Around the House: Organize Your Closets with Low-Cost Products

By Yehudit Garmaise

A little time each day and a few inexpensive products can help banish the clutter and create tidy and organized closets that are picture-perfect.

Before creating, “A place for everything, and everything in its place,” first pare down to the essentials.

Start small: Tackle not only with one closet at a time, but one shelf and hanging rack at a time, so as not to get overwhelmed, which will likely happen when everything comes tumbling out of overstuffed closets.

Create a realistic time each day that you can dedicate to small bits of organization each day until you create a new system. Maybe you have 30 minutes before the children come home, or an hour after dinner to put things in order.

Start with the top shelf of a bedroom or front hall closet, and work your way down.

Create four piles, every time you organize: one for what you know you want to keep, one for things that need repair, one for things in good condition you want to give away, and one for things that “have reached their tafkid.”

Feel no regrets about tossing everything stained, ripped, or broken. Just say good-bye to things you no longer use. Many new things are coming into our homes, so unless things go out on a regular basis, clutter will accumulate.

Take a deep breath and remove everything in one small area. Consider every item and ask yourself honestly whether you use it or wear it on a regular basis. 

Maximize your space, for what you want to keep, by storing everything by taking up the least amount of space possible. 

The following is your checklist for ten inexpensive products to buy at variety stores, Dollar Tree, Target, or Ikea to organize your closet.

More than enough of the same skirt, pants, shirt, and dress hangers in the same color and material create a uniform and ordered look.

Space-saver hangers on which you can hang five pieces of clothing, and then collapse them down, so they only take the space of one hanger, suggests Katherine, the creator of the “Do it on a Dime” newsletter.

Velvet hanger with five holes for scarves and tichels, so all your head-coverings are hanging in one place. Or you can neatly fold them in one drawer in a wicker or plastic basket.

Belt hangers: to keep all your belts in one place.

Fabric-covered cube baskets can create zones for folded items, such as shells, t-shirts, pajamas, shoes you don’t often wear, and exercise clothing. Label each bin in a fun way, so after you do your laundry, you put things back in the proper bins. 

Fabric-covered baskets with lids to protect your neatly folded off-season clothing.

Coated wire file holders can hold and display your handbags, so you can easily find the one you want when you are rushing off to a chasana or to the airport to travel.

A small triple shelving unit: to store your shoes in plastic bins, if you want, to keep them organized. Put all dressy/Shabbos shoes and off-season shoes on the bottom shelf, work/weekday shoes on one shelf, and keep your exercise shoes and the shoes you wear at home on the top shelf, where you can most easily grab them.

Wall-mounted plastic hooks can store necklaces so they don’t get tangled, everyday tichels, and larger rows of metal hooks can store small purses, jackets, and robes.

Small LED Tap wall lights that attach with Velcro stickers and run on batteries to illuminate what you own: so you can see the treasures you found!

What are your best hacks for keeping your home organized? Please let me know at [email protected]

photo credit: Flickr