I need help organizing closets!!

[momof3disneyholics]

My closets look like a war zone. Alll of them. I need some tips on how to organize them without spending alot of money to do so. All of my closets are a good size too, I just can't get them organized because there is just not enough space to hang everything, and some things like blankets cannot be hung anyway. Anyone got any tips on what I could do with my children's closets too? They have boxes of toys and blankets and shoes at the bottom of theirs.
Thanks!

 

[lissawynn]

I would first go through all of the closets and get rid of things that are too small, big, damaged, haven't been worn in a year. You'd be surprised what's hiding in there.
Also, you can go to Lowes or Home Depot and buy closet organizer stuff. They'll also help you plan our your closets if you take the dimensions of your closets.
Good luck!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Step One...
Declutter. Remove everything from the closet. Get rid of outdated, not worn/used, clothing, toys and shoes. Immediately put into car trunk out of sight. Then next you are out donate it.

Examine what is left and buy according to need to organize. It can be as simple as buying shelves, tubs, or expensive organizers.

 

[Frantasmic]

Extra large space bags (the kind that can have the air sucked out of them) for the large comforters and blankets.

 

[diznygirl]

We added another shelf BELOW the one that had our stuff hanging on it. Our hanging stuff hangs a little lower now and is easier to get and to put away. The shelf is also easier to access to put things on, AND it doubles the shelf space in our closet.

When things are easier to reach, we actually put things away on the shelf rather than toss on the floor to be put away "later!"

And one sire shelf really didn't cost that much. Good luck!

 

[ChrisnSteph]

Take everything out of the closets, and sort it out into three piles: keep, not keep, and not sure what to do with. Then go from there. You would be surprised at how much stuff you can live without! Donate to Goodwill or Salvation Army. Blankets can be stored in plastic bins and put in the garage, or even under beds. Shoes can be stored in a basket, and toys can be put in a toybox or plastic bins.

 

[ElizaB39]

DH and I went through this when we moved into our new house. We went from a 15 foot walkin closet to a 5 foot square walkin closet. This is what we did.

For the first 3 weeks clothes were in piles in the extra bedroom, and I researched different closet systems. We went through all of our clothes and I ended up bringing 30 hangers of clothes to a consignment shop (my nice work clothes that I no longer needed because I quit and now wear jeans everyday ). Then we brought 12 bags of clothes to Goodwill (kitchen trash size, not yard bag size). I purchased two Rubbermaid Transformation systems from HOme Depot (only distributor). We ended up with two levels of hanging rods on two of the three walls, high and low, and one wall of shelving up to the ceiling and then a shoe holder below. The before and after pics are unbelievable. We also use the extra closet for all DH's suit coats, some dressy dresses (formal occasions) and some offseason storage.

SO far so good, the secret is PURGING! It feels soooo good.

 

[EthansMom]

I read somewhere that the average person wears 20% of their clothes 80% of the time. In other words, most people have a lot of stuff in their closets that they really aren't wearing.

Go through and put away any clothes that are out of season. Get some plastic storage tubs and store the out-of-season clothes. Do you have space downstairs or under your bed where these clothes could be stored? Buy storage tubs that will fit in the available storage space.

Get rid of clothes that you don't really wear.

Get rid of anything in your Masterbedroom closet that isn't clothes/shoes/accessories. Blankets and sheets should go in a linen closet, not your bedroom closet. Likewise, with other "stuff"...

In my kids' rooms, I keep the tub-style toy organizers for the toys. DS has his in his closet. Likewise, there's no reason to have blankets in the kids' closets.

What are you storing in your linen closet? Do you have more blankets and towels than you really need? If so, get rid of the older ones. I have 2 nice towels per person -- one for using and one for in the laundry. I have 2-3 blankets per bed and 2 sets of sheets per bed. All of my sheets and towels are white -- I always have enough whites to run a full load.

Likewise, look at how much clothing and how many shoes each person in your family owns. My kids don't own more than 4 pairs of shoes at any one time: a pair of sandals, a pair of sneakers, and a pair of dress shoes, and a pair of snowboots. We store our in-season shoes next to the front door since we come in and take off our shoes right away. I keep a shoe rack in the entry hall.

Instead of pulling everything out at once, follow the advice from http://www.flylady.com and just work for around 15 minutes and don't pull out more stuff than you could quickly put away.

Good Luck!

 

[momof3disneyholics]

What are you storing in your linen closet? Do you have more blankets and towels than you really need?

My house has no linen closets! I store the blankets in everyone's closets and the towels under the sinks. I know that is part of the problem. I have space under everyone's beds to put things, nothing is under there right now.