Small Closet Organization Tips

Here are some more tips on organizing the entryway closet:

• Consider sliding in a chest of drawers. Using a chest of drawers (or asking your custom closet company to install drawers) gives you the chance to assign each one to one member of the household. They can use these spaces to keep their smaller gear that might otherwise end up on the floor. One caveat: Make sure items are dry before they get put into a drawer.
• Use the vertical space. Dont forget about the walls. Installing hooks will give you more space to hang your purse or for your children to put their mittens while they dry. You might even use the back of the door to hold a calendar so everyone knows where various family members need to be on a given day.
• Add a shoe rack. If you are storing shoes in this area, theyre likely to get stepped on occasionally if they are just left on the floor. Install a shoe rack to hold a pair or two of shoes for each family member. The rest of the shoes should be in bedroom closets, in most cases.

• Make good use of containers. Baskets and storage containers will help you keep all of the small items corralled in your linen closet. Keep toiletries in plastic containers on one shelf and washcloths in a basket on another. Anything that might drip or leak should be stored in a container that can be washed.
• Pare down your towels and sheets. Think about how many towels you really need, add a few for guests, and consider donating the rest to an animal shelter. Do the same with your sheets. The general rule of thumb is that for childrens beds, you should have three sets per bed and for adults beds, two sets are probably enough. Keeping extra pillowcases on hand is wise. Fortunately, those dont take up too much room.
• Use an over-the-door organizer. Small items like nail polish, travel toiletries, shower poufs, and extra combs can be kept in an organizer that slips over the linen closet door. This is a great way to open up space on the shelf or in the medicine cabinet.

• Forget about the high hanging rod. Unless your child is in middle school, he or she probably cant reach it easily anyway. Either bring the rod down a couple of feet or look for a more child-friendly option for putting clothing away (like drawers or cubbies).
• Limit the number of outfits your child has access to. If your little one likes to pull out several different outfits each day and then ends up tossing the unwanted garments on the floor, try giving him or her less to work with. Choose a weeks worth of outfits and hang only those in the closet. Keep the rest somewhere else, perhaps folded up on a high shelf that your child cant access.
• Plan on this being a long-term learning opportunity. The fact is that most children are not able to care for their own closets until they are at least in the later elementary grades, if not middle school or even high school. Go in daily or weekly to help your child straighten up. This is an extra task on your plate, but it will pay off later when your older child is able to care for his or her things properly without your intervention.

If you have guest room closets in bedrooms that you and your children arent using, youll want to check out this piece by Mike Beard of Memphis Garage & Closets , titled Top 5 Tips for Organizing a Guest Room Closet . Mike has some good tips for making these traditionally small spaces welcoming to your guests without losing all of your storage space.

Whether you are dealing with disorganization in your large closets , your small closets , your garage , your kitchen , or any other area of your home, the closet organizers at All About Closets can help. Contact us to schedule a free in-home consultation. One of our designers would be happy to listen to what you need and come up with a custom closet design that will work for your lifestyle and budget. Get in touch with us today and get the process started!