Closet Works Organizational Tips & Tricks

In closets, who's hanging with whom?

You’ve likely got all kinds of garments hanging in your closet – some you love – some that don’t fit – some you wish would fit – some you spent way too much money on...  And all of them wanting a place to hang out.

One of the easiest ways to double your storage capacity in your closet design is to incorporate “double hang” into your closets.  Double Hang is defined as having two rods that accommodate short hanging items (typically one at 40” and one at 80”).

Some options that clients have used for their custom closet design include:

His and Hers – allocate and divide the space so there’s no co-mingling.  For some couples, this is the only way to make things work.  His and Her hanging is specifically designated to separate sections.

Pants on Top – If you fold your pants over a hanger to hang them, putting them on the top rod allows you to more easily see what’s on the lower rod because pants don’t hang out as far as jackets and shirts.

This is also a way to accommodate double hang if your ceiling height is less than the normal 84” required to accommodate double hang.

Who’s on Top – the taller of the two people sharing the space can take the top rod and the shorter person can utilize the lower rods – that way everybody’s things are within an easy reach.

Having spent decades in and out of thousands of closets, experienced designers (like my teammates at Closet Works) are worth their weight in gold if you’re trying to maximize space so you can accommodate all the things you own and want to store inside your closets.

Party in the Pantry!

I know that sounds a little crazy, but most of the things you need for a party end up being stored in your pantry, since it's one of the most all-encompassing storage niches' in your house.  From Campbell's to Kraft and from Betty Crocker to Orville Redenbacher - it's in there.  So, putting some thought into this custom closet design can really pay off. Some custom closet ideas for this space include:

Less is More
When it comes to shelf depth in a pantry - less really can be more.  It's good to have a variety of different depths in your pantry.  Shallow shelves are great for small items like soup and mac n' cheese.  Deep shelves are great for larger items like serving bowls and paper towel.

Let's Go Deep
Deep shelves or pullout drawers are great for storing serving pieces, platters and large appliances.  Just be sure to design pullout drawers with varying amounts of space in between in order to accommodate different size items.  Your shelving will be adjustable so you can determine what works as you organize this space with your own foodstuffs.

Re-Use - Recycle - Reclaim
If your pantry becomes the home for the recycle center, make sure it's organized and easy to use. Do this by deciding on how much space is needed for the containers and where they will go. Any sort of pullout can really make this task easier.

Bottom Heavy
Leave open floor space in your pantry so you can simply slide heavy items like cases of water and soda on the floor for easy access and maneuvering.

Captain Hook
Hooks are really a great help in almost every storage area of the home because they make that all-important "vertical space" (aka the walls) usable.  In a pantry you can hang aprons, reusable shopping bags, pet leashes and mops and brooms.

Pull It Out
Pullout baskets are great for potatoes and onions as well as things like bags of chips - or just bags for taking to the grocery store.  They help contain things while still allowing you to see what's inside - such is the beauty of baskets.