When you’re starting an organizing project, it can be helpful to give yourself a jump-start with a quick purge of easy and obvious items you can let go of. It’s like peeling back the first layer so you can more clearly see where you’re headed next. Starting with a quick purge also helps you build momentum that will keep you going. If tackling your closet is on your project list, here are 10 ideas of things you can let go of today to jump-start your progress! [Read more…]
10 Things to Get Out of Your Closet Today
The 411 When You’re Planning a Closet Renovation
Whether you’re working with an architect or directly with your general contractor, communicating what you want and need in a new master closet as early as possibly in the process helps ensure you end up with the space of your dreams. Before you finalize your reno plans, it’s important to start working with a closet expert to make sure you get a custom closet system that will make the best use of your space and meet all your storage needs. We’ve worked with several clients whose hindsight was 20/20 and they wished they had made different choices. We’ve laid out some of the nitty gritty details to think about when designing and building the space. [Read more…]
3 Reasons to Consider a Closet System
If you’ve ever had the feeling that the shelf and rod your closet came with just aren’t making the most of your closet space, you’re right! While you can sometimes improve the situation with modular drawers and shelves, it might be worth considering a closet upgrade with a custom closet system. Here are 3 reasons why:
- They’re Custom! If done right, closet systems are customized to make the most of your space and your specific storage needs. Your designer will work with you to figure out your needs for hanging space, drawers or shelves, shoe and accessory storage and any other specific needs.
- Vertical Space – One of the major benefits of a closet system over a shelf and rod is that they make use of often wasted vertical space. Whether it’s 2 closet rods, shelving or drawers, a custom closet system will make use of every inch of your vertical space with a structured system, rather than stacked boxes on your top shelf or piled up shoes on the floor.
- Attractive to Home Buyers – Whether or not you’re considering selling your home, making improvements that enhance your home for both you and others who may live there in the future makes sense.
Fortunately, there are lots of custom closet options at different price points to fit your budget and your style. At neatspaces – we love closets! We can help figure out the right system and design for your space and needs.
Pro Tip: Stand ‘Em Up
Whether in a closet or a dresser, drawers are a great way to store your folded clothes. I almost always prefer drawers over folded clothing on shelves, simply because stacks of folded clothes tend to fall over on shelves unless you’re super careful removing an item and because drawers mean less visual clutter. That said, folded stacks of clothes in a drawer can quickly become a disaster too. For one, since you can’t see what’s down further in the stack, you tend to wear the same few items from the top over and over again. And while this is an interesting minimalist experiment, if you do decide to venture down to get something you remembered you own, you risk messing up your whole pile!
Enter the stand-up fold – or folding your clothes so that they can stand up instead of being stacked. This has the benefit that they can all be seen and accessed without messing up the whole drawer. If you are already folding your clothes for stacks, this usually just requires folding the item in half again or perhaps in thirds. Experiment to see what works best. Theses pics are a before and after from a drawer of t-shirts. For the stacks, they were simply folded in half length-wise. For the stand-up fold, I folded them in thirds, then in half again for the perfect stand. For full disclosure, I did the initial fold, but I’m finding the maintenance to be much better than the stacks. Sometimes a small organizational tweak is all you need to go from frustrating mess to lined up success!
Before: Stacks
After: Stand Up
Before: Disaster
After: Success!
Closet Feature: Maximize Style and Function with Elfa Drawer Fronts
Elfa, the customizable shelving and drawer system sold exclusively by The Container Store, is a long-time favorite of ours for highly functional, fabulous closets. Elfa can transform just about any space in your home from cluttered and chaotic to calm, cool and collected! We also love that The Container Store is always working to improve and expand this fan favorite.
One of our favorite new features, elfa Drawer Fronts, adds a new style option to this already great-looking line. The Drawer Fronts are available in all of the Décor finishes – White, Birch and Walnut – so whether you prefer a light or dark look, there’s an option to fit your style. They’re available in two popular drawer sizes, allowing us to maximize your vertical space and storage needs.
Free Elfa installation!!
Receive FREE elfa installation when you spend $750 or more on your elfa design – but only through June 30th! Neatspaces can help measure and design your spaces – give us a call! Details – Spend $750 or more on regularly priced elfa products from May 1st through June 30th, 2018 and receive free basic installation on those products. Qualifying purchase must include elfa merchandise valued at $750 or more in a single transaction excluding tax, gift cards, previously purchased merchandise, measurements, shipping, delivery, and Contained Home® services.Contact us to get started
Refresh Your Closet with this Easy Upgrade
It’s finally starting to feel a bit like spring in Boston! Wouldn’t it be nice to refresh your closet as you switch out the winter gear for lighter clothes? It can be easier than you think with this quick closet upgrade we recommend to all our clients!
First things first, it’s time to clear out what you don’t wear!
- If you can, take everything out of your closet! We’re serious.
- Donate everything you didn’t wear or wore but didn’t love this past season. Be ruthless – if you didn’t wear it this year, you’re not going to next year. Someone else will make good use of it, but only if you let it go!
- Set aside winter items you’re done with for the season. Make time to clean them and store them away during the warmer weather.
Top Organizing Tips for Closets
Check out these tips for organizing your closet. Just in time for swapping out your fall/winter wardrobe for spring/summer clothes! Our best-selling elfa storage solutions are featured in #4, #8, #10, our drawer storage units in #22 and our clear stackable shoe drawers are featured in #23. [Note how the shoes are stored heel to toe. This maximizes the use of space and you can see the front of the shoe plus the heel style at a glance.]
Organizing tip | Folded clothes
I recommend hanging as much clothing as possible but if you lack sufficient hanging space or just prefer to fold your clothes, here’s a tip. If you fold your sweaters, t-shirts or jeans and stand them up in your drawer, you can more easily see what you have and find what you want. If you stack clothes on a shelf or in a drawer, selecting the bottom item or one from the middle often results in a messy stack. This tip works for storing and organizing scarves, too.
