Tips on Small Closet Organization

Do you have the curse of small closets and the corresponding burden of small closet organization? Many of us do. Anyone who lives in an older house that has retained it's original charm likely has to struggle with small closets. Do not despair. It is possible to organize those small spaces in a logical and efficient manner. If you follow the following guidelines you will be well on your way. If you are really stuck (even after reading this post) you could start with an internet search for small closet organization ideas or how to organize your small closet.

1. Purge. This is the important first step in any closet organization. You absolutely must not skip this all important first step. Purge and them purge some more. Examine everything in the closet with a ruthlessly critical eye. This step is particularly important for organizing small closets. Most of us hang on to stuff long after it has lost it's utility. We keep broken things because we think they can be easily fixed. We keep sweaters because it was our favorite sweater in college. We keep half used birthday cake candles when we realistically know that we would never stick them on another birthday cake. We keep lots and lots of junk for very illogical reasons.

2. Organize your closets with like items. Remove everything from your closet and make a quasi firm decision about the purpose of your closet. Limit the categories of things you will store in a particular closet. If you are like most people you have items such as batteries in 3 or 4 locations in your home. For example, I had batteries in the work room, in the kitchen, in the living room, and my bedroom. In fact, I had batteries in every room that had a remote or a radio. I had a lot of batteries but could never easily find them when they were needed. Collecting all of your extra batteries and putting them in one central location is one of several great ideas for organizing a small closet.

3. Buy a decent small closet organizer. These organizing systems are available in many different locations. There are dozens of online distributors. These systems are also available at Home Depot or Canadian Tire. A good small closet organizer will have a combination of shelves and drawers. Shop around and find the one that is right for you. Rubbermaid makes good quality adjustable storage systems.



4. Think about buying hanging shoe bags or sweater bags. These bags are a great way to make extra shelf space in a small closet.


5. Be disciplined and diligent about the process and maintenance of your closets. Once you have sorted and organized your closet do not start adding junk to it. Otherwise you will have to re-invent the wheel the following year. It is much easier to keep your closets organized than to have to go through the organization process year after year.


Remember it is possible to organize a small closet but you need to be firm about what you need to keep and strict about not storing clutter.