I'm definitely a fan of the last one. I bought this to stash my jewelry in the top drawer of my dresser (I'm a hider). The coolest part is that the segments clip together in different configurations so it can fit almost any space.

My mother-in-law has a professional-quality steamer. She wears a lot of cocktail attire, though, and has room for it - her walk-in closet is bigger than my first apartment!

A link roller? Did you mean lint or is this something I've never heard of?

sparkle,
Just a plain old lint roller - typo is fixed - thanks.

1. Detergent pen is basically just liquid detergent in pen form. Rather than keeping another dood-dad that always seems to be empty and dried out, I just use the detergent.

2. By "toupe tape" I assume they mean wardrobe tape. This a a good category to get educated in. There are fashion tapes, intended for affixing your clothes to your skin, good for minimizing cleavage. There are velcro tapes, which can be good to prevent gaping (think busty woman in button shirt). And there are fabric tapes, that are a near miraculous no-sew solution for quick alterations, like hems.

I hung a tie/belt rack in my closet for all of my necklaces. It's got 21 staggered pegs on a board and works perfectly. http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?order_num=-1&SKU=14387757&RN=50&

I bought a nice top of the line steamer (very proud of my investment) and it unfortunately was a bigger pain to pull out use as we had no where to really hide it. It had one of those big poles... I returned it. I don't see that as a necessity if someone doesn't have the space. But the lint rollers are a great staple item as are all the rest on your list. Love the cutlery organizer idea, I could put those on a closet shelf and line the bottom with felt.

I love steamers... I don't own one, but I love them. Instead... I rent an apartment that has all inclusive water, so I can take long, hot showers with my wrinkled clothes hanging in the bathroom without getting a frightening bill!
THe jewellery organizer is great for people who wear it... I only really wear earrings and 2 necklaces which alternate.

I would say that a good sewing kit is my #1. Decent storage for clothes is also more important. It can be hard for apartment renters to get a decent storage system for their clothes. I suffer from uneven floors and poorly installed closet doors, which make my closet pretty hard to get into. Removing the doors, or having alternate storage is more important to me for maintaining my clothes than lint-brushing them (lint is rarely an issue for me... I own too much grey!)

Yeah! Let's hear it for steamers! While it would be nice to have a professional model, a smaller hand-held model is adequate for most everything I need. And it seems like a 'green' option; plus minimizes time and expense of going to the cleaners.

I bought a steamer a couple of years ago. Agree that its bulky/difficult to hide, but using it has allowed me to cut down on my dry cleaning bills.

Be sure to use distilled water in it, if you get one!

Proud to say, I have everything on his list...

Took some time to acquire it, but hey, I'm ready for a fashion emergency! :)

I have an old spray bottle that once held "No More Tears" spray on detangler. It's filled with water, some liquid detergent or soap ( I use Dr. Bronner's) and vinegar. If I have any kind of spill, I grab this and spray treat the stain immediately and then rinse and spray until the stain is gone. The faster you treat, the less chance for the stain to set. It has saved me many times. I use this for the carpet, rugs, and upholstery as well. Magic!

great tip Rapunzel!

Love the picture above... (wish mine looked like that)

Rapunzel, that bottle seems like a great idea. But in my memory my mom would use vinegar and/or salt to help set the dye in clothes, dark jeans, or when I was very young I loved tie-dye... Wouldn't that vinegar you add be more harmful to the stain?

Oh and do you guys know about the Tobi Steam cleaner? I've been wanting to buy it, but I never know with those informercial, maybe there's something better and cheaper?

I have 4 out of 5 of these things and use them all all the time. i live in a teeny tiny nyc apt with a closet the size of a coffin and the steamer is one of the best things i have. it gets wrinkles out a lot faster than ironing and has a retractable pole, so it ends up being pretty compact to store. i got it as a gift from my mom and thought i would never use it, but i guess mom knows best...

@Yolio, looks like he actually did mean toupee tape. He mentions that it's stronger than double sided tape and good for emergencies like fixing hems and preventing "wardrobe malfunctions." Personally, I keep clear thread and some needles around for emergency fixes and avoid dangerous necklines.

I have some of the things on his list, but not a steamer. Maybe I'll borrow my sister's and see how I like it. I loathe ironing so it might be a worthwhile investment but I don't really recall steamers working that well as a replacement for irons.

For the guys be careful with that steamer. You can really mess up the shape of a suit it you are not careful. And you should have a clothes brush.

A small, hand held steamer is probably adequate. The one I've used worked incredibly well and was easy to hide away.

the steamer is one of the best purchases I've ever made. indeed it's a bit big, but we just roll it in and out of the closet when we need to use it.

and can someone please tell me what those things are called in the photo with the necklaces hung on them? my mind is blank today and I would love to search ebay for one of the smaller ones.

I have a spray bottle of Simple Solution on hand for pet accidents. That is an enzyme cleaner, and it's great to pre-treat most organic stains like tomato sauce or other foods. Dawn dishwashing detergent, in tiny amounts, is good to pre-treat oil. (I make no claims about color fastness -- I haven't had problems, but I can't promise you won't.)

I also have a small steamer which I seldom use, and I agree that a minimnal sewing kit (for hems and buttoms, and sometimes split seams) is valuable. My partner fell for the ads on TV for MendIt glue (or whatever it's called) and has used it to repair some belt loops on blue jeans with reasonable success, using a clamp to pinch the fabric and glue together overnight. (I think it's pretty much the same as cheaper products at sewing and craft stores, though.)

toupee tape beats the hell out of wardrobe tape for durability and strength.

SherryBinNH - Are you talking about the dress form?

That's a good list, but I agree that a small sewing kit is a lifesaver too. I'd love to invest in a small steamer, anyone have any suggestions?

Yes toupee tape is great and the cheapest I've found is
Lookin Good
Great Fashion tape as well.