Shelf Designs for Your Closet
New designs for closet shelves can make all the difference between a messy, cluttered home and a serene and organized one. Do you have several closets in your house that look like they came right out of an episode of The Simpsons? You know the kind. You open the door with trepidation, only to have every single item you've accumulated over the past ten years burst out and bury you under a mountain of junk topped with a bowling ball. You should make this year the year that you organize all of the closets in your house. You can install shelves and state of the art organizational systems that will create special nooks and crannies for all of your belongings. You'll be able to instantly access everything from your Christmas wrapping paper to your good suit to your parcheesi board.
Assign Meaning to Your Closets
Start by assigning a purpose to every closet in your house, if you haven't already done that. You can't decide what the best organizational system for you is if you haven't taken stock of what you're trying to organize. Your bedroom closet is probably where your clothes go. Designate other closets in your house as linen closets, extra pantries and utility closets. Don't have towels and luggage spread out in closets all over your home.
Maximize Your Space
Make use of all the space in your closets. You can install shelving and racks from the floors to the ceiling. In your bedroom closet, consider installing two rows of racks for your clothing, since most of what you wear does not hang to the floor anyhow. If your ceilings are especially high, you can have three layers of racks. This way, your racks can take up less horizontal space, which can then be used for shelves and drawers. You should be sure to also make good use of the floor in your closet. You can install rolling drawers to hold out of season clothing in these hard to reach spots.
Organize Based on Use
Organize your closets according to how you use them. All of the things that you need and use the most should be at eye level. You shouldn't have to constantly be digging through a pile on the ground for your favorite shoes or dragging a chair into the closet to climb up to reach your blow dryer. Use the very high and very low spots to store things that you seldom need but can't throw away. You can always shift things around as your needs change throughout the year.
Visibility within Closets
Visibility is the most important aspect of good closet shelf design. Besides having all of your most necessary items at eye level, you should also be able to see everything in your closet at once. Do not create piles of stuff that you need to dig through. Consider installing clear plastic shelving and drawers. It is inexpensive and makes seeing everything you have in your closet at once a snap. Don't forget to install decent lighting as well.
Shapes and Sizes
Make sure that you install shelves and drawers in a variety of sizes. You probably plan to be storing all kinds of stuff in your closet, from shoes to vacuum cleaners. Don't install so many shelves, drawers and organizational aids in your closet that you no longer have any space big enough to store your larger items like brooms or suitcases. It is possible to make your closets so organized that they are no longer functional.
