Closet organizers use vertical space to free the floor of clutter, and let everyone, large or small, find what they're looking for!My closets needed help! I found that closet organizers would hold clothes, shoes, and toys in formerly wasted space where both Mom and my boys could get to them. Not only could they reach them, they could find things! Our closets had a single high shelf with a clothing rod underneath. Even for me, it was a stretch to reach the shelf, and let's face it, the rod's so high my boys couldn't reach the hanging clothes - we had to! My kids used the bottom three feet, from under the hanging clothes to the floor, to jam their toys into when I said - "Clean Up Your Room!" But closets can be used for other things and they're all around the house, not just bedrooms! I converted one-half of my enormous 12' long entryway "coat" closet as a pantry. My garage conversion project was built to give my wife a protected laundry room. It didn't stop there! She now has one-fourth of that two car garage as a combination laundry/utility room that needed closet organizers to maximize the large storage I'd built in. Let's take a quick peek at the many different closet organizers you can find in any home improvement section of Target, Wall-Mart, K-Mart, or more dedicated stores like Home Depot, Lowe's, and Sears.
These photos are from Home Depot and are identical to what's available at Lowe's. Your choice of color, size, and shape. These are at the higher end of closet solutions that you can buy and install yourself. They're higher priced, but use better material with much higher density particle board and overlays. They stand up well and will look good for years! These next photos are from K-Mart, and Wall-Mart. They're much cheaper, but, there's not a lot of choices, and they use lower quality materials. I've got several of these units in my pantry and they've stood up well too!
What I've shown above use particle board and bonded laminates. They work well inside temperature controlled and humidity regulated spaces. I do not recommend their use outside of the home! Particle board will absorb moisture over time and break down. For my laundry/utility room, and garage, I use these more stable storage solutions - plastic and steel!
Ok, you've seen what's available - how do you start!My advice, before you buy closet organizers, you need a closet design. Take a pad of paper and draw! Sketch the face and bottom of your closet. Take measures and pencil them in on your sketch. The drawing doesn't have to be accurate, but the measures do! The bottom measure MUST take into account any molding that finish the inside - unless you're going to pull them out! Go to The Home Depot or Lowe's Home Improvement Center. Their closet organizer displays are better than anywhere else. They show complete assemblies, and nicely balanced designs. Look at the brochures, you'll see other units that may be perfect that aren't on the shelves. Mix and match. Order what's not available - they'll have them in a few days! If the dimensions work, mix and match from K-Mart, Wall-Mart, and Target too - they're cheaper and will probably blend in! Once you've decided to purchase, I have a tip. Have the Staff Help you! Particle board is heavy! Let them help you get them off a shelf and into your vehicle. Once you're home, open the package INSIDE your vehicle and bring the individual pieces to your target closet. Once you're ready to assemble, I have another tip. Carefully disassemble the shipping box so it will open flat! Use the opened box to cover your polished floor, or especially, carpet. These closet organizers use strong fasteners that pull the pieces together and WILL grab carpet twill. Believe me! I spent an hour assembling a unit on carpet only to find it was hopelessly stuck - I had to disassemble it and start over! Another tip! Start from the outside edges and work in. Once you have the lower unit/s in place, place the center section to lock the base in place. Now you can go vertical! I hope this helped you! Closet organizers are so varied, and so purpose used it's difficult to go into detail other than what I've done - but that's my home, not yours! Back from Closet Organizers to - Do It Yourself Better Home Return from Closet Organizers to - Storage Solutions
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