1) Sometimes our closets become cluttered because we need to use them for storage, not just for clothes. Storage items can take up a lot of room, especially if the closet is small to begin with. You may have boxes that you never unpacked after you moved. You may need to store blankets, hide Christmas presents, store books, sports equipment, luggage, or any number of other items that are not only bulky, but seldom used. Try to get some of these things out of the closet and store them in creative places around your home. A storage chest can house blankets. A window seat may provide storage for books. Use risers to raise up your bed so that you can store clothes that are out of season. Get creative and try to narrow down the number of items that must be kept in the closet.

2) Go through all of your clothes and shoes that are left in the closet and rank the items that you own according to use. The things that you use the most should be kept near the front and center of the closet. Things that aren’t used as much can go a little further back, higher up, or lower down in your closet. Things that you don’t wear anymore should be eliminated. Most people are able to get rid of about half the clothes in their closet because they just don’t wear them anymore for one reason or another.

3) Separate your clothing into stacks of what needs to be folded and what will be hung. Determine how much shelf room each folded stack will take up and go from there. You may want to use baskets or hanging drawers for socks, underwear, accessories, and other small items. Shoes can be stacked in clear boxes up either side of your closet. Using special space saving hangers, like velvet hangers, can save you so much space. These hangers are flat, so they hang close together. They have movable clips for coordinating outfits or hanging things like shorts that don’t have anywhere else to go. You can also use cascading hooks to coordinate outfits and save around 50% of your precious space. The velvet coating keeps your clothes from slipping so your closet stays organized after you get it that way.

About the Author: Rick Miller is on the staff of Only Slimline Hangers, a leading online resource for velvet hangers which are space saving hangers, non slip hangers and slim line hangers. For more information, please visit http://www.onlyslimlinehangers.com.

1) Sometimes our closets become cluttered because we need to use them for storage, not just for clothes. Storage items can take up a lot of room, especially if the closet is small to begin with. You may have boxes that you never unpacked after you moved. You may need to store blankets, hide Christmas presents, store books, sports equipment, luggage, or any number of other items that are not only bulky, but seldom used. Try to get some of these things out of the closet and store them in creative places around your home. A storage chest can house blankets. A window seat may provide storage for books. Use risers to raise up your bed so that you can store clothes that are out of season. Get creative and try to narrow down the number of items that must be kept in the closet.

2) Go through all of your clothes and shoes that are left in the closet and rank the items that you own according to use. The things that you use the most should be kept near the front and center of the closet. Things that aren’t used as much can go a little further back, higher up, or lower down in your closet. Things that you don’t wear anymore should be eliminated. Most people are able to get rid of about half the clothes in their closet because they just don’t wear them anymore for one reason or another.

3) Separate your clothing into stacks of what needs to be folded and what will be hung. Determine how much shelf room each folded stack will take up and go from there. You may want to use baskets or hanging drawers for socks, underwear, accessories, and other small items. Shoes can be stacked in clear boxes up either side of your closet. Using special space saving hangers, like velvet hangers, can save you so much space. These hangers are flat, so they hang close together. They have movable clips for coordinating outfits or hanging things like shorts that don’t have anywhere else to go. You can also use cascading hooks to coordinate outfits and save around 50% of your precious space. The velvet coating keeps your clothes from slipping so your closet stays organized after you get it that way.

About the Author: Rick Miller is on the staff of Only Slimline Hangers, a leading online resource for velvet hangers which are space saving hangers, non slip hangers and slim line hangers. For more information, please visit http://www.onlyslimlinehangers.com.

You probably do this every year. You start out the school year organized and committed to keeping everything in order. But by the summer, you’ve become the pack rat that you dreaded seeing ever again. School work can pile up, end of the year projects come home, the winter clothes come off and it’s off to the pool all summer long. Well, it’s time to get moving again. Don’t buy a single back to school item until you have made a space for everything that will be coming in.

Each child will need a backpack, pencils, crayons, glue, lunchbox, paper and more. Most of these things will end up staying at the school, so really you need to get ready for what will come home. You especially need to be ready for the things that come home that must go back, or things that come home that you want to keep. You may decide to dedicate an area of your entryway or your coat closet to these items.

If you have a coat closet, you may be able to hang coats on one side and install shelves and hooks on the other side. Each child will need a backpack hook. You can also label containers or large folders for each child’s work that you want to keep. When you look through their folders, you can quickly file the keepsakes and trash the rest. Keep a small trash bin at the bottom of the closet for this task. It will keep you from piling up the work on your kitchen counter or coffee table.

Next, you will need to have homework supplies handy. Use a metal bill tray mounted to the wall to keep loose leaf paper, construction paper and composition books. Then place a magnetic pencil holder to the outside with plenty of sharpened pencils and pens for quick and easy use. A hanging basket is a great place to keep crayons, markers, glue, glitter, pencil sharpeners, erasers and sticky notes. Leave notes for your kids on their backpacks that say things like “dentist appointment at 1:00”, “bring snack for the class today” or anything that you need for them to remember. A dry erase calendar used only for school is also a good thing to keep inside the closet door.

If you need to make space in your closet for all of these things, hang your coats on space saving hangers. Clips and cascading hooks can save you a lot of space. When everything is organized and ready to go, you will be too.

About the Author: Rick Miller is on the staff of Only Slimline Hangers, a leading online resource for slimlinehangers which are space saving hangers, non slip hangers and slim line hangers. For more information, please visit http://www.onlyslimlinehangers.com.