Sunday, May 24, 2009

How to Plan A Closet Organizer

By Matt Allan

Every house has closets, in one form or another. Most are built-in, although some are free-standing if there were no built-in closets if it is an older home. In order to make your closets as functional as possible, many of you think about getting a closet organizer to store your belongings. This is a great idea, since a closet organizer can help you efficiently store more items in less space, but more importantly they give you the ability to keep things organized.

Once you've decided to go ahead with the closet organizer project, just what kinds of things do you need to think about when you are doing the planning? The goal is to end up with a useful and effective storage space that you can easily store and access your belongings. We're going to cover the main points that you should think about before jumping right in:

Closet Function - try to decide exactly what you're going to use the closet for before you start organizing or shopping for systems. An important point to remember is that one closet should have just one purpose, which is generally related to the area of the house it is located in - ie, close to the bathroom and bedroom could either be linens or bathroom supplies, whereas closet by the kitchen should be for food and cookware, or alternatively cleaning tools and supplies.

How Big the Closet is - we are not all blessed with super size walk-in closets in every bedroom, and conveniently sized pantrys just off the dining room. Yes, sometimes we have to compromise. Just make sure that you design your closet with an appopriate amount of free space that you can easily get to items, as well as put them into and remove them from your storage space. Spaces which store seasonal items can usually get away with a little less breathing room, whereas closets that are used daily should have plenty of room so things don't start piling on top of each other.

Budget - realistically look at your budget and figure out if you can splurge on a custom design that is perfectly suited to store all the items you have in mind, or whether you might have to downgrade and choose a more generic modular closet organizer that you assemble yourself.

Design - this is the point that combines all the previous points. Once you've answered all the previous questions, you will be much closer to deciding what the actual design of your closet is going to be. You still must figure out the material, color, and style though, so looking through some magazines devoted to storage solutions might be a good idea before you come to a final decision.

So now that you have an idea of what you should be thinking about before starting on a closet organizer project, I'm sure you will be a little less lost when it comes time to make a decision about the final design. Perhaps you'll even feel brave enough to venture out to the building stores and try to pick up a modular system that once assembled looks like a much more expensive custom designed model. All the best in your closet organizer adventures.

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