One of my customers in Harrisonburg recently called me up for a consultation on her closet shelving. She wanted to convert an open space to a large closet in order to organize some articles she wanted to store away. Normally, something like this is right up my alley, but I feel that it’s important to review some basic storage principles before tackling a new organizer.
Before adding more storage, assess what it is you want to store. I frequently recall one piece of advice I read years ago when advising my clients on what to keep and what to toss: Take all of their clothes that hang in their closet, and put them on a hanger facing the wrong way– the hanger faces so that it’s more difficult to get off the rod.
As they take the clothes down and wear them, when they’re ready to hang back up in the closet, hang them the correct way. Over time, take a look at your closet to see how many hangers and still facing the wrong way and those are the clothes that they can consider getting rid of.
Another thing I tell my customers is before you consider taking a space to create a custom organizer, consider reviewing your closet shelving first to see if you can change the lay-out to increase efficiency. So many people have their closet with just one simple hanging rod at or around 68 inches from the floor. That’s a good height for dresses or robes, but many people hang shirts or pants which require much less hanging space.
Often I’ll work with a customer who has a simple reach-in closet and we can greatly increase their hanging space without having to work in a space outside of their closet. Some of the methods we use, like hanging double rods at 42” and 84”, incorporating split-hanging rods at 68” with storage on top or bottom, and even adding slanted shoe shelves or baskets, can greatly increase the amount of functional storage in a closet.
There are many solutions that professionals have with regards to supplementing your storage in an elegant and tasteful way inside and outside of the closet, but before you decide to fill that blank wall in your bedroom with wardrobes, first consider looking at other solutions. The answer to your storage needs might be hiding in your closet already.