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What is a Closet Organizer?
Paulla Estes
Paulla Estes
Closet organizers are sets of shelves, hooks, racks, boxes, and storage bins that can transform a closet from a haven of chaos to an organized area where everything is in its place. They can be a mixture of accessories brought together from different sources, but entire kits are often sold with matching shelves, racks, and bins that fit together and compliment one another.
While every closet must keep its rack for hanging clothes, most have only one shelf, set above the clothing rack. A good closet organizer will shorten the clothing rack, raise it to make room for a second rack below, and add shelves along one side. The original shelf above the rack can either be raised or even doubled and used for storage. Objects used every day can be placed on the lower shelves.
Below the double clothing rack, a shoe rack is a convenient accessory that keeps the closet floor clear of shoes and safer for walking. Many organizers include shelves with built-in storage bins that slide in and out like drawers. Other non-attached bins may be placed on the side shelves, above the clothing racks, or on the floor next to the shoe rack. If the door is a sliding one on a frame, often smaller shelves, bins or racks can be attached to the inside of one of the doors for added space. If the door opens out into the room, several hooks can be attached to it or even a hanging shoe organizer.
The ideal closet organizer will include a light. Even the most efficiently organized closet is still a dark place with little or no outside lighting. Most people will find that keeping things organized is much easier when they can see what they need and where it goes.
Paulla Estes
Paulla is a freelance writer and website editor who currently lives in Maine. Paulla has a B.A. in English Literature from George Mason University and over 15 years of experience as a freelancer. She relishes the flexibility and consistency of working on WiseGEEK articles, as well as the opportunity to constantly learn something new.
Learn more...
Paulla Estes
Paulla is a freelance writer and website editor who currently lives in Maine. Paulla has a B.A. in English Literature from George Mason University and over 15 years of experience as a freelancer. She relishes the flexibility and consistency of working on WiseGEEK articles, as well as the opportunity to constantly learn something new.
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![Typically closet organizers can include shelves, hooks, racks, boxes, and storage bins.]()
By: luluTypically closet organizers can include shelves, hooks, racks, boxes, and storage bins. -
![One ideal feature for any closet organizer is lighting.]()
By: ElenathewiseOne ideal feature for any closet organizer is lighting. -
![A shoe rack is a convenient accessory that keeps the closet floor clear of shoes and safer for walking.]()
By: EPSTOCKA shoe rack is a convenient accessory that keeps the closet floor clear of shoes and safer for walking.
Discussion Comments
I am a pretty neat and organized person and like my closet to be the same way. If your closet doesn't have much for shelves, most home improvement stores have cheap closet organizers you can buy. You will need to be able to install some hardware with the organizer, but it can easily be done within a few hours.
I also love having a shoe rack to keep all my shoes organized. There are many different kinds of these, but I like to be able to see all my shoes at once and don't like to keep them in the boxes I purchased them in.
I like to go through my closet every few months to keep it organized. It is easy to get lazy and before you know it everything is a mess. I find it so much easier to decide what I am going to wear in the morning when my closet is neat and everything is in its place.
I am all for closets that have lights in them. In the house I used to live in I had a pretty decent size closet, but there was no light and it made it really hard to see anything. I bought some cheap battery operated lights hoping that would help, but they never lasted very long. The house I live in now has a light in the closet and it is amazing how something so small can make a world of difference.
@anon32951 -- If you are like me, you need a closet organizer so it is easier to find what you need in your closet. I don't have a very big closet and I need extra shelves and bins so I have space for all of my stuff.
I really need to go through everything and sort out what I don't or need, but even then having a closet organizer is still helpful. If it wasn't for the organizer I think most of my things would be squished together on one rod or sitting in a pile on the closet floor.
I love my walk in closet organizer. It has several short hanging spaces that lie adjacent to shelved areas, so I can hang my dresses and shirts next to my jeans, which I fold and store on the shelf.
I have one small shelf dedicated to swimwear. Directly beneath that, I have a shelf full of beach towels.
I can group summer clothes together and winter clothes on another side. It really has helped me keep things organized. When I wash something and go to hang it up, I know exactly where it goes, and I don't have to worry about losing it in the throng of clothes!
My best friend collects purses. Even though she has more than she can use, she can't seem to resist buying them.
So, she got a closet purse organizer. It hangs on the inside of the door, much like a shoe organizer. It has two rows of hooks that run vertically and are spaced out enough for hanging the purses.
@giddion – You could always buy several separate closet organizers, if you have a huge closet. This is what I did.
My closet space didn't have any racks in it when I moved in, so I bought several old wardrobes with both racks and cubbyholes. I lined the walls with them, and I can store a variety of clothes in each one.
I have a shoe organizer hanging over the door, too. I like to store my shoes separately from my clothes, because I don't want the odor permeating my clothes.
I think that closet organization systems are best for people who don't have a ton of clothes. This is because many that you can buy premade offer a limited amount of space.
I have collected so many clothes over the years that I have not been able to find a closet organizer with enough space to hold them all. So, I stick to the original design of my walk-in closet. I hang all the clothes that I wear most often on the racks and fold the rest and put them on the shelf above.
I don't know anyone with as many clothes as I have, though, and many of my friends do benefit from closet organizers. It all depends on your personal clothing situation.
It's a device which maximizes your closet space so you can have more clothes and your clothes will get less wrinkles.
There's the closet carousel organizers too. They are a one of a kind thing. Quite costly but I cannot live without it!
What are closet organizers for?
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