Organizing the Dreaded "Coat Closet"

Our coat closet happens to be in my home office, where I spend a lot of time. And the last thing I want to stare at all day is a mess. So it's in my own best interest to keep this closet, which is traditionally a collector of random stuff, under control.

I hate wasted space. I think everyone does. None of us feels like we have enough of it, so why let any of it go to waste? The far left and right sides of most standard double-accordion-door closets are like dead space. You can hang things on a pole and shove them in there, but that's usually about it. I know I could have purchased an expensive closet organization system, and I am sure it would be lovely. But I have better things to spend my money on, like shoes. And lattes.

And this blog is about organizing on the cheap. And that's what I do. I am more of a fan of shelf space than I am of pole space. You can hang a pole anywhere (but that's a blog for another day). So I went to the home of all cheap things, Wal-Mart, and purchased two things: a set of heavy duty plastic shelves that fit perfectly in the side of my closet, and a smaller set of what are usually used as shoe stackers.

This is the plastic shelving. I have Mom's toolbox on the top. Everyone knows no touchy. It has the tools I use all the time. Next shelf is vacuum cleaner attachments, rather than leaving them on the closet floor. Then a second toolbox that has household handy things: felt for the bottom of every leg on everything in my house, picture hanging hardware, screws and nails that I like, and so on. And the bottom holds my complete set of rachets and sockets in standard and metric. Having these handy makes me feel invincible. And that leaves plenty of space above for extra hangers.

On the right side of the closet is the shoe stacking system. Cheap and great for videos and DVDs. But wait, the DVDs are likely to fall all over the place, so I use old shoe boxes to stand them up in. That way I can use them like sliding trays. They can fit in there two deep, so the old wedding videos and so on can be relegated to the back.

Install a pole between your attic rafters and keep your off-season coats up there. Bring then down when you need them, so the closet does not get out of control full. And I purchased a set of Rubbermaid drawers, four high, so each family member has their own drawer for mittens and hats and scarves. That, also, is in the attic now until it's time to swap it out. For the summer, I have the plastic crate on the top shelf filled with baseball hats, rain ponchos, and travel packs.

Oh, guilty admission. The plastic bags on the top shelf hold the goodie bags for the birthday party that should have happened in May but still has not been scheduled...

More tomorrow. Thanks for reading.