Wow, I'm surprised there was no mention of California Closets--a long established source of quality and style. Much easier and more efficient than schlepping around to home organization stores too!

California Closets has a really bad reputation....
I put up my own organizer from Home Depot. Took me about 4 days on and off for a 10' closet.
If I had the money, I would have gone with Container Store but $2100.00 comapred to the $500.00 for DYI..I chose the cheaper option and not sorry. They have held up well and it's been 3 years.

We also went the Home Depot route about 5 years ago. For what California Closets quoted us 7K + we installed ourselves for $700 in one weekend. No problems either.

We purchased the DIY Rubbermaid system for $200 at Osh. Not as great as Elfa, but for the price, you can't go wrong.

I used California Closets and they did an excellent job at a competitive price

I love my Elfa closet! I highly recommend taking advantage of one of the annual sales.

Elfa sale is either going on right now or starts very soon.

What would be nice would be to see some "real people's" organized closets. The marketing for closet organizers always show setups of imaginary people who appear to wear only one color and own only one hat, two sweaters, no galoshes or flip-flops, no long dresses, no bulky down coats, etc etc etc.

Also, systems that show perfectly-folded sweaters or shirts all stacked on top of each other seem completely unrealistic - for non-OCD folks, at least. First, I believe it's only a small percentage of people who are going to take the time and effort to fold their clothes into exact squares, all precisely the same size - and then, if they want something from near the bottom of the pile, will go to the significant effort to withdraw it without messing up the whole stack.

I'm a bit disgusted by that type of marketing, to be honest.

Well I have to agree with Annie-O about the OCD factor....although I noticed right away the 5th lavender shirt from the right has cuffs that don't seem to fit the space....I have both ADD and OCD...my closets will never be so organized.

Don't forget to check into locally owned companies. They do a great job and you are supporting small business in your community.

We have both Elfa and Rubbermaid closet systems, and I personally like the Elfa better. You don't have to cut down any components yourself, it comes with all the needed hardware and installation directions. Its also easier to plan what you need using their online planner and speaking to their planning specialists by phone. Elfa gives you more options (solid vs vented, colors, etc.) and looks a little nicer. Rubbermaid is fine for the laundry room, but I would use Elfa again for my bedroom closets, its worth the extra investment.

I did my homework using the design tools on the Elfa website for the first closet project I ever did, but, sadly, couldn't afford the finished design. I wound up executing that design using the less expensive Closetmaid systems from Home Depot. Since then, I've stuck with the Closetmaid systems for two apartments and a house. For those on a smaller budget, it's a great and functional option that, when done right, doesn't differ much in look from the Elfa systems.

We've been very happy with our Martha Stewart closet organizers. They cost about $350 total and took one weekend to install. My partner meticulously folds his stuff into perfect squares and my sections belch shoes. So, yeah, they don't fix that.

I love the look of neatly organized closets. I drool, I lust and I try to achieve the same look. I have the elfa and love that it was so easy to put up. I actually plan to slightly modify the layout of it this weekend and do not anticipate any problems doing so. Though I do not have my folded clothes in perfect little squares every few weeks I do have to refold things to keep it from looking cluttered.

Sixteen years ago, when I retired and moved back to Greenwich Village, I explored organizers of closets, and California Closets was the most expensive at a time when there were no other stores, only independent work-from-home businesses, and luckily, I found someone who had worked at California Closets. I hired him, and to this day, I'm grateful for his expertise (though he couldn't diagram in 3-dimensions--I can read blueprints, though),Though my needs have changed through the years, his 3-closet installations have worked out very well.

My closet looks amazing always because of the storage bins that I purchased from Muji. The key is uniform containers and hangers. No one can keep their closet perfect all of the time, but if you just throw your stuff into a bin, then no one knows the difference. Unless they peek inside...

I love my Elfa closets. I had all five of the closets in my NYC apartment done with shelves and hanging bars. I don't recall the total cost but it was less than California Closets wanted to charge for a single one. The key with Elfa is to go with the standard white or platinum and skip the fancier trim, which is both much more expensive and less flexibly sized. They charge 30% of the component cost to install, with a minimum of $180. If every inch counts -- as it tends to in NYC -- the installers are great because they trim everything in place and it ends up fitting more perfectly than if you have them cut it in advance. (They also remove the existing closet shelf and rod and patch the paint for you.) If you'd rather save that sum, installation is quite easy.