Tips for Organizing a "Catch All" Closet

We have a closet in our living room that's really an oddly placed storage nook. It's nice to have this extra space (which we use to store everything from photographs to board games to out-of-season coats) but right now everything's a little mixed-up inside. This weekend, we're planning on sorting through the stuff, so we've compiled a few tips for ourselves and anyone else with the same situation...

Declutter. Before organizing anything, get rid of the things you no longer use or need. A good rule of thumb is to edit out anything you haven't used in a year. For step-by-step advice on shedding your stuff, click here.

Tailor your closet to your needs with a mix-and-match system of shelving, rods, and racks. In previous apartments, we've used Closetmaid (cheap but good), built-ins (the most attractive solution), and IKEA's Antonius system (which we didn't like). Other options include Elfa shelving, custom-made California closets, and the recommendations from this post.

Create zones in your closet for each separate function: one shelf for board games, one shelf for photo boxes, one clothing rod for out-of-season coats. Color helps to further designate each zone. Maybe the boxes that you use to store photos are orange, while the boxes that hold old tax files are blue.

To keep your sanity and streamline the process, try not to get too obsessed with everything looking perfect. It is a closet, after all, and you can shut the door on it when you're done. For an inspiring real-life closet organization, see Wes and Kayla's closet before and after.

Photo: Sarah Coffey

Comments (7)

Declutter.
Declutter.
Declutter.

Just spent two days decluttering and made two trips to the local re-cycling center, and really, that's absolutely key for good storage.
Before that, I went trough various stores looking for great storage systems. But in the end, the best solution was to get rid of stuff, and I actually ended up donating two bookcases, instead of buying.

And it truly felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders.

I'm really happy with our Schulte Storage system. It's sold by Bed, Bath, and Beyond, and like Container Store, BBB helps you plan the closet, but unlike the Elfa system, it is highly customizable-you can get anything cut to fit precisely in your closet. It's about the same price and a bit less than the Elfa.

http://www.schultestorage.com/catalog/productlinehome.asp?plid=1

I used Closet Works and was very happy with the price and the service- much cheaper than California!

Wow...we just reorganized our shoe closet this past Sunday. Such a relief to be able to find shoes again without digging! I want to do our coat/catch-all closet next.

Here's our post re-organization shoe closet:

http://donkeehouse.com/?p=585

I need to attack our closets.

Thanks!

Emily

I just decluttered the catch-all hall closet. It is small and has no doors, so it still looks messy but I really would like to do something other than a curtain in front of it. So I'm pondering options (can't rip it up, I rent)

I'm doing this now, and won't have closet doors for a while so I'm obsessed with attractive bins and baskets:

http://renovationwars.wordpress.com/2009/08/12/pandoras-boxes/

All I want to know is, where are those boxes in the photo from?