Back when we shared how we organized just about everything in our house there were a number of requests to see how we kept our clothing in check, so we’re back to crash our very own closets and share all the dirty details. The closest I got to pulling back the curtain was revealing how I keep my jewelry organized in a ceramic egg crate a while back:
But there’s a lot more than jewelry in that big Ikea wardrobe…
On my side of the bed, the wardrobe has two top shelves, a hanging bar, a shelf under the hanging bar with fabric boxes (full of socks, underwear, swimsuits, and all the other things that I like to keep wrangled in their own cubbies), and four more shelves below (one for jeans, one for pajamas and two for shoe storage.
One little trick I learned was that turning each set of shoes in the opposite direction somehow magically makes room for one more pair of shoes per shelf (since the front of each pair of shoes is wider than the back, alternating directions steals a bit of space with each pair you add).
And as for those fabric bins, here’s a better angle to check out my socks, bras and underwear. Good thing almost everything I wear is black so you can’t see much detail here…
I also mentioned that I had two top shelves above the hanging bar, one that I use for folded fabric storage (it’s kind of like clothing, right?) and the other that I use to house the purses that I’m not currently carrying (I stuff them with balled up paper bags to help them keep their shape and “sit” on the shelf) and a few rolled up scarves. Oh and matching hangers are one of the easiest ways (and cheapest- they’re super inexpensive in bulk at Ikea) to make your closet look like a little boutique- plus they keep clothes from getting all stretched out like they do with skinny plastic or wire hangers.
So that’s my side, now it’s time for J’s. His also has a hanging bar with two shelves above it, but instead of having five shelves below it he has one followed by three pull-out drawers and one more shelf on the bottom for shoes. And while my hanging bar is full of mostly black tops, John’s is full of colorful collared work shirts (since he has an entire drawer devoted to t-shirts and more casual weekend stuff).
John also uses his big shelf under the hanging bar to store jeans while he houses all of his socks, white undershirts, and boxers in one of the pull out drawers. The greatest thing about bringing in the Ikea wardrobes was that we could each customize them to work for us individually (for example, John’s hanging bar is about a foot taller than mine since I’m 5’2″ and he’s 6′). Oh and you may notice that John has more jeans than me. I’m crazy about keeping things simple, even when it comes to clothes, so I like to have just a few no-fail pieces that I can grab without confusion or internal debate. Weird, huh? I know.
Here you can see John’s awesome pull out drawers in all their glory. My wardrobe is actually a few inches narrower than John’s (our back window is off-center, so we used the wardrobes and some curtains on the back wall to make it things appear more symmetrical) which explains why his accommodated drawers while mine only came with the option for shelves (certain sizes are “standard” and have more options).
And while John might have more jeans than I do, I definitely win when it comes to shoes. I think because I keep my wardrobe pretty simple (mainly black and sometimes a pop of coral or turquoise) I use fun shoes and dangly earrings to keep things interesting. At least that’s what I tell myself to keep from feeling guilty about my abundant footwear collection. Thank goodness we still have the original closet that came with the room (can you believe two people were supposed to survive with just this in the master bedroom?) for my overflow shoes, John’s suits, my dresses, and some out of season sweaters.
We even inherited some old nails in the side of the closet, which actually serve a great function- wrangling some necklaces that don’t fit into the egg crate in my wardrobe. They’re more function than form, but replacing them with decorative hooks or knobs from Anthropologie could pretty things up in a flash.
This closet also came with two stacked wire shoe racks (it’s like our house knew I was coming!) which are super functional when it comes to storing three times the amount of shoes thanks to more usable vertical space. And you’ll notice that I didn’t use my little alternating-directions-with-my-shoes trick here, because I actually have room to spare in this closet. That, my friends, is restraint (although I did see some cute little green sandals at Target…).
And on the subject of closets, we just couldn’t forget our guest bedroom closet…. because it’s a little bedroom for Burger! Of course we never close the door when he’s in it and we remove his crate when guests come (the fact that we have an empty closet full of wooden hangers makes our little spare bedroom feel a bit more posh- it’s the little things, right?).
So there you have it. We’ve officially been closet crashed. We hope you guys enjoyed our little peek behind the curtain. And of course we’d love to know your closet tips and tricks. How do you make the most of your clothing storage? Any closet makeovers on the horizon? Do tell!
Wanna know how those big Ikea built-ins on either side of the bed came to be? Here’s the whole story.
Maggie says
ahh, how lovely to be organised. I have to share a wardrobe with my husband. I have 3/5ths and he has 2/5ths of the space. We live in a one bedroom flat and have the elfa system which has given us much more space.
Great trick with the shoes to squeeze an extra pair in. I’ve seen on Oprah that she does her shoes with one shoe from every pair turned with the back to the front. That way you see the front of the shoe and the heel style/height. It should still give you the extra room as 50% of your collection will still be turned to the back.
Yvette says
I can’t wait — we are giving each other a closet makeover for Christmas. It will give me an excuse to finally get rid of all the clothing that we never use or that ONE day will fit. Speaking of organization…Do you have any other cool tips? Like where do you store important paper work or old photographs???
YoungHouseLove says
Here’s a post all about where we stash and store everything: https://www.younghouselove.com/2009/04/how-ya-bin/
You can also see other organization related posts on our How To tab under the header. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Candace says
I’m currently working on our closets and remembered this post. Can you tell me the distance between the shelving in your closets? I’ve tried moving mine around and it always seems too close or too far apart. Thanks.
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Candace,
We planned our shelves based on what we would be storing on each one, so they vary from 6″ to 12″ apart. The lower ones with our shoes on them are 6″ since we wanted as many as possible and they didn’t need to be any taller. But the ones that are up above are a bit further apart so we can store things like handbags and backpacks and stacks of folded out of season sweaters, etc. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Jessica (Goodbye, Small Heart) says
I’m wondering where your fabric boxes are from. We’ve been looking for simple ones like that forever and it seems like they are impossible to find. Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
Ikea- and they’re so cheap. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Carol Moyer says
I solved the problem of hiding the litterboxes by purchasing a folding (three fold) fireplace screen. It is
decorative and functional. I purchased mine from ebay because I live in a rural area with very few shopping opportunities.
Lisa says
I think it’s great you used the inhereted nails as necklace storage! The previous owners of my place left a tie rack afixed to the wall in my closet which I quickly hung my necklaces on. Since it’s the plastic covered metal like your shoe racks, it’s also a cheaper option for anyone wanting to avoid pricey jewelry organizers!
Nicole says
I love your blog and all of your tips. I can’t wait to tackle my closet and get super organized / purge what I don’t need. In your opinion, whats the best way to store sweaters? I feel like hanging them takes up valuable space but they tend to get disheveled folded up in drawers. Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
I actually like folding them on an open shelf so they’re not crushed in drawers (like a shelf above the hanging bar in a closet). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
alamodemaven says
I fell in love with the jewelry egg crate awhile back, and then I spied this at JOANN craft store for $3.99…..maybe you could use a few more???
Happy weekend! xoxo Shelli
http://www.alamodemaven.com/2011/04/easter-egg-crate-huntanother.html
YoungHouseLove says
What an awesome deal! Love it!
xo,
s
Amy says
Hey Sherry,
First of all- love your site! I’m totally digging your minimalist wardrobe. As I transition from college to the professional world I’m trying to prune down to the basics and just the things I love. I’m curious if you would estimate how many of each item you have and what works for you as far as versatile clothing items…Basically I want you to fix my closet =) Any help or tips would be appreciated!
YoungHouseLove says
Hmm, back when I had a out-of-the-house job (in advertising) I probably had 10 blouses, 10 tanks/camisoles, 4 blazers/jackets, 4 cardigans, 3 pairs of pants, and 4 skirts. Then I just mixed and matched everything. Oh and I had about 3 dresses. Now I probably have a bit less (maybe 15 things on top that I mix and match and 6 things on bottom between skirts and pants and jeans and two dresses).
xo,
s
Guzal says
I just randomly found your blog and it is amazing! I am at awe with all the creative ideas that you have made into reality.
I’m actually redoing my closets at the moment and my first step was to get curtains to replace the old fold out doors. I was curious to know where exactly you bought your curtains from that are shown in the photos above. I’ve been looking for something similar and yours look so simple and classy. I would really appreciate the tip :) Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the kind words! They’re from Ikea! Hope it helps.
xo,
s