Do you feel like less is more? Well, what about in your closet? The standard closet configuration can leave you feeling less than pleased. So, what do you do if you can’t afford to renovate your home? Watch this video for some great, affordable solutions that you can implement today. More function for less moolah- who could ask for more?
(Click here to watch on YouTube if you can’t see the embedded player. Or watch the video at http://bit.ly/tcdreachin.)
Transcript:
Hi. I’m Lorie Marrero, creator of the Clutter Diet book and on-line program, and today we’re going to talk about some problems and solutions involved in having a reach-in closet. As opposed to a walk-in closet, a reach-in one is where you simply open the door and reach in.
So, there are some limitations, mainly the typical one being that builders will put in one rod and one shelf and that’s just not enough for people for a couple of reasons. First, you may have a lot of short hanging clothes, like blouses and pants and jackets, and you really need to have another layer of clothing to be hung, but you don’t have another rod for it. So one of those solutions is to simply add another rod and shelf below where you can have two levels of hanging clothing. You can do that by building one in with a handyman, or you can have even some products that just click on, they don’t require any tools for installation, and they just simply hook on and hang another rod that is not as sturdy, but it is a good temporary solution if you’re renting. So that’s a good thing to know.
Of course, also you can rip this out and replace it with a system that really works better for you. There are a lot of affordable systems at your home improvement center that work really well. Then you can configure it exactly the way you want, and it’s not that expensive. So look into that too.
The other issue with the one rod, one shelf is the waste of vertical space that is between the top of the shelf and the ceiling. Often, there are even several feet up above the top of that shelf that are completely wasted and unusable. And my favorite solution for that, that’s also, again, good for temporary fixes, and also very affordable fixes, is these stackable organizers. These are by ClosetMaid. You can buy them at discount stores. I have put together hundreds of these, literally, in my organizing career and they work in all kinds of closets, not just reach-in ones. So, they have this horizontal solution that I like for shoes, but you can use them for anything you want, and then they also have a vertical solution you can see here. Both of these, they stack. So you can see there’s a little dowel rod that you can stick in the top and a little hole that enables the components to stick together and, you know, they won’t fall apart when you stack them. And you can configure these in all different ways. You can see some pictures here where we’ve done different things with them. But they are a wonderful, easy solution. You just have to put them together with a screwdriver and a few screws and it’s very simple. But here, you can see how we’ve added a lot of storage to this particular closet by simply placing this right on top of the shelf.
Another issue with reach-in closets is that people forget about the back of the door. You’ve got to maximize your storage when you have less space. The back of the door really is another wall. So make sure you have something on it like shoe pockets or hooks or even a big jewelry organizer. But use that space and think about all the wall space too, all the nooks and crannies, right here on the side of the door. You can hang necklaces, belts, scarves, caps, all kinds of things. Even up above the door on the wall up there, you can hide and store all kinds of little things with hooks and nails and a little creativity.
So if you like this tips, we hope that you will check out our other videos here on YouTube. We have our channel at http://www.clutterdiet.tv, and we’d love for you to subscribe and check us out every week.
See you next time, and may you always be happy and grateful for having more than enough.
You may have been searching for functional storage in a small closet.
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