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Small Closet Organization

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Do you have small closets to deal with? Are you looking for some new closet organization ideas? With a family of nine, I have certainly had to learn to be creative when it comes to storage and organization. It really comes down to maximizing the space you have rather than being frustrated by the space that you don’t have.
Finding a way to store everyone’s clothes when children share rooms can be quite a challenge. We are blessed to have built both of the homes that we have lived in, which means that we were able to design the closets to suit our needs. Even with that, I still have closets that have to fit three kids’ clothes in them, so other than having a walk in closet (which I don’t), getting everything to fit is still difficult.

Here are the tips I have found useful in small closet organization.

small closet

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How do you prefer to store your clothing and other items?

We do a lot with shelving because I prefer to have clothes folded rather than hanging for the most part, although now that I hang the bulk of our laundry on hangers to dry it sure would be convenient to just hang them! However, if I preferred to hang more clothes I would need more hanging space. Determine how you want to store the things in your closet first.

Find a way to make that method work

If I didn’t have shelving in my closets, I could still make this method work by purchasing dressers that would fit inside the closet to use. Some days I wish I was able to do that as it would eliminate the closet being a place for kids to throw things to make their rooms appear to be clean.

If I did have dressers and wasn’t able to close the doors with the dressers in there, I would remove the doors and hang a cool curtain instead. I have seen some amazing things on Pinterest regarding hanging curtains to deal with closets.

Keep closets neat and organized

The thing with closets is that it doesn’t take long for them to get out of hand. We keep this in check by having closet inspection on our weekly chores on Saturday, but it is amazing at what certain kids hide in their closets. However, staying on top of your closets whether yours or your kids’ is essential in keeping them organized.

Don’t have any wasted space

The way my closet lays out, you can see how there would be wasted space if the hanging closet organizers weren’t there. For this reason, that was the space I went after. I found products that would best fill in that space, and nearly none of that space has been wasted. These are the ones I have:

So, in the closet pictured, I have three kids’ clothes. This doesn’t include anything that is off season of course, but only the clothes they are wearing now. They also have a good sized chest of drawers, which holds all the jeans, shirts, sweaters, pajamas, socks, and underwear for my oldest.

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These organizers work well, but they do require me (or kids) to remove all the clothes from on top of the item I/they want, but with proper training this can be done.

The tendency certainly is (at least in my home) to just go in and pull out the shirt from the bottom while everything else turns into a rumpled mess or goes flying, but kids can learn how to be calm and neat when getting what they want. I find having the guilty party be responsible for refolding everything they make a mess of to be rather effective in expediting the training process.

As you are organizing, look for more blank space

When tackling any organizing project, especially when space is limited in relation to what needs to be organized, I find the best thing to do to start is to step back and look at where there is empty space as I go and as we live with it for a bit. Ask yourself, “Where is there space that is not being effectively used in this area? How can I organize this better?”

In this closet, I literally stepped back and just looked for where the white space was. Where was the open space? Of course I determined that it was right where these things are hanging. I have a full shelf running across the width of the closet, and I discovered that the space above that shelf was largely vacant. This clued me in to the fact that this was this area that I needed to get creative in.

After identifying the empty spaces, the search begins to find products that will best fill that space and give you something usable to work with. If you find more than one option, of course deciding which product will most effectively store or organize your project will be to your benefit.

In making a selection, I also tend to go for the solutions that are less permanent. These hanging things are completely removable if they are no longer working and I can change to something different while still using these somewhere else. I love repurposing!

Keeping things contained is a very good thing – especially with kids

Notice the bins I have along the shelf? This keeps piles of things from becoming a mess. This is especially true if you are storing smaller things like socks or underwear. Even little clothes are best managed by having them contained.

Over time with a growing family, kids who are growing, and interests that are forever changing, I find that organization is certainly a fluid thing. In this way, simple, inexpensive, and easily changeable solutions have aways been the best option for me.

What closet organizing tips would you add?

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