This small closet organization post is sponsored by The Container Store but as always all opinions are genuine.
Ok you guys loved my kitchen organizing tips in March, so this month I’m teaming up with The Container Store again to discuss all things closets. I have always dreamed of having a luxurious walking closet, you know the kind you put couches in etc. A girl can dream. My closet isn’t tiny but it definitely doesn’t hold all of my stuff. In fact I had my stuff in the guest bedroom, Charlie’s closet and my own closet plus an armoire. I knew I had to make some changes. So I set out to get organized, downsize and consolidate to 2 spaces. How might one even begin you may ask? Yeah, I spent a lot of time just staring at my things wondering where to even start this nonsense. I spent a lot of time filtering through what I needed and didn’t then I got help. Sometimes you just can’t do it on your own. Cue Alesia from Well Organized Home… she is a professional organizer and she offered her services to me and to you guys to help get our lives in order. (Or our closets, c’mon she’s not a wizard guys)
Jump past the before photos (just wanted you to see what a hot mess it was) to see what we did, what we used and some closet organizational tips for you!
Small Closet Organization – Before
How we started how small closet organization
I decided to go through all of my things and make piles of what I wanted to sell, what I wanted to donate and what I wanted to trash. That was one of the most difficult processes because it’s really hard to not be a hoarder when you paid so much for your stuff. So I asked a couple of friends to help me decide what needed to go and what needed to say. Kind of like the SATC movie scene where the girls help Carrie weed out her closet but way less cool than that was. After it was all said and done I had multiple boxes and I had migrated out of the guest room and the armoire. (Score!) I had been wanting to toss out that armoire for a while to make more room in our bedroom.
- Go through your stuff and PURGE. Donate, trash or sell what you know you won’t wear or anything you haven’t worn in a year. Poshmark or The Marketplace on Facebook are great options to sell. Find your local donation center and give to those in need.
- Pull everything out of there to organize. It’s gonna look worse before it looks better. We had stuff everywhere in our room for days while we were organizing the closets, but trust me it’ll look so much better in the end.
- Carve out a couple of days and start the process.
Around the time that I decided I was going to organize these closets, I found Alesia at Well Organized Home. She is a professional organizer which gives my OCD soul pure joy. (You can read more about what she does and how it can help you at the end of the post) I knew it was meant to be when we discussed our mutual love for The Container Store. Y’all already know my admiration for them. (Remember from the Kitchen Organization post…I made my husband take me on date there just to walk around) She’s probably their other top consumer. So we made of list of what we would need to tackle these closets.
Custom Elfa units || One for my closet, 2 for Matt’s. These are a game changer and I’ll be purchasing more for my upstairs guest closet. We fit so much in these units.
Container Store Shoe Boxes || I love how uniform these look and they will fit your basic shoe. Plus we labeled every single shoe box to make it easier when pulling down.
Tall Shoe Boxes || I use these for my booties and high heels
Container Store Boot Boxes || I used these for all above mid calf and over the knee boots.
Joy Mangano Huggable Hangers Case || We went with ivory and I love how it blends seamlessly in our closets now.
Umbra Hitch Accessory Organizer Gunmetal || We used these to hang hats and belts. I love the gold color option they had available.
5-Section Premium Acrylic Collater || We used this divider to store my clutches.
Case of 10 of Our Men’s Shoe Box || Because let’s face it, men’s shoes are bigger ha.
11-Peg Acrylic Necklace Wall Rack || Perfect wall to organize necklaces and jewelry
Polder Slim Folding Step Stool at $24.99/each || Since we store our shoe boxes at the top of the closet, we definitely needed these in both closets to reach them with ease. They are extremely slim and take up minimal space.
Interdesign Chrome Metal Classico Scarf Organizer
(2) Large, Medium and Small Hampton Bin White ||
White Classic Hat Box & Clear Clarity Hat Box || I’m a MAJOR hat girl and I had them either sitting out in my room gathering dust or jammed in my closet just stacked on top of one another. This is a much better alternative that protects them plus they’re super adorable.
Small Closet Organization Tips & Hacks
- Invest in felt hangers
Yes, felt hangers can be a bit of an investment, but they are worth every penny, especially in a small closet. Felt hangers take up less space than plastic hangers and look better than wire hangers. If you’re not ready to buy all of them at once, then buy a box a week or a box a month and slowly switch them out until you accumulate enough for all of the clothes in your closet.
- Use shoe boxes to store shoes
Rethink where you put your shoes in your closet. Most people think shoes on the floor on shoe racks, but you can use the valuable floor space for drawers to hold items that aren’t put on hangers. I like to put shoes on the shelves in shoe boxes. You can put your in-season shoes on the lower shelves and your out-of-season shoes on the higher shelves.
The Container Store has four different sizes of shoe boxes – Our Shoe Box (standard shoe box), Our Tall Shoe Box (for high heels and some boots), Our Men’s Shoe Box (larger to hold men’s shoes) and Our Boot Box. I refuse to use any other shoe boxes – they are completely clear (not opaque) so you can see what’s in them and the tops lock securely. Plus, I haven’t met a pair of shoes that doesn’t fit in one of these boxes.
- Drawer systems for folded clothes
If you’ve ever used the shelves in your closet to hold your folded clothes, you know how quickly those neatly folded clothes can become a pile of disheveled mess. That’s where the drawer systems come in handy. By moving your shoes to the shelves in the closet, you open up floor space to install some drawer systems.
I love the Elfa drawer units from The Container Store. They come in various sizes of width and height and they’re customizable so you can create the perfect system for your closet. Added bonus is that they are super easy to assemble. In Ashley’s closets, we used the wide drawers with four-tracks and two deep drawers on each Elfa unit. This allowed us to maximize the floor space in her closets and keep those shelves above her clothes nice and neat.
For items such as hats, scarves, headbands, etc., use a few baskets to keep these items together and looking nice and neat. And if you don’t have lower shelves installed in your closet, you can use the tops of the Elfa drawer units to place the baskets. Be sure to get baskets you love as you’ll be looking at them every day!
Also right now The Container Store’s annual closet sale is in full effect through May 13th. There are hundreds of closet storage (some of the mentioned above) and organizational essentials on sale for 25% off. If you were ever thinking about taking the plunge, now is your time friend.
Matt’s closet was actually way worse than mine even though it’s so much smaller. You couldn’t even walk in his closet. Look at how spacious and organized it is. Does it make you have heart eyes like me?
Small Closet Organization – Before:
Small Closet Organization – After:
A little bit about Alesia at Well Organized Home + a stellar deal for my Middle Tennessee folks.
Why I do what I do:
Put simply, a well-organized home makes home more peaceful. By helping others organize their homes, I want to help bring peace into their homes. As moms, we’re often the ones who are expected to know where everything is in our house. How many times a day do we answer “Where is {insert item here}?” When we can answer this question quickly, without having to search ourselves, it takes just a little stress out of our day. Even better, when we have areas organized and labeled, oftentimes we can avoid this question altogether because our families know that items have a “home.” I want to help the overwhelmed moms and families that are going a million miles an hour in fifty different directions feel just a bit calmer and at ease when home. Home should be a place where we can exhale, not a place where we get stressed out by opening the pantry, linen closet, master closet, etc. The best thing a client can tell me is that by organizing a space, it has brought more peace to their home and family.
Process for inquiring/booking A Well-Organized Home:
- Initial consultation at no charge, with no obligation
- During the consultation, I come to your home, take a look at the space or spaces you want organized, and ask a lot of questions. I want to know who all uses the space, what you like about it, what you don’t like about it, how you’d like it to function, how often is it used, etc. I ask a lot of questions because there is no one-size-fits-all for organization. For me to get the space functional for you and your family, I need to understand your family and your family’s habits, so that’s why I ask so many questions.
- I’ll also take photos and measurements during the consultation. I will also look at what organizational products you already have in that space (if any) and talk to you about if you want them incorporated or if you want to start from scratch.
- The consultation can last anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour, depending on the size and number of spaces you want me to look at.
- After the consultation, I take all of the information I’ve gathered to create an estimate. I’ll break the estimate down by space and also by organization service and supplies. All supplies are a pass-through, meaning you pay exactly what I pay for them. Organization service is on an hourly basis I usually base it on a range within an hour or two (i.e. 4 to 5 hours, 8 to 10 hours, etc.). I’ll email over the completed estimate (usually within 24 hours).
- Once you’re ready to move forward, we’ll settle on a date or dates to complete the project. Clients can be home when I actually do the organizing but they don’t have to be. It’s whatever they feel comfortable with – I’m fine with either!
Hope you guys enjoyed this post and the thought of organizing made your heart sing like it does mine!!! Make sure to check out The Container Store sale and Alesia for more inspiration. Please let me know if you have any questions by emailing me or sliding in the dm on Instagram. Xo.
