You take a peek at your closet, and the first thing you see is clutter throughout it. A creeping thought sneaks in: “I can just get to that tomorrow.” You know that you most probably won’t, and you might even find yourself among the 25% of American families who admit that they have a clutter problem. In this blog, we’ll explore why and how to organize your closet in a way that will make sense to you and your family.
Why Closet Organization Matters
Despite how overwhelmed and busy you might feel now, there are plenty of excellent reasons to start working on decluttering your closets right away.
First, you simply can’t enjoy life to the fullest when you are trying to work around the piles of clutter that have gathered in your home. Not only is that clutter annoying, but it can even pose a safety hazard to everyone who lives there. Don’t allow this to become a problem in your house.
Secondly, you are busy enough as it is, and every moment of your day that you can reclaim is precious. It is a lot easier to find exactly what you are looking for in an organized closet, and getting back some of that time for yourself means that you can spend more time with your family.
Additionally, when children are taught to keep their closets orderly, they are learning an important life lesson about being independent and organized. Those are virtues that they will carry with them throughout life.
Although it might seem like a small step in the right direction, organizing your closets can have major positive impacts for your family, and that is something that you should never ignore.
Step 1 — Declutter Before You Organize
Before organizing, the first step should be removing clutter. Writing on fluencyleadership.com, Catherine Ducharme said this about decluttering a closet before organizing it:
By decluttering and making those hard decisions to part with the excess, I finally felt a sense of control and peace. Only then could I effectively organize my closet, making it a space that served me well.
Indeed, there is a sense of control that comes with first decluttering your closet before you attempt to organize it.
Get the whole family involved in this part of the process and sort your clothing items into 3 piles: Keep, Toss, and Donate.
Once you have sorted all of the clothing into those piles, you can take the necessary steps to get your clothing thrown out or donated, and then begin to organize the “keep” pile in your closet.
Step 2 — Maximize Your Closet Space
The amount of closet space in an American home is estimated to be approximately 146 square feet on average. In other words, you are not dealing with an abundance of space when it comes to your closets, so you should try to make the most of every inch. There are several approaches that you can take to make this happen. Some of the most notable ones include:
Use Hanging Organizers to Clear Up Some Space
One way to clear up some space is by using hanging organizers to get certain items off the floor. For example, many families choose to use hanging organizers to clear up shelves that were previously occupied by shoes, children’s clothing, and other things. It is easier to see all that you have when you do this, and you will immediately notice that you have more room in your closets than you might ever have realized before.
For example, using shelves, drawers, and baskets is a great way to have your most frequently used items stored neatly without overwhelming floor space.
For small closets, don’t forget that you can also use double rods, slim hangers, and vertical storage. It is not easy to try to deal with small closets, but you should try to squeeze every bit of space that you can out of them.
Step 3 — Organize Closets by Family Member
Every member of the family is unique, and the way that their closet is set up should reflect that. Therefore, everyone should have their closet organized in a way that represents who they are and the priorities they have in life. From adults to children, it is vital that everyone be offered the opportunity to create a closet space that works for them.
Kids’ Closet Organization Tips
The University of Michigan conducted a National Poll on Children’s Health and found that the vast majority of parents feel that it is essential to build independence and confidence within their children. Here is what they say:
Among parents of a child 5–8 years, most (74%) say they make it a point to have their child do things themselves, when possible. However, fewer parents report their child regularly engages in actions such as talking with the doctor or nurse at health care visits (47%), deciding how to spend allowance or gift money (30%), speaking to unfamiliar adults in business situations, such as ordering at a restaurant (24%), or preparing their own meal or snack (20%).
One small, but important, way that parents can help teach their kids independance is by designing their closet in such a way that the child has easy access to the things that they need.
For example, helping children keep their clothing organized in labeled bins helps them find the materials that they need more easily. Hanging clothing at a level that your child can reach is another great way to help them build independence. They can simply pluck the clothing that they need off of those lowered rods.
Lastly, organizing a closet into various compartments means that the child also has the ability to fully see where all of their belongings are and access them whenever they need them.
Shared Closet Solutions for Parents
In some situations, it might be necessary for the adults in the house to share closet space. It may seem as though things could get a bit disorganized and messy, but that doesn’t have to be the case. Instead, by using products such as dividers and modular systems, it is possible for both adults to keep their individual items apart and not have any kind of crossover whatsoever.
Creating “Zones” in Family Closets (work clothes, school uniforms, play gear)
Communal or family closets should be broken down into different zones. This is to say that there ought to be family closets for different categories of clothing, such as school uniforms, work clothes, and sports gear. These are all very different types of clothing, and they should be stored in different “zones” so as to keep things as accessible as possible.
Step 4 — Keep It Organized with Simple Habits
Creating an organized closet space is a big step forward, but the real challenge is maintaining all that you have worked so hard for. Fortunately, there are some simple habits that you can use to help keep your closet spaces organized.
10-Minute Weekly Reset to Put Items Back in Place
Take a short 10 minutes out of your busy schedule to put items back where they belong. Your schedule probably feels jam-packed as it is, but you can surely spare 10 minutes to reset your closet spaces so that they don’t fall into major disorganization. It is certainly better to spend those 10 minutes once per week taking care of business rather than spending far more time on it once things have fallen apart.
Seasonal Switch-Outs to Avoid Overcrowding
Since certain articles of clothing are seasonal, once that season is over, you should work on swapping it out in favor of clothing from the season you are currently in. This can help you avoid overcrowding in your closets and make it easier to get the most out of them.
Daily Habits That Encourage Kids to Help
Establish some daily habits that bring your children into the process of keeping things organized. Try to make these habits as fun and constructive as possible. You want your children to truly help, and the best way to encourage this behavior is to model it yourself. Show them how organizing the closets can be fun and benefit everyone.
Bestar’s Smart Storage Solutions
At Bestar, we have the solutions that you are looking for when it comes to creating a smart closet storage solution for your growing family. From modular closet systems to storage furniture, we have the solutions that you are looking for. We understand that closet space is tight and that there are a lot of things on your plate to deal with as you raise your growing family. Fortunately, our products can at least make it a bit easier on you when it comes to keeping your closets organized.
Modern aesthetics are a feature of every product that we offer, so you never have to sacrifice on the way that your home looks just because you want it to be organized. If you have been eager to get a closet organizer and other products that can bring order to what might otherwise be a chaotic situation, then you should check out what we have to offer. Our inventory is deep, and we have something that can work for virtually every type of family out there.
Building small habits one step at a time can quickly and easily help a family begin to develop a functional and stress-free closet space that they wouldn’t otherwise have had access to. It is all about taking it one step at a time and enjoying the fruits of your labor once you do.
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