Pro organizer shares more ways to organize your closet
Get an expandable shoe rack and save time and stress.
By Aimee Heckel
Yesterday, professional organizer, Joanna Monahan, shared with us three ways to begin organizing your closet this winter.
Monahan is with Colorado-based organizing company, Major Mom. Every month, we talk to her to get tips for parents on organizing their homes.
This month, it’s all about clothes. Here are Monahan’s final three tips for organizing your master closet. Now that you have edited your closet, sorted it into categories and established zones in your closet, Monahan says:
4. Plan your containers.
Create a plan for how you will put all of the clothes back into the closet. She recommends using one type of hanger, to make the rack look neater and make clothes easier to find. Recycle your wine hangers at the dry cleaner.
You can take it one step further and color code hangers by category, such as black hangers for work clothes, white for casual.
Also pick up some accessory holders, such as hanging scarf organizers and an over-the-door hook and/or pocket system to stash your bags and belts.
Monahan also recommends investing in a quality shoe rack. A 2001 Ikea study found that women with shoe racks are seven times more likely to be on time for work.
Audit your shoes in the same way you did your clothes. Only keep the shoes that you love, need, that fit and you feel great wearing.
She recommends expandable shoe racks from Walmart or the Container Store. The Whitmore Expandable three-tier shoe rack is $18.89 at Walmart, and can adjust to accommodate a growing number of shoes. Save money at Walmart with these Walmart coupons, paired with 5 percent Cash Back from ShopAtHome.com.
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Monahan also recommends shelf dividers to organize stacks of sweaters, jeans or shirts on a shelf. Find inexpensive shelf dividers at BedBathandBeyond.com, starting at just $6.99.
5. Keep space for growth.
Monahan recommends setting aside about 10 percent of closet space for growth for new items or new sizes. If that’s not possible, institute a one-in-one-out rule.
“If you buy a new dress, something’s got to come out,” Monahan says.
She also recommends keeping a box for donations in or near your closet.
“So at that very moment when you’re going through and think, ‘I don’t like this,’ just put it in the donation box right then and there, and when it’s full take it to Good Will,” she says.
6. Set a time limit for mending items.
Make a separate pile for clothes that need repaired, and then set a timer on it, maybe three to six months. If you have not fixed it by then, let it go.
“Ask yourself, ‘If it’s not worth me mending, why am i still holding on to it?'” Monahan says.
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