Getting rid of clutter, stacking drawers keys to organization

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Everyone encounters it, but not everyone knows just what to do with it — the small closet.

Organizing this limited space often turns into piling things on top of one another and then hiding any leftovers under the bed. With a little planning, even a small closet can fit more than you’d expect.

Before you even start trying to consider how all your things are going to fit, get rid of things you don’t ever use anymore. This especially goes for closets, since some people have a tendency to hoard everything that comes into their possession. If you don’t ever use that awkward-looking monkey lamp, don’t try and fit it in your tiny closet (or anywhere for that matter).

Once you’re down to the necessities, then you can start to prioritize. Put the things you know you use constantly in one pile and those used more infrequently in another. All of the things you don’t use as much should go into the closet first, close to the back or on the bottom of shelves.

Anina Juliano, a preveterinary medicine junior, had to do just that when it came to organizing her apartment closet.

“I would start with stuff I don’t need and put those things in the back first,” she said. “All the things I know I use on a daily basis go in front so they’re much easier to get to.”

Now on to clothes. It may be helpful to divide your clothing into seasons, or simply divide them into warm and cold categories. All the clothes that you wear should be easily accessible, while the ones that you’re saving can either be on the back of the rack or stored away.

“I really think color coordinating helps a lot,” English junior Melissa Jensen said. “I can be like, ‘I’m feeling blue today’ and automatically find what I’m looking for.”

Using vertical drawers helps the process by creating more space width-wise.

“I use stacked drawers in my closet because it gives you more room,” Juliano said.

Communication sophomore Jill Cotton also utilized the stacked drawer method.

“The first thing I did was buy stackable drawers,” she said. “It makes things easier.”

It is a good idea because you should think of organizing upward instead of side to side because this will give you more room. Target, 4890 Marsh Road, in Okemos, and Wal-Mart, 3225 Towne Centre Blvd., both sell cheap plastic drawers in a variety of sizes that can be used for extra clothing.

Hangers come to the rescue when you have too many clothes when You can buy hanger holders that have up to five separate slots on them, so you can hang five shirts in the space of just one. This helps the categorizing process because you can hang all your work shirts or all your dress shirts on one hanger, which makes them easier to find.

“It’s aesthetically appealing to have everything organized,” Jensen said.

When it comes to pants, hangers also can help solve any space issues.

“One thing that helps is I hang all of my pants on hangers,” Cotton said. “Then you have more room in your drawers.”

Shoes can present a slight problem for most people. Instead of just throwing them all on the floor, which can look cluttered and downright messy, buy a cheap plastic shoe rack instead. Not only does it get all the shoes off the floor, but you can store them handily over a door.

Canvas shoe dividers also can be purchased for cheap and you can place them up against a wall in your closet, if space allows.

Everyone has a method to their madness, and these are just some simple guidelines to consider when tackling the task of organizing a closet. If you’re still lost, just go to a place like Target and check out all the spiffy organizing tools they carry. Inspiration is sure to follow.

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