When people talk about closets, there’s a lot of talk about things that are hidden in the dark there. Most of these hidden things are a little scary actually; skeletons, monsters, bogeymen… These are the types of things that scared the begeebers out of us as kids. We didn’t want anything getting out of our closet in the night while we slept (or any other time for that matter). We are older now, and most of us don’t believe in the bogeyman anymore. We’ve moved on from those childish things, but closets still remain just a little scary still. Not because of imaginary creatures waiting there to go bump in the night, but because, closets have become a sanctuary for much of the stuff that we’ve accumulated… I’m not talking about the figurative skeletons in the closet either. I’m talking literally about the stuff we keep in the closet and how we store it there. From clothes and shoes to bowling balls and bed linens, closets are convenient places to store most anything. And since we only go in there when we need something, all these things get mixed in together and our closet quickly becomes quite a mess. In short, even without the bogeyman, our closet can become a messy…scary place.

Here are a few tips to help you clean out your closet and get it organized:

  • Start by emptying your closet, cleaning it, and taking inventory of what you have in there.
  • Organize your clothes by season, color, and frequency of use. Place the items that you use most frequently toward the front of the closet at eye level.
  • Try a seasonal rotation of your clothes. Consider renting a Self Storage unit for your offseason clothes, or any other items that you want to keep, but don’t often use.
  • Fold sweaters and t-shirts and put them in bins or drawers, so that they will retain their shape over time.
  • Consider purchasing space savers such as:
    • Belt/Tie hangers or racks
    • Multiple pant hangers
    • A Closet Doubler (It creates a second row to hang clothes on)
    • Boxes, cubbies, shelves or hanging organizers for shoes
    • Clear bins w/ drawer front pulls (Make sure to label them)
    • Baskets (Wicker baskets look nicer than boxes)
    • Hooks (Attached to the walls for accessories)
    • Make sure you have your closet measurements with you when you go to purchase space savers, so you know if they will fit.
    • Try using shelf dividers to keep folded clothes and accessories neat.
    • Suitcases make great storage containers for out of season clothes, blankets, etc.
    • Remember the space behind the door works well for a hanging rack.
    • Throw out the wire dry-cleaning hangers and invest in matching hangers for a more organized, coordinated look.
    • For linen closets, you can store folded sets of bed linens within one of the set’s pillow cases.

Your closet shouldn’t be the scariest thing you see this Halloween, so try out a couple of these closet organizing tips and take some of the scary out of your closet!