Please recommend a good closet organization system

[4forMe]

I am in desperate need of a good closet organization system that is low budget. We will be using this for our twins' bedroom closet. They do not have enough furniture to accomodate their clothes. They wear two separate sizes so I want a nice closet system that will make their clothes accessible.

Anything I suggest to my husband he rejects because it's too "cheap" an he says it won't last. However, he doesn't want to spend a lot of money. :rotfl

We've looked at Target, Home Depot and Lowes - he doesn't like any of their systems and feels they will break easily (I like the ones with the drawers and cubes).

Can anyone offer suggestions of where else we could look?

 

[Jill in Chicago]

First thing I would do is sort the clothes into summer/spring and winter/fall. (You may already do this.) Put the out of season clothes into boxes/bins and store on the top shelf of the closet. Or get skinny bins that will fit under the beds.

Now go through all of the clothes and get rid of things they do not wear. Many children have a "million" t-shirts. They do not wear all of these, nor do they even like all of these. If they are special, ask them if they can be cut up and turned into a quilt. Often it is more the memory than the actual t-shirt.

Make sure when new things come in:socks, undies.... the old ones get thrown out.

Any clothes for special occasions can be put in the boxes, or if you have the space stored elsewhere.

You may not need an actual organizing system at all. List the clothes you want to store. Determine what you need: short clothes that hang, long clothes that hang, shelves, drawers.... I have found that the closet organizers in my older son's room (installed by the previous owner) really waste a lot of space, especially now that he is older and his clothes are longer.

How about getting a dresser at a thrift store that fits in the closet? If there is still space on the floor, put shelves for shoes. Short clothes can hang over the dresser and longer clothes over the shoes.

Really use that top shelf of the closet. Think stacking bins.

Back of the door get a plastic shoe organizer. This can be for socks, hair stuff, anything small. Shoes can be lined up and stored under the bed.

 

[janette]

Do you have a container store? They are 30% right now on their closet systems and they are very nice.

 

[Kitzka]

as the pp mentioned. i would measure the closet you have and take the measurements to the container store. work with an closet specialist there and they can help you design your perfect closet. we did this for DD and it has worked very well.

lara

 

[WDWAtLast]

I used the Closet maid from Lowe's for my girls closets ($90 for one, $120 for the other) and they have been great! I didn't do baskets/drawers just the standard kits. I do have elfa (container store) in the master which I love - but even bought at a discount, it was pricey!

 

[MagiKitty]

I live in an old house and my closet, while large, was really just a single rod. Not a very good use of the space. I installed a closetmaid system that I got from Lowe's. The important thing to know it the width of the space. You can custom the racks and rods to your own preference. I think I spent about $100 for a twelve foot closet and any additional accessories. Under the lowest shelf I put some bins for odd shaped items. Half the closet is one high rod with shoe storage underneath, the other side is two rods for storing shorter items.

I've had my system in for nearly three years and considering the volume in there, its done quite well!

 

[lila]

Elfa would likely meet your needs.

 

[littlele]

Elfa would likely meet your needs.

This is the great system mentioned at Container Store. I have used them for years and love their durability. They aren't super cheap, but will hold up forever and the sale helps.

 

[cats mom]

Sounds like your DH is looking for something like the elfa system other posters have mentioned; at least as far as quality goes, he may not like the price much. Remind him that sometimes you really do get what you pay for though.

We have elfa in both master closets, one bedroom closet, and a storage room. Love it! It's very sturdy and can be easily re-arranged endlessly as your needs change. (especially when you have as many pieces to work with as we do)

We had very expensive, custom built wood units in the master closet of our last house, and I would never do that again. We couldn't change the configuration much at all. It looked like high end furniture, much nicer than our elfa closet systems, but didn't work nearly as well.

We had closetmaid stuff in a kids closet once. It held up OK, but it was pretty limited as far as making changes as the kids grew (compared to elfa) and I didn't think the quality was nearly as good.

Good luck with your closet shopping and designing. A well layed out system that works for you makes a world of difference.

 

[dansamy]

I love the ClosetMaid systems. They are really durable and flexible with regards to being rearranged later.

 

[pklein09]

We've used the Closet Maid shelf track systems - once you put the supports on the wall, you can adjust the shelves anywhere you want - just move the supports. This system also allows for lots of customizaion - like pull-out bins and drawers. There's also the Antonius system from Ikea which is similar to the Shelf Track system.

Good luck.

 

[timandlesley]

I second the container store at 30% off. We got an ELFA system, it ROCKS!!!! I went in with a small budget in mind, told them what it was, had the dimensions of our closet in hand and they worked miracles. LOVE IT!!!
Lesley

 

[smacky1]

We have used this one in a couple of our closets and we LOVE it. My DH didnt want to do them at first either. We previously had the closetmaid wire organizer and I never liked it. He wanted to add on to that, but I convinced him to change to this one and he was happy we did. There is tons of room on the shelves for storage and the bars created a lot more hanging space for us. We are no redoing every closet in our house with this system. You can get the selves in different sizes depending on the size of your closet.
http://www.homedepot.com/Storage-Cl...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

 

[Kae]

We used the closet system from Sauder furniture.

Kae

 

[4forMe]

Well, I guess it's between the Closetmaid system from Lowes and Elfa from the Container Store.

as the pp mentioned. i would measure the closet you have and take the measurements to the container store. work with an closet specialist there and they can help you design your perfect closet. we did this for DD and it has worked very well.

lara

Is there an extra cost for working with a closet specialist at the container store or is it included in the price of the Elfa system?

 

[janette]

Well, I guess it's between the Closetmaid system from Lowes and Elfa from the Container Store.




Is there an extra cost for working with a closet specialist at the container store or is it included in the price of the Elfa system?

We did my 18yo DD's closet, it is pretty small for a teen with lots of clothes. All the design work is included and they cut it all for you so it is ready to install. We ended up not using all the pieces and I was able to return the extra stuff. We did almost all shelves / hanging rods and it was about $200. She almost doubled her hanging space. My DD did most of the install herself, it was very easy and can be altered if she decides she wants something different.

 

[GoofyGolferGirl]

We used the closetmaid system but I used the one that the bar goes across the top then you put the support bars on the studs. and then the brackets go into the support rods and hold the shelf. I don't recommend the ones that have the bar that you attach to the wall on one end and the shelf on the other. It would not support my DD clothes. I also used heavy duty bolts/screws.

 

[java]

We used elfa in 2 kids rooms. It's a great system. (Unfortunately our "consultant" added in drawers and they don't open in one bedroom with the closet doors on. So I took them off. Added a curtain instead. But my point is double check their suggestions even with proper measurments from you they can make a mistake)

In our other boys rooms we actually bought 2 dressers from Ikea and stuffed them into the closet- works great for them for now. It was cheaper.
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/40129591
is similar to the one we got- it was narrower though I think? We just went in with measurments and found 2 that would fit in. They don't have any "hanging" needs right now so the dressers worked great. I figure by they time they grow out of it my oldest will be off to school and need a dresser for college.