Clothing Closet Organization Tips

It’s my favorite season…Spring cleaning. The time when we not only scrub our baseboards but also venture into those tombs of mass containment or should I say our closets. After months of putting multitudes of misc items in any open space, we realize it’s time to sort, toss, and reclaim our belongings.
So how do you get started???

DEFINE: What is the purpose of this closet? What do I want to store here?

CATEGORIZE: By keeping like items together, you will be able to see what you have. This not only saves time but also prevents duplicate buying.

BUY A STEP STOOL: One of the biggest mistakes that I see is people not using the full space in their closets. Top shelves can be used for items that aren’t used on a regular basis or are off season.

One of my favorite things to organize is clothing closets. Yes, this organizer is a fashionista. I have helped lots of men & women find their style and reclaim their wardrobe. Here are a couple of my favorite tips.
1. Use thin hangers to save space-huggable hangers are my personal favorite
2. Use your shelf space. Fold what you can, including sweaters, tanks, and jeans.
3. If your closet is very small, flip it seasonally-pack away your off season clothes.
4. If you are saving items that don’t fit, remove them from your closet until you can wear them again.
5. If you are a visual person, use open shelving to store items and label each shelf.
6. Organize your clothes by style and color.
7. Contain the shoes. Depending on your storage space, pick a proper shoe solution. There are built in shoe racks are great!
For more great advice contact Erin Kelly at 773 490 3760
www.arrangedbyerin.com

Office clutter suggestions

With spring in the air, it is the perfect time to reorganize your work space. Do you have a functional, beautiful work space that you want to go to everyday? Studies show that by having a space that is organized and provides ample room to work increases one's productivity.

Take a look at where you spend most of your time working? Answer these questions honestly:
- Do you have enough space to work?

- Is your work space covered in papers?

- Can you locate any folder, paper, file immediately? Could a coworker?

- Do you enjoy being in your work space?

- Can you find your computer? phone?

After you answer these questions, start to reevaluate your work space. How could you make it more functional and accessible to the important items that you need everyday? If you start to answer these questions and get overwhelmed, it is time to call in a designer to help you honestly assess the situation. The designer can offer design ideas and uncover unmet needs for your space. A professional designer will offer a complimentary consultation which will give a better idea of how to organize, file and bring a sense of peace to your space. Go to www.mydreamclosets.com for more ideas on how have a beautiful, functional work space.

Spring has sprung and so has the clutter

As the warm weather descends upon us, the clutter in the house starts to become more apparent. The following areas in the home are the most obvious places were the clutter starts to accumulate and grow:
Entryway/Mudrooms - This is where everything is thrown upon arrival to the home. The shoes are left in the middle of the floor, the coats thrown in a pile, the umbrellas opened in the corner and bags stacked on any empty space. This is the perfect area to have custom built cabinetry or lockers put in. This gives everyone in the household a space to place their stuff and eliminates time running around looking for lost items. Custom organizational systems or built in lockers also add a great amount of storage area to the home since this area is an open space with no purpose except to collect stuff.

Home Offices - Home offices are a great place for clutter to linger. Paper work in piles, kids toys, DVDs, bills, etc. It all seems to find a place in the office. This is an opportunity to build a custom system designed around the family. Pull out baskets behind cabinets are a great space for odd shaped toys. File drawers keep the paperwork organized and doors on cabinets offer a safe hiding place for DVDs, computer programs and any other odd items that tend to accumulate on desks.

Bathrooms - Most households feel there is never enough storage in bathrooms. As a designer, I can identify dead space that can be used to build a cabinet, linen closet or some other storage area that looks beautiful and at the same time is functional. The bathroom is one room in the house that could use more creativity in the storage area that will make life easier in the morning when getting ready for work, play or to start the day.

Garages - What a perfect time of the year to declutter the garage. This is the time of year that I get really busy finding ways to organize and design organizational systems for garages. This is also one of the most crucial places where the systems are needed (besides closets) to organize and gain some sanity in the home. A couple strategic cabinets, hooks, benches, etc. and the garage goes from a clutter dump to a beautiful functional room.

Now is the time to reevaluate your home and find areas where you can maximize the space. All About Closets offers a free quote with detailed drawings of your personalized organizational systems. Even if you don't feel that now is the time to invest into your home, it is worth having a designer come out and give you more ideas on how to tackle the clutter with custom systems. You can do one area at a time or all at once, but once you start you will be amazed how it transforms your family's life.

Time to work through the clutter!

Spring is here! Time to pull out the bikes, the gardening tools and the tennis rackets. If you are like most of my clients, it takes a while to find where you strategically placed all these items in preparation for winter so they would be out of the way in the garage.

Most clients call me around this time looking for help on how to best organize and utilize their garage. I have some that can't fit their second car in the garage so it has become a one car garage with a storage area next to it. And after a long winter, who wants to start rummaging through the storage depot that has accumulated over the winter. That is my job. I come into the garage, assess the space and start designing a function, beautiful space. It is amazing how adding some accessories and lifting items off the floor can increase the usable space. Plus, with minimal time and money, I can transform a storage depot into a haven for your car, gardening tools, toys, etc.

Keep posted for some exciting tips and ideas on how you can transform your garage into a space your love and want to show off to your friends and family.

Welcome Spring with an organized home!

Start one room at a time and make it a family event. A good place to start is the garage, which stores most of your gardening tools and outdoor toys. Begin by making different piles of items to keep, donate and throw away. Sorth through these at least twice and then decide what organization style works best for your family-by name, activity, similar items or a combination of things. Better yet, call All About Closets (http://www.mydreamclosets/) for a free consultation. We’ll design a system that fits your lifestyle and maximizes your space.

TODAY’S PERSPECTIVE HOME BUYER: ELEVATED EXPECTATIONS

The buyer in today’s real estate market is more discerning than ever. Their expectation level about the interior of the home they will purchase is more important than before. There have always been three factors that sell a home and in order they are: Location, Price and Condition. The condition factor is steadily elevating. The idea of having to update a home is passé. To compete in the market place you must have certain interior appointments in place. If you are thinking about marketing your home please consider the following to make the home superior to the competition:
●Living Room/Dining Room: Updated neutral carpet or hardwood floors.
●Kitchen: Solid surface or granite counter tops. New or newer cabinetry and hardware. Stainless steel appliances. Flooring other than vinyl. Neutral decorator colors.
●Baths: Soaking or jetted tub. Neo-classic lighting fixtures and hardware. Ceramic, marble or travertine floors.
●Home Office: Space design that reflects office. Technology wired for high speed, desk and organized storage area.
●Closets: Professionally designed organizer system in place reflecting maximum space for closet size.

In general the property inventory in today’s marketplace is plentiful. To become the buyer’s choice you must be competitive. To achieve a competitive edge, your home must be in updated condition to attract the diminished supply of buyers. Consider consulting a professional to assist you

For more great advice contact Barb Heinzel at 847-337-7751 or Holly Arnold at 847-508-5504.

Little by little we’re seeing hints of it everywhere….Spring! Every year I look forward to that first day of the year when I can finally bring out the sandals and pretty colors of spring.

I also love the idea of clearing the closet of those bulky coats and sweaters and making room for pretty tops and SANDALS! Did I mention sandals-yes, I love them! Having a shoe system in my closet makes it even better, because I have a lot more room for my shoes plus they’re all there for me to see. But this isn’t the best part… I greatly enjoy the clearing of the closet and sense of calm and joy that comes with it.

I read an article on about.com that discusses the correlation between stress and clutter. It’s true! Think of how you feel when you come home after a long day at work and walk in to the sight of piles and piles clutter.

Ok, so we did some research and compiled a few tips to help you organize your closet. Having a professional designer come to your home and create a custom closet design for your closet is first and foremost. Most closet companies, such as All About Closets in Chicago, offer a complimentary consultation where they will come to your home/office, measure your space and design a custom closet unit that maximizes your space (sometimes even doubles it) and fits your lifestyle.

In any case here are some useful tips to get you started on your closet spring cleaning:

• Put on some fun music, grab some garbage bags or storage bins , cleaning spray and paper towels or cleaning rags
• Go through your closet and sort it into three different piles

1. Things to throw away (does it have holes?)
2. Things to donate (have you worn it within the past two years)
3. Things to store (next season’s clothes)
4. Things to keep

• Wipe clean the rods/shelves
• Go through your “to keep” and “to store” piles and ask yourself

1. Have I worn this within the last year?
2. How many of these do I need in this color?
3. Does it fit? If not, set a goal for yourself of 6 months and put the date on the bag. If they don’t fit by this date- donate them.

• Finally, go through your final “to keep” pile and organize clothing by tops, bottoms and accessories
• From this set, you can furhter organize by color, outfit, etc

Bravo…spring cleaning has begun. Enjoy!

Favorite closets!