Closets...the Most Important Rooms in Your Home

Isn't it nice to be able to close the door on clutter. But unfortunately that's not what closets are for. They are for storage of all kinds. Keeping them in order is ideal but almost impossible. Especially if there are not enough of them and if you are cramped for space. The most important thing is how it is planned and organized inside for easy access.



Ideally, there should be a closet in every bedroom and one for each person if possible. There should be one at the front entrance to the house and one at the back. There should be at least one for linen, a "mud" room for wet and messy clothes, and another place to store heavily soiled clothes. However, there isn't much you can do about this except when you are buying or building a house.

Lighting and Ventilation

Don't forget to give some thought to ventilation and adequate lighting. If you don't have a vent, cut an opening at the base of the door. An on-off light switch that operates with the opening and closing of the door is convenient.

Making the Most of Your Clothing Space

Keep these measurements in mind. Every closet should have enough space for the wardrobe of the person or persons occupying the room (3 to 5 linear feet for each person); a depth of 24 to 30 inches. A rod or rods should be placed so that garments clear the floor by 6 inches. Recommended heights are:

• Robes and other long garments-72 inches
• Dresses and coats-58-63 inches
• Shirts, jackets, and skirts-45 inches

Distances recommended between shelves (made adjustable, if possible) are 7 inches for shoes and 8-10 inches for hats.

• Place two rods on one wall and use them for blouses, suits, and skirts.

• For evening clothes and long garments, to protect the hems, pin an old pillowcase or plastic bag over them.

• Stack or build tiers of shelves for small items at the ends -shoes, handbags, hats, etcetera. Place strips on shoe shelves to absorb moisture from damp soles. Sprinkle corners with cornstarch to help prevent odor.

• Hang tie and shoe racks on the backs of closet doors.

• Drawer units at bottom of the closet make efficient use of air space between clothes and floor.

• Stack see-through boxes on shelves; you'll save time locating stored items.

• Make a child's clothes closet from an old cedar chest. Attach casters to the corners of one end and turn it upright, then fit a pole across the inside.

• Tin boxes of the same size make excellent stack storage containers for children's gloves, scarves, etcetera.

• Give each child in the family a different-colored pillowcase to hang on the inside of his closet door (or wherever). They are great laundry bags for dirty clothes and kids love to help collect dirty clothes before laundering-MAYBE!

• A small cloth bag hung on a hook on the back of a door of a child's closet is ideal for soiled socks.

• A three-bar swinging towel rack, or cup hooks attached to a closet door or wall makes a perfect holder for belts, necklaces or costume jewelry.

• Rubber bands wrapped around end of hanger will prevent clothes from slipping off and falling onto the floor.

• Take advantage of wasted space at the top by adding an extra shelf or two to hold shoes and handbags.

• To create better space in a small clothes closet, divide into sections; use on half for dresses and coats, and make two sections (one above the other), in the other half, for blouses, skirts, etcetera.

• If you have space file notches an inch apart on the top of a wooden pole in your closet to keep your clothes from bunching up too close and wrinkling.

• As a space-saver for clothes, add shelves at the bottom of your small child's closet, thus utilizing the empty space. You can use the shelves for underclothes, shorts, slacks, even toys and games. Put hooks on the inside of the door, for hanging small items.

Your Dresser Drawers

There are a few partitioned dresser drawers with some divider spaces and slide-out jewelry racks; however, most of them are just empty spaces that invite confusion. If the contents of your drawers have a tendency to jumble and tumble, consider the following:

• Install partitions of your own, made of plywood, or use colorful boxes (without the lids of course) for certain items.

• Invest in one of the rubberized silverware trays to hold all the assorted trivia such as fingernail equipment or cosmetics not stored otherwise in a makeup cabinet or chest.

• Use special cases for lingerie and hose, shirts and socks.

• To help keep odd-shaped bottles and cosmetic containers in place in drawers, securely tack a strip of elastic tape to the drawer and place bottles behind tape.

Top of Closets Page

Return to Storage Solutions

Decorating Country Home Page