Monthly Archives: January 2011

26 January, 2011
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Closet Tricks for Making Space

Everyone could use a little organization help when it comes to their closets. Closets are usually the best place in the house for storing things that you want to keep out of sight. This often neglected space can quickly become a dumping ground for things that you seldom use or may not ever use again. It is time to go through that junk and figure out how you are going to make your closet work with you instead of against you.

1) Clear out what you are never going to use or wear again. You may have more in your closet than you realize. Scuffed shoes, out of style jeans, even old camera chargers or birthday cards. Get rid of whatever you can bear to part with. Ask yourself what really is important here. If you have a lot of sentimental clothing, take pictures of it, or cut it up and use the scraps to make a memory pillow or blanket. Have a garage sale or give clothes to charity. You will feel like a giant weight has been lifted when you thin out the amount of stuff that you keep in your closet.

2) Clean the closet. This area of the house can go years without being dusted or vacuumed. It can be the sneaky source of mold, mildew and allergens. Clean your closet really well before putting anything back inside. Baseboards, carpet, hanging rails and shelves should be dusted and thoroughly cleaned. This will also ensure that you do not leave anything in the closet that should come out.

3) Replace old hangers with matching slimline hangers. These space saving hangers will make a huge difference in your closet. Use cascading hooks to create double the space on your hanging bar. You can quickly identify outfits when you are in a hurry. You can save space while preventing wrinkled clothing. These space saving hangers have an ultra-thin design, but they are very sturdy. They have a velvety finish that keeps clothing from slipping off on to the floor. Hang up only what you wear now, in this season.

4) Store out of season items. Not only should your opposite season wardrobe be stored, but you should also store clothes that you hope to fit back into someday. Some people have as many as four wardrobes stuffed into one closet! That is four wardrobes for each season, plus they may have a spouse with the same problem. There is no way that a conventional closet can hold all of that stuff. Some people get rid of smaller clothing, vowing that if they lose the weight, that they will deserve new, more modern clothes. Or, create a container that stores each size of clothing that you own. Store it in a spare bedroom, basement or garage until you need it.

Getting the junk out and organizing what you actually wear can make a huge difference in your closet. Using space saving hangers can make your closet a dream to look into and use.

About the Author: Rick Miller is on the staff of Only Slimline Hangers, a leading online resource for slimlinehangers which are space saving hangers, non slip hangers and slim line hangers. For more information, please visit http://www.onlyslimlinehangers.com.

13 January, 2011
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Rid your Life of Clutter

Living in a small apartment or home with little storage can turn cozy into cramped pretty fast. Without a plan, your clothes and storage items can simply take over your home. It’s hard to relax and enjoy your space when you feel like you don’t have any! With constant clutter looming all around, you will just stay stressed and always feel like you’re out of control. Use these simple and reliable home organization methods to get your space in order. There’s no need to feel like you’re being squeezed out of your own home ever again!

1) Hanging shelves are great for closets and other areas where you might be able to make some storage happen. It’s usually not that you don’t have space available; it’s that you haven’t thought of how to most effectively use the space that you do have. Vertical space is often ignored and shelves are often too shallow to store everything that you need to.

2) Find spaces that you didn’t know you had. Sometimes a unique or creative arrangement of shelves inside of your cabinets can give you more space than you imagined. Look around the house and determine the spaces that are not being used efficiently. If shelves are too far apart, there will be empty space above your bins, books, boxes, or whatever you have there. Try adding shelves or hanging an undershelf basket from the higher shelves. These are great for storing smaller items, computer paper, baseball caps, socks, magazines, or toys.

3) Look up! You can install shelves above doorways and around the ceiling. This is a modern way of creating storage or display space without cluttering up the room with big shelves. A shelf above a door that displays your favorite things or stores your cookbooks is not only an easy clutter solution, but it can give your home a unique feel.

4) Corner that clutter. Have you ever considered adding corner shelves to the bottom corners of the room, the front corners of the closet, or up the kitchen corner? You can create spaces for canned foods, pictures, books, knick knacks, and more. A lot of times we use our shelf space for displaying things like art or mementos. If we can get these things away from our larger storage areas and onto smaller shelves, we can make a lot of space with very little effort.

5) Utilize products that make space happen. There are many closet accessories that can be used all over the home. Make storage space in your closet by using velvet hangers, which are thin, space saving hangers. You can piggy-back them, use clips, and cascade clothing from them tripling closet space in minutes. Using tricks like this can help you to discover just how much hidden space there really is in your home.

About the Author: Rick Miller is on the staff of Only Slimline Hangers, a leading online resource for velvet hangers which are space saving hangers, non slip hangers and slim line hangers. For more information, please visit http://www.onlyslimlinehangers.com.

4 January, 2011
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Making Space in your Home

It can be difficult to find storage and create organized spaces in your home if there isn’t much space available. Do you feel like even if you could afford to buy storage spaces you would have nowhere to put them? You’re not alone. By the time we put a bed, dresser, and some bedside tables in our bedrooms, we are really out of space. Plus, you don’t want to make your rooms feel cluttered with too much furniture. However, it can get cluttered with junk if you don’t have spaces to put things away. There are ways to make better use of the spaces that you do have, you just might have to get a little creative to make it happen. We’ve compiled some ideas from professional organizers to help you get the job done. Luckily, you don’t have to have a lot of space or money to use these tips in your home. Get organized and clear out the areas that are in view by using this helpful advice.

1) First you have to determine what you need to find a place for. If you have heaps of clothing, mail, craft supplies, and general junk lying around, it may be difficult to know where to start. This is why we suggest starting off by using the “divide and conquer” approach. You can separate things into boxes, laundry baskets, or just piles to get started. Try not to make any category too big or too small. When everything is divided, you can better tell how many areas you will need to create.

2) If you feel like there’s just no way that you can ever make space for everything that you own, it might be time to get rid of some things. Charities accept usable home items, such as office supplies, clothing, and toys. Donate and throw out what you can so that you have less to deal with. When you get rid of excess things, you’ll be ready to go.

3) Now that you see what you have left, determine the dimensions of space that you will need for each pile. It’s helpful to determine the actual square footage or inches of space that you will need. This way, you won’t be constrained to an actual measurement, and can adjust the dimensions of space needed to fit where you want it to. For example, you may have a 2’x2’x2’ stack of sweaters. Instead of storing the sweaters in a cube, you may be able to roll them and store them in a shallow box underneath your bed.

4) After you find places to store items that you don’t use all the time, you can begin to make the most of the hanging space that you have in your closet for your everyday wardrobe. You can use space saving hangers, like velvet hangers, to make your clothes fit closely together. The velvet hanger coating will keep your clothes from slipping or being damaged by cheap metal clips. You can cascade these space saving hangers to coordinate outfits and double or triple your space. Using inexpensive solutions like this can have you organized in no time.

About the Author: Rick Miller is on the staff of Only Slimline Hangers, a leading online resource for velvet hangers which are space saving hangers, non slip hangers and slim line hangers. For more information, please visit http://www.onlyslimlinehangers.com.