I’ve been giving some thought as to what makes a closet look great. And I don’t mean celebrity closets like Oprah’s, though while certainly desirable, it probably unattainable for dull-normals such as ourselves. (Ms. Winfrey’s space may or may not be about the size of my whole house – I’m just sayin’.)
As closets go, most of us have a door that opens into a space that is roughly two feet deep, maybe with a shelf or two above, and possibly some room from side to side. I’m talking about Ordinary Life Closets.
Okay, so we don’t have scores of fancy ball gowns separated into sections like the silks and the taffetas. And perhaps we don’t have a long run of forty crisp white shirts to hang. So how, OH HOW can we make our lives within the doors just a tad more glamourous?
The first step is to select a single type of hanger for use, and buy those and only those from now on.
They type you chose will have everything to do with what you like to look at, and what works best for the types of clothing you own. If you have LOTS of items to hang, go for a slim sort of hanger – there are lots out there to chose from. There are furry types that wage war against slippage, which is a pain in the patoot when you’re trying to keep everything off the closet floor.
Personally, I’ve never cared much for plastic ones, but that’s probably because I usually see them in every colour under the sun, in a super-jammed-up closet in the before picture of some house makeover. They just hurt my eyes. Couldn’t they all be just ONE colour, please? Gawd.
Years ago, I opted for these wooden ones from Ikea:
They’re called BUMERANG and they cost $5.99 for a set of eight. Though they’re not super slim, I’ve always liked the look of them. They’re sturdy too. And Ikea has offered them for sale for as many years as I can remember… whenever we’ve needed more, I’ve been able to just get some, and they still look like all the others. I feel confident that I would still be able to buy some in five years if I need more of them. Even in ten years. You’ve gotta love Ikea!! (Did I mention they have small versions for children as well? They. Are. Excellent.)
In the new closets we built into our dressing room, Martin and I use about fifty hangers between us. (That’s not really a lot – there’s some room to grow.) So his part of the closets look like this:
Neither of us have particularly fancy clothing… he works in an office, so he’s got the appropriate attire for that, but he also favours casual-dress shirts and jeans over sweats. He doesn’t own any – he’s just not sporty like that. So without any ratty logo hoodies mixed in there, it looks pretty calm and deliberate.
That’s the trick of the matching hanger. Okay, maybe that and some breathing room between each one helps too. When you can see all the things you own, you’re more apt to wear actually them. Or you’ll notice how you seldom you wear a few items, which will make you crystal clear on what you can rid yourself of via swap meet or donatation.
I tell you, it’s a good way to go – start with the hangers. Count up how many you currently use and buy new ones accordingly…in batch shopping trips, if you have to. (I wouldn’t run out and spend $100 on hangers all in one day.) Of course, you can start with your clothes, and do your partner’s stuff some other time…
The goal is to feel happy when you look inside your closet. I like looking inside of mine – it makes me smile every single time I open the doors. Sure, I’d love to acquire some more lovely blouses and things, but in due time. For now, I like what’s in there (enough) and I got rid of everything that was ill-fitting/unwearable/unflattering. And the hangers all match.
As for slippage, I do have a couple of items that require hanging that just won’t stay put on the Ikea hangers. So I got extremely high-tech and wrapped an elastic band (that came with my morning paper) around each end of a hanger for a bit of rubber support. Et voila! The elusive, slippery sweaters stay put. Hallelujah. (One can also use felt or rubber under-furniture pads from the dollar store for such purposes.)
And one last thing, GET RID of any wire hangers from the drycleaner, for goodness sake. They’re terrible! Think of them as temporary. Put them straight into the recycling box once you’ve hung your items on the “good” hangers, or return them to the cleaner you got them from. DO NOT KEEP THEM!! (Unless you keep them for beating your children, Mommy Dearests – in which case, you need only keep one or two in the “switch” closet.)
That’s a joke, people.
So, is your closet working for you? What kind of hangers do you like best for your space?
I love being stalked. 😉
Yes, please start with the hangers. It changes EVERYTHING, I promise!!
See? Those wire hangers can be good for SOME things. *snickers*
So nice that you have drawers inside your closet!! I can’t deal with people who hang their jeans – they should be folded, right? And with NO CREASES! Unless they live in 1983 or something.
And you can stick that drycleaner plastic right into the recycling box too, I think…
Yeah, you’re a failure. 😉
I hang my stuff by colour too… only it’s mostly black, which makes it really easy. I want to see your tutus. And I’m CERTAIN your life is not in shambles, woman – you’re living art. This is good and desirable!!
Amanda, your closet is AWESOME! And it’s huge… so much potential in there – don’t fret. Your kids won’t be small like this forever, and one day, you’ll have wall-to-wall hangers holding pretty stuff with which to sheath your narrow behind. Your time is coming!!
can i say this without sounding like a stalker?
i….love….you…..
🙂
i like the things behind my doors neat and my closet makes me sad. i shall start with hangers. we have the plastic rainbow ones and i am not a toddler! good idea with the elastics, too. thanks!
I’m gonna have to start whipping Sean with the wire hangers he keeps from the dry cleaners. And also for the stash of dry cleaner plastic wrap in the corner of his closet…
I use plastic hangers – but they can only be white and have to be the same size – I use the thicker ones.
Everything faces the same direction and the hangers must hang in, toward the wall.
I have a dresser in my closet for my sweaters so I don’t have to hang them. And my jeans are folded and go on the closet shelf.
I may have to start using wooden for Sean’s things. I HATE the way he keeps his closet. Maybe the masculine wood and the order that they create will motivate him to keep it tidier.
ok that is supposed to say “throwing” out
because dressing is like costume time for me I line up all my clothes by colour and genre- pink tops and sweaters, then the orange tops and sweaters then my beloved dresses in all their glory and so on
I am scottish so thawing out is murder (everything has a soul, a story for goodness sake)
ABSOLUTELY no wire hangers
all hangers face south
apart from the closet the rest of my life is a shambles
Ha! You’ve seen my closet (two ladders, a rusty pole…you’re probably still having nightmares) but it’s nice for me to dream of one day having a decent place to stash my clothes. 🙂