or cubbies for keeping more items.

You can opt for hidden storage if you want the island to shine or let the storage solutions show. You might ask for built-in seating, like benches, so you can try on outfits and put your shoes on in the morning, all from your closet.

11. Keep Tie and Scarf Racks

Accessories, such as scarves, ties, and belts make an outfit and might even be required depending on your workplace. However, these are also some of the easiest items to lose, which can make your morning routine frustrating.

Scarf and tie racks will streamline your day. The racks hold these slim items and prevent them from falling to the floor. You can grab what you need, put it on, and get going so you don’t risk being late to work again.

Belt and tie racks are slim enough that even if you’re short on closet space, you can still consider this game-changer of an accessory.

12. Install a Hamper

Here’s one more tip for keeping your closet clutter-free: add a hamper.

You can erase your bad habit of tossing clothes from the closet to the floor, freeing up space in the closet and the rest of your bedroom. You can also expedite laundry day, as your items will already be in the hamper.

Then it’s just a matter of transferring the hamper items to a laundry basket and to the washer and dryer.

Conclusion

Clutter-free living is initially achieved through a custom closet, but you must strive to keep your space neat to continue enjoying your closet’s many benefits. Now that you have organizing suggestions, you can clean up your space and enjoy a happier home.

Resources

• https://www.home-storage-solutions-101.com/closet-shelf-dividers.html