Closet Organizers: The Quest for the Ultimate Closet Organizer

Is your closet a mess? If shoes and dirty clothes are scattered on the floor, and clean clothes are hung haphazardly on assorted hangers, if at all, then you need help. Closet organizers are special-purpose storage cabinets, shelves, or boxes that are designed to efficiently store one particular type of item, whether it is winter clothes, scarves, or shoes.

Your options range from simply going and buying individual storage units, like a shoe rack, or building shelves into your closet on your own. The Container Store has elfa, which are utilitarian-looking closet shelving systems, and there are also pricier, more elegant metal and wooden closet organizers available from special closet designers online.

One of the biggest benefit of complete closet organizer systems is that they can take maximum advantage of the space you have, but they won't transfer very effectively to different homes because of at least partially custom-designed. You may need to buy different sized shelves for example, so custom systems aren't a good choice for people who move frequently or apartment-dwellers.

If you're living in a newer house or apartment, chances are you want have many nooks or shelves in your closet at all. Thinner clothes hangers can give you a little more space, but I've found that the biggest problem for most people's closets is not hanging clothes but neatly storing folded clothes, accessories, and shoes. A modern closet organizer will have perfectly-designed solutions for each type of object you need to store.

I recommend seeing at least a couple of systems in real life before you even consider ordering online. Having a neat, organized closet is obviously priority number one, but cheaper, grid-like shelving may be unappealing to you once you see it in a model room. Try to make your closet design a long-term investment, and choose a design you can live with, and not just the least expensive option.

Also, many good closet systems may be done through professional organizers in your local area, so you might not even need to look very far. These designers will often provide you a consultation for free or reduced charge, and take care of all the measuring and installation details themselves.

Another option for getting your closet organized is to go through a local, reputable companies that makes wood or metal shelves, and get some custom-made. You'll probably have to take the measurements yourself, but tell the furniture-makers where you will be using the shelves, and they will probably have some good suggestions for you.

Finally, you might be able to find a cheaper shelving system online, but remember that the big reason so many people go through a closet organizers is because it's hard work taking dozens of measurements and figuring out the optimal way to lay everything out. If you don't mind doing all of this to save some money, go for it, but be precise taking measurements so you don't pay for closet organizers that don't fit into the space for it.