Now, you are left with a pretty huge space above the shelf and below where your clothes hang. But, not all of your clothes hang down from hangers. So what you are left with is the shelf and most people will either put their belongings into boxes or bins and store them up on the shelf or simply stack up their clothes into piles. That can get out of hand pretty quickly. And, who wants to go into their closet to look for anything when it is such a mess?

Closet systems are made to use your whole closet better because they break your closet up into smaller sections. The way they do this is by using multiple shelves that can go up one side of your closet and then breaking up the remaining area by using two or three hanging rods. By breaking up the area, you will be utilizing more of the closet and its easier to keep your clothes neater since they are in smaller groups.

The space around the floor under the hanging clothes is often used by most people for storing their shoes. But what commonly happens is that your shoes end up being tossed around and end up all over the place. This can become a tripping hazard as well as a headache. Fortunately, shoe organizers can be added easily to this area. They come as racks so you can keep the pairs together and keep them off of the floor.

Another benefit of closet organizers is that the sections where the shelves are can be made into drawers. This is perfect for storing socks, underwear and any smaller items that are hard to stack.

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Now the only thing you should have left are the items that are attached to the walls. Since what we are looking for is a completely bare closet, these items need to be removed as well. They will just get in the way and make it impossible to install your new closet organizer. Try to be careful when you are removing the brackets that hold the shelf and rod. For most, this is simply done by removing a few screws. Your closet may have some wooden supports to hold the shelf in place. These can be removed by the same manner.

Once this is all removed, patch up any holes left by the screws. Your walls will show through in some places when you have your organizer kit installed. Once the plaster is dry, sand it smooth and add a fresh coat of paint to the entire closet.

This is the easiest time to check for anything else that may need to be repaired since there isn’t anything in your way. Check all of your trim work and repair it if necessary.

And, that’s all there is to it. Your closet should now be ready for you to install your closet organizer kit.

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But, you will still need to make your closet ready for the install. Start by taking it all out. That’s right, everything. Doesn’t this sound like a great opportunity to sort through all of your belongings and get rid of all the stuff you don’t wear anymore. Giving all of it to charity is always a good thing. Getting back to your closet, you will have to remove any of the old storage system that you had in it. This is probably only the shelf, rod and brackets. This should be a fairly easy thing to do. If there are any holes left in the walls, take the time now to patch them up, sand when they are dry and give your whole closet a fresh coat of paint.

Remember, the walls will show through in a lot of places if you’ve noticed in any photographs you’ve seen of closet organizers. It wouldn’t look right to have messy walls behind a great looking organizer. Everything should now be ready for you to have fun with the installation.

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Along each side of your closet is a space that is about two feet deep or even more in most closets. If you have a lot of hanging clothes then this should be OK for you as the shelf and rod extend all the way to the side walls and you can utilize the hanging space. But, suppose you have a lot of small items and not enough shelving space to put them on. You could always stack these item in boxes or bins and stick them off to the sides of your closet. Or, you can install a set of simple shelves to go up the sides of your closet.

These can be made out of any material that you want. You can opt to get wire shelving from a home improvement store or you could upgrade that to wooden shelves. Either way, you can’t go wrong. And, both wire and wood are easy to install and don’t require a lot of tools to do the job. You should be able to install them in less than a day. That’s painted and everything!

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This is an easy project that can be done in just a few hours and you don’t need a lot of materials or special carpentry skills. When you add an extra shelf at the top of your closet, you are doubling the shelf space. Most closets have plenty of space in them since they go all the way to the ceiling.

This space may be harder to reach but this can be remedied by using a footstool. It’s also a good idea to only store items on top that you don’t need to get to very often.

Start by measuring the depth and length of the existing shelf. Purchase material that matches this dimension. You will want to buy enough material for the new shelf, uprights on both ends and a couple of dividers. These dividers should be cut about 16 inches but, since this is a custom project, you can make it whatever works best for you and your needs. The best placement for the dividers is directly over the supporting brackets under the existing shelf.

All you have to do after you have all the pieces cut is to simply screw them all together. Its best to use a level to make sure everything is nice and square. This is a quick solution that really helps you to better organize your closet before you purchase a closet organizer.

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Unfortunately, having a closet company come to your house and install closet organizers in all the rooms (or even just the master closet) is not really in everyone’s budget. The good news is, you can have well organized and efficient closets in your whole house by purchasing closet organizer kits. And they don’t have to cost you an arm and a leg.

Here are some other tips to help you get your closet organized inexpensively:

Multi-tiered Hangers

Instead of hangers with only one horizontal bar to hold your slacks or pants, try three- or five-tiered hangers. These hangers really help to maximize space and keep your pants from wrinkling.

Extra Hanging Rod

These rods hang from your existing rod and don’t require any tools for installation. And they can instantly multiply your hanging space.

Shoe Racks

There are a lot of shoe rack options available to add to your closet. An inexpensive way to organize your shoes is to add a hanging pocket shoe organizer. These pocket organizers come with hooks on the top so all you need to do is hang them on one of your rods.

If it’s possible, allow for more room in your closet by taking out items that either you seldom use, are out of season or aren’t clothing related. You can store most of these items in plastic bins in the garage or in a storage shed.

With a little shopping, you will be able to find the right organizer and just the right amount of accessories to get your closet fully organized and not break the bank to do it.

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There are basically three options you have to getting closet organizers for your closets.

The first option is to hire a company that puts in your organizer from start to finish. They start by coming out and taking measurements of your closets, assessing your needs and designing a closet to fit those needs. Be prepared to spend a bit more over the next two options as they are doing all the work.

Next, you could build one from scratch if you are pretty handy with tools. To achieve desirable results, however, you would need a pretty decent woodworking shop. You would also need to purchase certain hardware for the drawers and rods so its probably not going to save you much money over the next option. You will also need to design the closet and how the organizer (shelves, rods and drawers) will be built

So, the last option you have is to purchase a closet organizer kit. This is a great option if you want to save some money by not having a company build one and you don’t have quite the skills or tools to build from scratch.

Organizer kits can usually be installed in multiple configurations that makes them very versatile. They come with all the required hardware, step-by-step instructions and can be delivered right to your door.

If you’ve never considered a closet organizer kit, then you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how easy they are to install and just how much more room you’ll have for all your clothes that were just getting wrinkled in the bottom of stacks in your closet.

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Fortunately, a closet organizer will help maximize this precious space. Of course, a first important step when you do decide to organize your closet is to only put in what is really necessary. You can probably get away without putting in a shoe rack if you don’t have too many shoes in the first place.

Before having a professional closet organizer come in to install a custom unit, you may find it useful to search online for photos of installed closets. This will help you get an idea of all your options. Professional closet organizers can get expensive and they may not take care of all your storage requirements.

So what is the number one advantage to putting in a closet organizer? No more lost or misplaced clothes. Clothes can easily disappear in an unorganized closet. The only effective way of finding them is to actually purge the closet. This should really be done about once or twice a year.

Closet organizers allow you to put your smaller items in specialized bins that free up the other areas of your closet. And, with more free space, you can now add more items all within the original space of the closet.

As far as the types and variety of organizers available, you have so many options that it can be mind-boggling. The best approach is to write down a list of the types of items you have in your closet as a general overview. Once you have completed this step, you can use the list to figure out what organizer components you will need. For instance, if you don’t wear or have that many ties, then a tie rack will be a low priority. Or, maybe a small tie rack will do the job just fine.

You have the choice of going with wire organizers all the way up to professionally installed exotic wood cabinets and racks. It all depends on your own budget and what you are comfortable with. Either option will provide you with satisfactory results. Some homeowners will put most of their budget into their master bedroom closets and have higher end units installed for a better look. The rest of their budget will be spent on wire systems in less used closets or smaller closets such as the ones used for storing linens.

Overall, a closet organizer will help you find items easier, allow for more items in the same volume of space, and provide a great way of keeping your closet organized and neat.

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You probably wish you had a bigger closet. The best way to tackle this problem is pull everything out and really organize it. Once you are finished, it will actually seem like your closet grew. Sort through all your items and donate the clothes you never intend on wearing again. For clothes you seldom wear and just can’t part ways with, try storing them in bins that are out of your closet and put into a wooden shed or garage. This is a great system for seasonal clothing.

If you have a lot of small items, look into closet accessories that are specifically made for holding such items as purses or shoes. These will help you tremendously in getting the most out of your closet space.

There are several ways you can put your items into closet organizers. One way is to hang them or stack them according to when you wash them. This way, you rotate your clothes instead of always wearing the same few items over and over again.

Another way to make your mornings easier is to organize your clothes by color. Now if you have a preference to wear a light blue shirt, you’ll have all your options right there in front of you. The nice thing about a closet organizer is that they are compartmentalized so your clothes are put into small sections.

Combine color categorizing with types of clothes and you get an even better and more specific organization of all your items.

Once all your items are brought back where they should be, you will probably notice a lot more room. Use this extra space to grow into instead of putting all those clothes that you never wear back in.

By keeping up with your closet about once every other week, you shouldn’t have any more headaches in the morning trying to find that special outfit you were thinking of wearing. Life just got a whole lot easier.

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My first step was to figure out the amount of space my hanging shirts take, as well as my pants, then shoes, and so on. By knowing how much room all these items take up, you can get an idea of what closet organizer kit will work best.

I looked through all kinds of styles and materials used for closet organizers and finally decided on a nice mahogany wood system. Mahogany fit my style and matched my liking of dark furniture. And, I found one that was perfect for my budget (which was under $500.00)

One of the really nice benefits of closet organizer kits is that you can usually configure them in ways. Mine can with eight different configurations. Kits are also versatile (to a point). Make sure the one you buy will fit within the desired space.

On my ten-foot wall, I was able to add 22 feet of usable shelf space and over 15 feet of hanging space. It’s pretty easy to see the value in that.

For the installation, you will need a few basic tools. If you don’t have a level, I really recommend buying one. It doesn’t have to be expensive, but it will make all the difference when you are finished and step back to see how it looks. If it’s off, even a little bit, you will notice it.

Look for units that attach to the wall and are up off of the floor. This will help you to keep items up in the unit where they belong. Although tempting, keep your shoes off the floor by using a specially made shelf (or shelves) to keep them organized on. Not only does this help keep things neat, it can also help on your back.

Take your time when organizing your closet and putting things back. Allow time each week to keep up with your closet organization and you will never lose a shirt or pants again.

This post provided by contributing writer Kelly Griffen.

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