Closets and Clothes Hangers » staying organized

Part 2: Standards for Staying Organized

admin — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 17:55:46 +0000

In Part 1 of our series “Setting Boundaries to Stay Organized”, we discussed a few basic rules for keeping your closet organized after the initial cleaning. Staying on top of things, making sure everything has a space, and creating an order that makes sense for your needs are all helpful tips. Here we will go into some of the more detailed rules of the organized person.

1) You’ve got everything set up how you want it, now it’s time to focus on some smaller details. One way that highly efficient people stay on top of things is to think about everything in order of importance. You can apply this concept to your closet organization routine. Prioritize things according to how often they are used, moved, or replaced. For instance, you probably create laundry, use shoes, underwear and socks nearly every day. These items should be your top priority. Every time you use your closet, make sure that the laundry is in the basket or hamper where it goes, the shoes are on the rack, and the socks and underwear are stocked well enough for the next day. This quick check will help you to avoid that slow creeping mound of disorganized stuff that is so easy to go unnoticed until it becomes a big job.

2) Your second priority is to make sure that things kept in the closet are actually put inside. Keeping a basket or dryer of clean laundry around for a while can cause you to end up with wrinkled clothes. It’s difficult to find what you need, and your clean clothes are likely to get mixed up with your dirty clothes. Create a system to make sure that things go into the closet instead of being set aside. You can use a rolling garment rack to quickly hang clothes as they come out of the dryer. Set a timer when you fold a load and see how long it actually takes. Sometimes you’ll spend hours or days dreading a job that actually only takes you about five minutes. Make sure that your closet is arranged in a way that makes it simple to put things in when you’re in a hurry.

3) Another time and space saving technique is to use cascading hangers. If you hang outfits together in one space, it is super easy to get ready in the morning. If you’re not pulling out things and trying them on, then you won’t mess up the things that you already had organized. Using clothes hangers that are made for the clothes you are hanging helps you to maintain their shape and come straight out of the closet, wrinkle-free. Use sturdy coat hangers or wood hangers for heavy items so that they don’t end up on the floor. The less work that you make for yourself, the more likely you are to stay organized.

About the Author: Charlie Hafter is on the staff of Closet Hanger Factory, a leading online resource for clothes hangers. Get all of the closet and clothes hanger accessories you could need at http://www.closethangerfactory.com, which is recognized worldwide for their excellent quality hangers.

Part 1: Standards for Staying Organized

admin — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 17:51:18 +0000

Over the years, we’ve come up with many organizing solutions. You can have the best system and get really organized. However, if you don’t set some rules and boundaries for yourself, then you will never be able to maintain the organization that you have worked so hard to achieve. This post will focus on rules that you can adopt to make sure that the blood, sweat and tears that you put into organizing your closet will not go to waste.

1) Have you ever heard the saying that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure? Well, when it comes to your closet, you really need to take it to heart. You may even want to make yourself a little sign that you see every time you open the closet. Visual aids will help you to remember not to throw things like your shoes into a pile instead of putting them back on the rack. It is important to stay focused on maintaining the organization level of your closet every time you use it. If you really stick to your guns, it will become a habit to immediately hang things that need to be hung. Habitual organizing will help you to transfer that mentality into other areas of your life. Make sure that your closet is perfectly organized every time you close that door and you will save yourself from having to constantly manage the mess.

2) It’s one thing to make sure that everything is in the closet where it goes, but it’s another to make sure that everything in the closet is arranged in the most efficient way. The arrangement that works best for you may be different from the way that your friend organizes, so take your habits and your needs into consideration as you arrange your clothing.

For example, you may want to line up your clothing by length. Hanging all of your short items together will make room beneath for taller things, like boots, a laundry basket, or a set of drawers. Hanging things by color makes it easy to find what you’re looking for and also is aesthetically pleasing to the eye, keeping you focused on maintaining that neatness whenever you see it. Arranging things according to use will help you to not only find what you need in a jiffy, but will also make putting laundry away a snap. If the things that you use most often are all on the right, then when you put things away, it is likely that almost everything will go on the right.

3) Use containers and closet accessories that help you make a specific place for everything. Don’t just pile all socks, hose, underwear, swimwear, and pajamas into one bin. You’re bound to have to dig and mess everything up. Even worse, you will constantly be buying new items that you think you need because you can’t find what you already own. Use smaller bins to separate and organize so that when you put things away, you know exactly where they go. As for your hanging clothes, you should always use the clothes hangers that protect your clothes, make them easy to access, and save you as much space as possible. You should always use wood hangers or coat hangers for heavy items, but you can save space with cascading hangers or coordinate hangers.

Read Part 2 of this article to learn more rules of staying organized.

Part 2: Setting Boundaries to Stay Organized

admin — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 19:35:31 +0000

How to Get Organized for Life

admin — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 03:05:46 +0000

Getting organized can be very difficult for most people. Appointments, grocery lists, dance classes, work, school, gym, visits, parties and of course cleaning the house, can all get piled up until you just don’t know how you are going to handle it all. Making a few adjustments in your attitude and your daily habits can have you staying organized for life.
1) First, you have to declutter. Choose an area and work on it until it is completely done. This could be something small, like a kitchen counter, or something more substantial, like a closet. There is no skipping this step. You will never get organized if you don’t get rid of the junk. If you tend to save things, you need to set limits for yourself. Don’t keep things longer than a set length of time. If you don’t use it within that time, say six months to a year, then get rid of it.

2) Inevitably, you will want to keep your child’s precious art, or the ticket stubs from your anniversary date. There will be things that come into the house that are special to you. Prepare for that eventuality by designating a “year box” for yourself. Keep it under the bed, in the garage, in a closet, or where ever it can go. Label the box with the year that it is, and keep your mementos there. Force yourself to be choosy and don’t keep things that won’t fit in the box.

3) Have a place for everything that comes into the house. Do your keys have a place? Does your laptop have a special storage space? Do you have an inbox for mail? Simply having a designated spot for mail can cut down on a lot of clutter. When the mail comes in, stand by the trash or shredder and go through it. Take bills out of their envelopes and throw the envelope away. Put bills that need to be paid in your inbox. Throw away everything that you don’t need and go through the inbox monthly to clear out old or outdated information.

4) Force yourself to follow small rules. You can’t expect to change completely overnight, but you can sort of brainwash yourself into behaving. When you are about to put something down, say aloud what you are doing. “I am putting the mail on the kitchen counter.” By implementing this little strategy, you will be conscious of the fact that you are making your home disorganized. When you put something where it goes, say aloud, “I am putting the mail in the inbox. Good for me!” These silly little positive reinforcements will have your brain trained to do the right thing in no time.

5) Laundry is a huge problem for even organized people. Time yourself when you fold laundry. If you fold it right out of the dryer, it usually takes between five and ten minutes. If you are a competitive person, keep a dry erase board by the dryer. Compete for folding/hanging time with your spouse, kids or just with yourself. Get that positive reinforcement by using wood hangers. Wooden hangers keep clothes spaced nicely and the organized look is a subtle reward for your brain. You will trick yourself into wanting to hang up clothes!

Controlling your small everyday habits will save you so much time that you won’t believe that you didn’t do it before. Make it fun or silly and you will have your habits under control for life.

About the Author: Charlie Hafter is on the staff of Closet Hanger Factory, a leading online resource for wooden hangers. Get all of the wood hangers and closet accessories you could need at http://www.closethangerfactory.com, which is recognized worldwide for their excellent quality hangers.