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Trending on HGTV.com: Closet Organization

by Sarah Herron April 6, 2013 1 Comment

With warmer days ahead, now is the time for closet organization. Online readers are searching for organizing shortcuts and stylish storage. Let’s face it, switching out a seasonal wardrobe can get ugly, especially if you have kids. It IS possible to make any closet or storage space stylish and functional.

When I’m organizing closets for a seasonal overhaul, it is a minimum two-day, 4-step process: wash, toss, store and stock.

Step 1: Wash/Dry Clean Winter Coats, Snow Gear and Sweaters.
Step 2: Toss Old, Unused or Outgrown Clothing.
I trash the bad and donate the good. When I was a stay-at-home mom with infants and toddlers, who outgrow clothing several times every season, I participated in children’s consignment sales. This is a great way to cash in on old clothes in order to buy a wardrobe in the next size. Here in Knoxville, we’re getting ready for the Duck Duck Goose event, the largest children’s consignment sale in the region.
Step 3: Store Cold-Weather Clothing. Early spring weather is unpredictable, so as a rule of thumb, I keep boxes of winter clothes accessible until Mother’s Day weekend. This is where stylish storage comes in handy.
Step 4: Stock Warm-Weather Clothing. Before organizing closets, make a list of everything you need for spring and summer. As you load up shelves, closets and drawers, take inventory so you can formulate a detailed shopping list. Knowing exactly what you have and what you need is essential for staying on a budget.

Even when it feels daunting, stay the course. Good closet organization is always worth the effort because it’s an everyday time-saver and the best way to greet the first warm, sunny days.

How do you organize closets for the changing seasons?

Home Survival Skills: How to Fake a Closet

by Jessica Yonker January 22, 2013 5 Comments

It’s true that keeping a closet neat and organized is a difficult task, but life with no closet or a small closet may feel like you’re just perpetually shifting things around.

Unfortunately, I learned this the hard way. I wrapped up my holiday season by moving into an old house with two close friends. The house was built in the early 1900s, has beautiful hardwood floors and a mantel in the living room and two of the bedrooms.

The only problem is that my lovely new home has no closets. It also didn’t take too long for my roommates to realize that dorm life had spoiled me – I was the proud owner of no furniture, mismatched, collapsible hampers and a mountain of clothes and shoes.

There are plenty of ways to fake an organized space if a traditional closet just isn’t possible. You can make or buy an armoire or chifferobe, build your own custom closet or repurpose items to create a storage nook.

Unwilling and unable to purchase an expensive armoire or go custom, I chose the latter option and invested in a freestanding wardrobe. I plan to strip the cloth cover (the fabric resembles a reusable shopping bag) and hang sheer curtains in its place – an easy first step since the wardrobe is held together by metal rods. To hide my always-growing shoe collection, I’ll place a shoe organizer inside. I also want to get a wood pallet cut (almost any home improvement store will do this for you) to sit on top, leaving me space to stash baskets of scarves, socks, hats and other accessories.

It sounds like a bit of a hassle at first, but I certainly wouldn’t trade the time I estimate the project will take for living out of a suitcase again. I’m also pretty sure my roommates want their coat rack back.

How do you deal with a lack of closet space? Tell us how you battle clutter in the comments below and for more creative storage solutions, visit the links below:
Storage 101: A Closet Makeover
12 Steps to Your Dream Closet
8 Revamps for Your Closet
Declutter the Closet
Repurposing Household Items for Closet Organization
Kids’ Room Storage Solutions
Maximizing Storage in Your Walk-In Closet
Make Your Closet Resemble a Chic Boutique

Home Survival Skills: Home Projects for 2013

by Jessica Yonker January 8, 2013 6 Comments

Welcome back everyone! I hope everyone had a fun-filled, restful holiday season. Now that your guests are gone, the decorations are packed away, and you’re not out battling all those crazy holiday shoppers, I bet you have a lot of time on your hands and empty space to fill – or perhaps you’re having the opposite problem and have no place to put your stacks of presents!

If 2013 has you itching to complete a project in your home, look no further: we have plenty of beautiful designs to get you inspired no matter what room or budget you have in mind.

Kitchens

For many families, the kitchen is the heart of the home. Take this year to treat your kitchen to a makeover, whether it’s a small project like repainting your cabinets or doing a complete remodel job. Don’t forget to give your dining room some love in 2013, too!

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Home Survival Skills: Clean Your Closet for Fall

by Jessica Yonker October 2, 2012 3 Comments

This weekend I whispered, “I love you,” and kissed my shorts goodbye, replacing their spot in my closet with scarves and cardigans.

Always think outside the box (er, closet). Kristen Grove repurposed empty paint cans to hang scarves and hats.

It was only a small victory for the long and often chaotic process that is cleaning, organizing and reorganizing your closet to prepare for fall and winter. Start October off on the right foot with a few tips for making the closet swap less painful:

Clean the closet first. It will be tempting to immediately pull out your entire winter collection from storage just to see what’s in there, but if you do this without creating space for any of it, you’re just making a bigger mess. Take some time before your heavy holiday cleaning starts and give your closet a makeover. If you’ve been meaning to install new shelves or create the shoe storage space of your dreams, now’s the time to do it.

Throw things away. Trash those stockings with runs. Get rid of those rain boots with the hole in them that you kept, “just in case it’s not raining that hard.” Over the weekend, I threw away four pairs of leggings and a pair of shoes that were all ripped beyond repair and just sitting in my closet taking up space. I also got rid of some things that I never wear. A good rule of thumb is that if you haven’t worn something in over a year, you probably never will. Donate them or give them away to friends and family.

Don’t do it all at once. Unless you have a lot of time to dedicate, you’re just going to get overwhelmed. And even if you have a whole weekend, set realistic goals – maybe you can’t clean out your closet, sort through your winter clothes and switch out your summer clothes all in one day, but you can spend an hour or two picking out the items you won’t need for cold weather.

Make a list. Do you swear you bought extra-long socks for each of your children last winter and now they’re nowhere to be found? Move to a cooler climate over the summer and know you’ll freak the first time it snows? Make a list of the items you need, then buy each article slowly – think of it as early Christmas presents for all your hard effort!

How are you making the fall transition? Find more organizing and cleaning advice, crafty closet storage solutions and browse beautiful walk-ins here:

Daily Delight: Celebrity Closets
Storage 101: A Closet Makeover
Repurposing Household Items For Your Closet
25 Ways to Store Shoes in Your Closet
Maximizing Closet Storage
Kids Closet Ideas
10 Stylish Walk-In Closets
VIDEO: Making Closet Space Count

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Daily Delight: Horizontal Shoe Rack

by Lili Zarghami July 14, 2011 6 Comments

I have a problem, a shoe problem. Fortunately my hang-up is wallet-friendly and doesn’t have anything to do with being unable to resist splurging on a fancy pair of heels.

horizontal shoe rack
No, my problem is far more banal and occasionally hazardous: the entire family, myself included, kicks off their shoes at some point between walking in the door and sitting down. But if we had a shoe rack as ingenious as this one by j-me design, maybe we would all be tempted to put our shoes away. This space-saving, wall-mounted horizontal rack can accommodate all types of shoes and stores them with a dash of modern style and gravity defiance.

Building a Closet (Part 2): The Big Reveal!

by Erin Loechner March 9, 2011 6 Comments

Remember when I introduced you to ORG a few short weeks ago? Well, it’s time to reveal part two of our master bedroom custom closet build, because today the team visited our home to install the final design (in just 6 hours, I might add)!

Here's our new friends installing this gigantic unit. Because our unit has full Forterra back panels (creating a clean, consistent look), the closet conceals the bedroom wall and eliminates the need for any drywall work. (yay!)

Our installers were fun, hilarious and excited to be building us our dream closet. If you’ll remember, we chose a material called Forterra that is produced with recycled content and is craaaazy strong. (Which means the ORG men are very, very burly.)

My favorite part of our new closet is the sweet little vanity you’ll see below. I’ve wanted a vanity since I was a little girl, and now, as a grown-up (sort of), I can’t wait to try it out! I mean, gracious, it just feels so luxurious to sit down while applying mascara. And yes, for the record, I’m very easy to please.

Don’t Miss the Vanity Pics