5 things you must have to have an organized closet

I had a goal for December: to clean my closet. It’s not that big, but when it’s clean, it’s enormous. Like, I could build my office in there. But, every now and then I peek in and realize that, oops. I let the stuff takeover and it’s a mess again. So. I set aside an afternoon and cleaned.

And then I shopped. Not for clothes, silly. I have a lot of those. But for things that would help me to keep my closet clean and organized.

Quality shoe rack

So, shoe racks aren’t a big surprise in an organized closet. But I’ve gone through cheapy after cheapy, only to have them fall apart or bend from all my shoes. Or they get tapped by a shoe and lose their balance. This winter, I realized that even in my closet that no one enters quality is important to being organized. So I purchased the Seville Classics Resin-Wood Composite Utility Shoe Rack. I have boots, big, heavy boots on the top. And the shoes underneath, are perfectly fine. And the shelves aren’t going anywhere–there’s no wobbling or teetering.

Sturdy “drawers” or “baskets”

So, officially, these ClosetMaid 8697 Fabric Drawer, Natural are supposed to be drawers, but they kind of work like open boxes. It’s important to have a few of these, and have them all the same shape and size. I store 6 on one shelf, each one with a specific purpose: t-shirts, sweatshirts, shorts (which I’ll swap out in the spring), scarves, swimwear and extras (which is just random stuff that needs a place.) The things in these boxes are kind of out of sight, out of mind, but I’m a bit too connected to things like my college sweatshirts to get rid of them. There are definitely days when a baggy sweatshirt or t-shirt is necessary, so they’re stored away for those days.

Jumbo “drawer” or “basket”

You’ll probably want two of these Jumbo Storage Bags. I keep them on the floor in a corner. One has all of my gym, pool and “every day” bags (my other bags are on a high shelf that I need a step stool to get to.) The second stores extra blankets.

Hanging Sweater Bag

Okay, I know you’ve seen this before and, I agree, this looks a bit obvious. But I only had one in the past and it held a few sweaters. Those sweaters were neat, while the ones on shelves were always falling into each other. During my closet cleaning day, it hit me that I could use this for so much more than sweaters, so I ordered two more: one for jeans and one for gym clothes.

Jewelry organizer

So, this is really the ding ding ding ding! of this post. I found this Overdoor/Wall Jewelry Organizer in White By Longstem – Unique patented product – Rated Bestand I gasped. Added it to my Pinterest wish list and my blog wish list and hoped and hoped. You see, I hate paying shipping. But, sometimes, that necessity trumps shipping price and I finally just ordered this for myself. And when I came, I danced to my closet to hang it. Because… well, just look. LOOK. I can see all my fun statement, costume jewelry that I love playing with. I can even hang my belts from it. And it’s all off the shelves and off the counters and out of the drawers. I’m telling you, this is pricey organization. But you will love this piece.

(Edited to add–pictures are coming. This time I took them (I know, wow, right?) but nothing is uploading to the page. Color me annoyed.)

© 2013, Julie Meyers Pron. All rights reserved.

About Julie Meyers Pron

Julie Meyers Pron has written 1188 post in this blog.

mom of 3 and wife, Julie is a former elementary school teacher and a Public Relations manager. She is the owner/editor of Julieverse and VlogMom, columnist for Rusty & Rosy, Home Made Simple and P&G Everyday, the Social Media and Child Development Specialist at PlayWow, and a team member of Splash Creative Media. Julie is a PTOer, volunteer, elementary educator and that's just the beginning of the list. A marketing strategist and freelance writer by trade, Julie attempts to carve out time to enjoy playing with her kids, cooking and exercise.

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