The Burr

story by Erin Perkins :: photos by Emily Horne

What’s a person to do with endless pairs of shoes, piles of coats, armloads of jeans, stacks of T-shirts and bundles of accessories? Not much with only a standard 5’x2’ closet. However, a few dollars and tweaks to some existing items can transform your tiny storage space.

Getting Started

Get real. What don’t you want, need or even like anymore? Organize your clothes into piles based on those questions, suggests author Julie Morgenstern in her book, “Organizing from the Inside Out.” Keep these tips in mind:

• If you haven’t worn it in a year, toss it.
• If it doesn’t fit or flatter, get rid of it.
• Items that are still in good condition can always be donated.

Try this: Hang all your clothes back in the closet with the hanger hooks facing you, suggests author Donna Smallin in her book, “The One-Minute Organizer: A to Z Storage Solutions: 500 Tips for Storing Every Item in Your Home.” When you wear an item and hang it up again, face the hook in the opposite direction. At the end of the season, all the hooks facing you are items you should donate or toss.

Organizing

For seasonal items like sweaters or anything bulky, Smallin suggests folding and placing them in a container under your bed. This not only helps keep their shape better than a hanger, but also leaves more room in your closet. Then color-coordinate your clothes, which makes it easier to find items and coordinate outfits.

Quick tip: If you don’t have additional containers, use your suitcases as storage. Placing a dryer sheet inside the luggage helps maintain items’ freshness.

Recycle, reuse, reinvent

This is a chance to truly make your closet as personalized as your wardrobe. You can reinvent common household items or save some money on organizing tools by hitting up a local discount store.

• Use an over-the-door shoe bag holder to store socks, underwear and hosiery, ties, rolled belts or scarves.
• Shoe boxes (on closet shelves) are great for storing recipes, memorabilia, photos or jewelry. Decorate them with magazine cutouts or wrapping paper.
• Hangers are perfect for scarves, belts and ties. Fold and hang large or heavy scarves on individual
  pant/skirt hangers with clips. For a lot of scarves, try hooking several shower curtain rings together and hang one ring over the neck of the hanger. Then thread scarves through the rings.
• To hang more items, attach wall hooks behind your dorm or apartment room door, closet door and anywhere with extra space.
• Outfit dresser drawers with store-bought containers or reuse empty tissue boxes, gift boxes and shoe boxes to store socks, jewelry, hair accessories and underwear.

Remember: The secret to a well-organized, functional closet is keeping in mind that everything has its place. Morgenstern suggests evaluating your new closet space after a couple of weeks to make tweaks if needed. Put things back where you had them and resist the urge to use your closet as a storage unit.