How fun would it be to ‘shop a boutique’ for your clothes whenever you needed to get ready for the day?
Does your closet function okay but it could use an upgrade to make it just that much better? Let’s take a look at how to uplevel your closet to make it ‘Top Notch’
The first item to address is keeping too much stuff. You will want to edit your master closet items so that they fit neatly into your closet. Imagine a boutique where things hang nicely, you can see every shirt, skirt and pair of pants.
Then imagine a big department store or box store where stacked items are toppling and hanging clothes are packed so tightly you can’t get the hanging items out or put away again.
The boutique image is so much more appealing, isn’t it?
If your closet first needs organizing, follow the steps below. The same steps apply to every organizing job and they are:
Remove
Sort
Purge
Contain
Place
So, the first step of any organizing project is to pull everything out. For a large full closet you can work in categories. For example, pull all the shoes out of your closet and move to step 2.
Step 2 is to sort. Once everything is pulled out, sort through every item. There are four piles you will create. Keep, donate, trash and rehome. Create piles for keep, put donate items in a box, put trash items in a trash bag, and all items that need to go in another area of the home in a pile.
In addressing all the items in your closet, let;s take a look at a few things I see in master closets.
Seasonal and sentimental items - If you have seasonal items and sentimental items, think of other spaces you can use to store these items. Pack season items in totes that you can switch out when the temperature requires. Put keepsake items on top shelves or very back in other closets.
Once you are done with step two and have all the items that will go back in your closet it’s time for you to decide on where the items will go in your closet and what type of containers and products you will use.
This is where you will begin to create the boutique feel. Think about whether you want to use acrylic so you can see all your items or if you want to use fabric or wicker to hide items. Acrylic is a high end look but an opaque container can give a cleaner look if the items inside the container are not put in neatly.
My favorite products for a closet are the acrylic drawers you can find here, the lidded storage cubes, here, with window to see what is inside and the slim velvet hangers, here
With everything out of your closet, do a quick clean and consider what you can do to create a beautiful closet.
Can you add wallpaper to it, or a beautiful light fixture?
Can you add a small dresser for a custom look?
Consider a jewelry station and special hanging for hats. Add a small stool and a throw rug.
And my number one suggestion is to use all the same hangers. I love the slim velvet hangers, clothes don’t slip off and give more space than other hangers.
Now add all the items back to your closet. Put most used items at eye level or easy to reach. Put less often used items higher up. Make sure you can see them or label the bins so you know what's inside.
These are additions that make a closet upgrade but for even more upgrade, consider shelf lighting, glass doors, new flooring - carpet or wood, a nice rug, and a chair.
Want a step by step to organizing any space? Grab my 5 Step Guide here.
Cheers, Kathleen