WELCOME Closet TO BOOT CAMP - Organized Living

InStyle / MARCH 2015 427

Let’s face it: Your closets hold a ton. Perhaps a ton too much. It’s time to rein in the excess—from last season’s stilettos

and the kiddos’ soccer gear to barely used guest towels and Grandma’s fine china—and bring order to the chaos

BY KARI MOLVAR REPORTED BY EMILY HSIEH ILLUSTRATED BY LAURA LJUNGKVIST

B O O T C A M PClosetWELCOME

TO

428 InStyle / MARCH 2015

Treat this area as a sanctuary—that’s the motto of Lisa Adams, L.A. Closet Design’s founder, who dreamed up the streamlined space shown here. Even if you don’t have a walk-in, little upgrades can make a huge differ-ence. The key is to design a serene zone that’s suitable for tasks like putting together outfits, trying on shoes, and moving the contents of one purse into another.

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MAKE IT APPEAR A LOT BIGGER When you place a mirror at eye level inside your closet, it creates the illusion of a much larger room. Choose a mirror that’s at least 18 inches wide.

RAISE THE BARGive your closet a bou-tique feel by installing a valet rod ($17; wayfair.com). Use it to hang clothes for the next day or plan ensembles for a trip. Pick a retractable version that pulls out only when needed.

THINK LIKE A DECORATOR Simple touches like a plush rug with a bold pattern make the space inviting. Add to that cozy vibe by filling a bare corner or shelf with a vase or framed photo.

SHOW OFF YOUR SHOES Establish visual harmony by arranging shoes by heel height (from pumps down to ballet flats) and clipping tall boots to a low tension rod with hanging shapers ($10/pair; bedbathandbeyond.com).

HAVE A COMMAND STATIONSwapping out your tote for a teeny cross-body style? Designate a purse-changing drawer for out-of-rotation essentials (we’re looking at you, mini flatiron) so you’ll know where to find ’em later.

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Clothing

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BE ACCESSORY-SAVVY Don’t let shoes and bags fall into a heap on the floor. Sort them into two canvas cubbies. Bit of a boot hoarder? Then you’ll love Organize-It’s Transformer Adjustable unit ($60; organizeit.com) for tall styles.Handbag cubby and shoe cubby, $49 each, Container Store; containerstore.com.

DIVIDE AND CONQUERA tall dresser in the center of your closet neatly splits your hanging space in half, so you can separate workwear from week-end clothes. Upgrade a basic unit by switch-ing out the hardware for luxe drawer pulls. Hemnes chest, Ikea, $149; ikea-usa.com. Knobs and handles, Nest Studio, $55–$60; nest-studio-home.com.

TUCK IT AWAYStore off-season clothing in matching large boxes at the top of your closet.Tore Trunk Canvas in Grey, Bigso, $42; aifriedman.com.

PUT JEWELRY IN ITS PLACEKeep baubles in stack-able trays that you can browse through each morning; lined ones prevent metals from tarnishing.Stackable jewelry trays, Wolf Designs, $23 each; wolfdesigns.com.


T H E V I RT U A L

O R G A N I Z E RDoes that jumpsuit

fit you well? Are those

leather pants work-

appropriate? When you

need a totally honest

opinion on what to ditch,

donate, or save, consider

a Skype session

with Geralin Thomas,

founder of Metropolitan Organizing. You try on

your pieces, stand in front of the screen,

and she’ll tell you what flatters, what

has to go, and what you

have waytoo much of

(ironic T-shirts? Not. One. More). She’ll even

help you plan outfits for events and trips

($100/hour; metropolitan

organizing.com).

BONUS TIP! FRESHEN UPRevitalize your shoe-storage units with scented drawer liners. Choose a plain neutral rather than a busy floral to maintain a zen vibe.Drawer liners, Hermès, $60/5 sheets; hermes.com.

Your worst closet nightmare? “Jamming too much stuff in there,” says Sabrina Soto, decorator and founder of Casaandcompany.com. A better solution is to nix the clutter and make room for what you love. Then it’s just a matter of keeping the pieces you wear most within arm’s reach and (neatly) stowing the rest.

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Beware of falling objects like rogue ballet shoes and misplaced sports equipment. “Your children’s closet is where you really need to use your imagination to make the area fun and mess-free,” says Barbara Reich, owner of Resource-ful Consultants. If the space feels playful, a child will be more inclined to put things back where they belong. Imagine that! It can be a game to keep toys and clothes in place.

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Kids

CREATE A GALLERYKids will love shelves filled with toys, art-work, and books. Just observe the magic rule of design: Pick a consis-tent pattern or color to carry through with storage boxes or bins.

SEE THINGS CLEARLYWith small wire draw-ers, it’s easy to find that favorite T (bonus for you: no more clothes dumped on the floor). Larger units can hold shoes and sports necessities.

CONQUER CLUTTERInvest in drawer divid-ers to prevent socks and small accessories from going AWOL. You can even install a lock on one pullout so special mementos are safe from tiny hands.

STEP IT UPPlace a cheerful yet sturdy stool nearby so cuties can reach what’s needed on their own—and get a boost when it’s time to stash toys and clothes back in their respective places.

MAKE IT A HANGOUT ZONEMount a wipe board on the wall so kids can doodle while you straighten up. Have an unused corner? A bean-bag chair is a comfy place to read while the grown-ups multitask.

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ADD A HAPPY PRINTHang a piece of framed artwork, a paper poster, or a masterpiece of your child’s own making on the back wall of the closet. Choose a simple design with bright pops of color to create feel-good vibes without sacrificing valuable shelf space—it costs a lot less than wallpapering.Hello Sunshine by Wayne Pate screen print, Serena & Lily, $250; serenaandlily.com.

OMBRÉ A DRESSERGo from drab to down-right dazzling by paint-ing a chest of drawers with graduated colors. Buy 8-ounce sample paint cans of varying shades of the same hue ($3 each; homedepot.com). This makes choosing light to dark tones in a color family a cinch, and nothing goes to waste since you have only a small surface to cover.

BONUS TIP! GET HOOKEDInstall bright hooks on the back of the door in a grid pattern. It looks rad, and it’s a handy place to hang up coats.Coat hooks, Merkled Studio, $16 each; allmodern.com.


SIMPLIFY YOUR MORNINGS Glue wooden letters onto hanger handles to repre-sent the days of the week so kids can build their ABC skills and pick each day’s outfit the night before. Velvet hangers, AmazonBasics, $15/30; amazon.com.

CONTAIN THE CHAOSBoxes on upper shelves are ideal for items you don’t need daily; over-size bins on the floor are perfect for tossing in toys and laundry. Pop Up tote, Pottery Barn, $19; potterybarnkids.com. Hamper, Pehr Designs, $65; pehrdesigns.com.

T H E C O O L E ST WAY T O

C O N S I G NSchlepping

bags to the resale

store: so not fun. Enter Liketwice

.com, which will send you a bag

with prepaid postage to fill up with gen-

tly used clothing and

handbags from high-

end and midlevel

brands (think Ann Taylor,

Banana Republic,

BCBG Max Azria, and J. Crew), and then

make you a cash offer based on

what can be resold. It’ll donate the

rest to Goodwill

or return it all to you

for a $5 fee. The site even

provides a donation

receipt for tax deductions.

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Even if your tiny tot has an equally micro closet, there are plenty of options for tricking it out and tidying it up, says home-style expert and televi-sion host Emily Henderson. Go for a mix of concealed and open storage, and above all else, leave square foot-age for growth spurts. “Kids grow—a lot,” says Henderson. “Invest in tension rods that can be adjusted to accommodate clothes of various sizes and lengths.”

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Malm chest, Ikea, $149; ikea-usa.com.

DIY idea!


A gorgeous pantry is like an invitation to cook and entertain—all the more reason to spruce it up a bit. “Just because it’s a storage space doesn’t mean you have to fill every inch,” says Jill Pollack, designer and host of Con-sumed on HGTV Canada. Instead, strike a balance by putting your beautiful items on display and creat-ing a neat arrange-ment of your daily essentials.

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POP THE PLATES Rather than hide china and stemware in a closet (or worse, in a packing crate), think of them as jewelry for the pantry and show them off. Painting the walls and shelves gray makes white pieces stand out.

AVOID DISH DISASTERSShelve plates where you can reach them so there’s no worry about dropping a dozen dishes from atop a step stool. Save high storage for vases since you don’t need 12 at a time.

GET IN THE ZONEDrawers can be orga-nized by meal, con-tainer type, or even family member. The only rule is to find a system you can stick to. Place dividers inside to hold loose packets and condiments.

ENTERTAIN WITH EASEKeep an area free of clutter to use while hosting. For parties, stock simple appetizers (crackers, nuts, olives), bottled water, and wine that you can whip out at a moment’s notice.

GO VERTICALA single well-placed design fix can trans-form a pantry’s entire storage potential. Installing vertical shelf dividers for cutting boards, cooling racks, and baking sheets maximizes space.

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SORT YOUR SPICESOvercrowding? Major pantry fail. Use verti-cally tiered racks to keep all the containers in plain sight. Metropolitan Rack, Dean & DeLuca, $75; deandeluca.com.

PULL OUT POTSMaximize your storage for pots, pans, and mixing bowls with portable drawers, and stow lids in long, horizontal organizers.20" pull-out cabinet organizer, Simplehuman, $59; containerstore.com.

DECANT STAPLESAvoid a hodgepodge of variously shaped grocery-store packages by transferring snacks, cereals, and pasta into clear seal-top containers. They stack easily, and food will stay fresh longer. Steel Pop containers, Oxo, $17–$23; oxo.com.

PUT ALABEL ON ITEdge each shelf in colorful write-on tape so you can note what belongs in every space.Washi tape, MT, $4 each; mt-tape.us.

BONUS TIP!CHALK IT UPUse chalkboard paint on the inside of the pantry door, then jot down what you need as soon as it runs out. Snap a smart-phone pic of the list be-fore heading to the store.Chalkboard paint in Char-coal, RH Baby & Child, $18/quart; rhbabyandchild.com.

WEIGH OPTIONSPlace heaviest items (crates, pet food, vino) below deck. Get a wine rack that keeps labels visible so you can grab that Sancerre tout de suite.Trifecta rack, Oenophilia, $35; amazon.com.

A place for everything and everything in its place? Might as well make this your mantra for organizing the pantry. Style and efficiency expert Jeffrey Phillip recommends creating a road map with labels so everyone in the house knows where things go. Also key? Removing expired goods regularly. “Daylight saving time is a good benchmark for when to take stock,” he says.


T H E C LO S E T W H I S P E R E R S

Hiring a designer to redo your

closet might be a stretch, but you can make your budget go

far with Organized

Living’s new Select Your Own tool.

Choose the type of closet

you want to tackle and

enter its measure-

ments. The site then gen-erates several predesigned spaces, com-

plete with products that

would fit your frame-

work and suit your needs.

Once you pick your

favorite, you can purchase

the recom-mended

items indi-vidually or opt to snag the whole

shebang in one sweep (packages

start at $117; organized

living.com).

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The secret to set-ting a stylish scene in this multi-purpose space? It’s all about main-taining a sense of consistency and relaxed order, says Ginny Snook Scott of California Closets. So say sayonara to mis-matched towels and Costco over-flow. Instead, focus on grouping like items together and stacking similar hues on the same shelf.

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FOLD IT WELLStreamline shelves by placing all linens in the same direction, with the neat crease facing out. Keep stacks to a reasonable size: For bulky towels, limit your piles to four each to prevent an avalanche.

CATEGORIZE THE CHIC WAYPut similar-size linens together for a tidy ef-fect (all king flat sheets in one stack, all pillow-cases in another). Affix labels underneath each grouping to quickly find what’s needed.

TAKE INVENTORYNo chance of a closet feeling elegant with ratty old towels hanging around. Ditch what you don’t need or like, and make a list of what you should restock pronto.

PLAN FOR (AND PAMPER) GUESTSStash a set of sheets and a quilt in a nylon bag, labeled by bed size. Then tie a ribbon around a set of guest towels so you always have overnight essen-tials at the ready.

BAG IT UPKeep miscellaneous items, like bath mats, shower curtains, and extra sheet sets, in a zippered bag on the floor. Everything is within reach when needed but otherwise out of your way.

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SORT AND LABELOrganize sheet sets by size in tall cotton baskets placed at eye level since you’ll need these most often. Another option? Gather your sets together and store everything in the matching pillowcase.Striped closet bins, Great Useful Stuff, $22–$25; greatusefulstuff.com.

SHOW TOILET-RIES THE DOORAn over-the-door shoe rack is a good place for small products (cotton swabs, tooth-paste, and razors). Stow larger bulk items (toilet paper, shampoo, and body washes) on a lower shelf. Over-the-door organizer, the Macbeth Collection, $17; bedbathandbeyond.com.

BONUS TIP!SHED SOME LIGHTKeep tabs on what’s inside your space from anywhere in the room by mounting remote-control-operated LEDs near the ceiling.Battery-operated light kit, Lamps Plus, $25/2; lampsplus.com.

CHOOSE A BRIGHT BACKGROUNDJewel-toned paint on the wall makes linens pop so it’s easier to dis-tinguish between vari-ous neutral-hued sets.Aura paint in Sunshine 2021-30, Benjamin Moore, $68/gallon; benjaminmoore.com for stores.

BE A BASKET CASEPlace small towels and washcloths in lined baskets to prevent snags. No need to fold everything neatly, as the edges won’t be on display. Roll large towels into cylinders for a spa-like feel. Willow baskets, Cost Plus World Market, $18–$25; worldmarket.com.

Tiny-linen-closet woes often go like this: “Nothing is folded. It’s overstuffed. It’s hard to access, and things get lost,” says organizational guru Alejandra Costello. “The reality is that you want this space to feel stress-free.” Consider this your action plan for making tight spaces highly efficient (and attractive too).

T H E C LO U D O F C LO S E TS Even the

most orga-nized space can’t hold

everything. That’s where MakeSpace

Air comes in. Pack up what

you don’t have room for

(old books, that fondue set) in bins sent to you

with prepaid shipping

labels. The service will

snap shots of your stuff,

prep an inventory

list you can access 24/7,

then store everything in

its secure facility. Want

something back? Just submit a

request online and your

items will arrive in a few days. Shipping is gratis, and the monthly storage fee

starts at $25 (makespace

.com/air).

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DOING YOUR OWN CLOSET REVAMP? Tweet us a picture @InStyle using #closetbootcamp for a chance to be featured in an upcoming issue

Documents

WELCOME Closet TO BOOT CAMP - Organized Living