Closet1Organizing Will Save You Time And Money, Though It May Be Fun To Spend Just A Little

I moved about six months ago from a one bedroom house with four closets (where I lived alone) to a three bedroom house with four closets (where I live with another person). Same amount of closets divided in two. Oh, and I couldn’t fit my dresser into one of the rooms so that is sitting in storage for now.

I have one main closet where I keep mostly everything (you know, except bulk sweaters in the summer or shorts and bikinis in the winter). It was clear I had to organize a bit.

I love organizing. Before I began blogging, I even thought of doing it as a side career. I’ve read a lot about it, not to mention I’ve made a lot of hand-me-downs work for me. My first instinct was to purge unnecessary items.

And purge I did. I got rid of those clothes from ten years ago that will never fit again. I got rid of things that I tried to fix that couldn’t be fixed. I got rid of everything I wasn’t excited about wearing. $1,500 worth of clothes later, I had a more manageable amount to work with.

Then I went to the Mecca of organizers: The Container Store. I don’t usually throw money at problems but I did make a few purchases to make things work for me:

A six compartment hanging sweater bag corralled the sweater collection and made it accessible. $20

Clear lookers nested boxes helped organized things like tights, belts, and other smaller items. $30

Add-on skirt hangers (2) accommodated a growing collection. $10

A swing arm slack hanger was reserved for work pants that fit so I could find them easily (and I’m still getting down to my pre-island size). $6

A shoe rack kept my shoes from being a jumble at the bottom of my closet. $18

I also repurposed a few things I had bought previously:

Seagrass baskets (3) were bought at a bargain price at the Christmas Tree Shop. $15

A wreath hook became a robe and hat hanger in the off season. $2

Closet2My closet is now organized by color, though blazers and dresses (separate) reside to the right while the sweaters are on the left. Purses and hats reside in their own sea grass totes. The upper part of the closet is used for storage of items rarely used: sleeping bags, huge backpacks, etc.

Things like tank tops (for layering), sweatshirts, and leggings are folded and in their separate cubbies. The dividers are nice in that they keep the piles from falling on top of each other. If you don’t have these, you can make them or check out what places like the Container Store have to offer.

The ancient closet doors have been taken off (because one kept falling off) and will probably replaced with a curtain when I tackle my pile of sewing projects..

As you can see, my closet looks inviting (and most people comment, quite colorful). I can always find what I need and, on a crazy morning, that’s worth more than I can say.

So no California Closets for me. They are quite pretty but I find I’ve been able to do a lot on my own. And the great thing is, you can too!

Saving Even More Money Tip: If you don’t have $100 to designate to a project, try collecting unused containers around your house: glasses, show boxes, baskets, wooden crates and then see how you can use them in your organizing project. You can also try building something with scrap wood, like tall skinny shelving or top shelf dividers if you are feeling industrious and good with a saw. If you buy wood, you can have your local hardware store cut it often for a small fee and have it delivered for free!

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