Organization Log #1: Small closets

I am so excited to start a new series here on One of Those Days about organization! It's different from what I usually write, but I am so obsessed with organizing and having things neat that I figured I would share some tips with all my friends, many of whom I know have small living/storing spaces! 

Today I'm going to focus on the bedroom closet and front closet in my new apartment. Both of them are about the same size as the closets I had when I lived in the Quad at Auburn. Small. That is the size. Like, really small.

So, here's an overview of my bedroom: 

View of the bed from the doorway

Looking pretty similar to my last place, eh?

Looking straight into the room from the doorway

Looking toward the wall with the door

It's a cute little room, and it has two closets! Now, I am only using one, as boyfriend will be joining me in January. So here's my closet:

Itty bitty little baby. I was able to fit all of my clothes in here only because of my weight gain. All of my normal-sized Kelly clothes are in seven giant boxes in a larger storage closet in the living room. When I'm back to my normal size maybe I will write another post about this closet, because I will definitely have to re-organize. 

TIP #1: UTILIZE OVER-THE-DOOR HANGING STORAGE. I've had this shoe hanger forever. For anyone living in an older apartment with solid wood doors, they will be thicker than other doors, i.e.: anything made for over-the-door hanging won't work in this circumstance. Do not fear, friends, for there are command hooks. The strongest hooks they sell hold up to five pounds each. Use three of them  and you're good to go for those heavy shoe hangers. 

TIP #2: DOUBLE UP WHEN YOU CAN. Because I have a lot of shoes, I put one pair per pocket when I could. All my flats fit with both shoes in one pocket, but for my two pairs of oxford lace-ups, I had to separate them. But for flats and sandals, you can absolutely save space by doubling up! 

TIP #3: MAKE USE OF VERTICAL SPACE. Luckily for me, I have two deep shelves on top of my hanging rack, and I'm using both of them, even though they're pretty high up.

TIP #4: FLIP STORAGE CUBES ON THEIR SIDES FOR EASY-TO-SEE CLOTHING STORAGE. On the uppermost shelf I folded all of my winter shirts by category (over-shirt and thick sweaters, medium-thick sweaters and turtle necks, and thin long-sleeved shirts) in three 12-inch cubes. I did the same thing in my last place and loved it. You can easily see every shirt, and it looks super cute in the bins. I also put some of my hats on top of these bins. I need a step-stool to reach this shelf, but that's okay, because I was able to fit my clothes for ALL SEASONS in one tiny closet!

On the lower shelf, I was able to put two rows of heels—14 pairs total. I can reach the front row, barely, but I need the handy dandy step stool again for the back row. 

TIP #5: DON'T BE AFRAID TO BEND. USE THE FLOOR SPACE! 

Forgive the shakiness of this photo! I bought this four-tiered shoe rack from Target for $20. It was super easy to assemble, and holds up to 20 pairs of shoes! Yes, I do have so many shoes that I need an over-the-door hanger, a two-pair deep shelf, and a floor rack. And there are even more at my parent's house...

Because this little rack is pretty lightweight, the majority of the shoes I put on it are also lightweight. I put my heaviest sneakers on the bottom rack, and only put boots on the top because that's the only place they fit due to the majority of them being calf-high. The rest are sandals and slippers! 

Moving on to the front closet!

In this closet I have my Snow Queen costume (thank goodness I have a place to store my wig other than the kitchen table!), my winter coats and rain coats, accessories, and all my winter hats, gloves, and scarves. 

TIP #6: USE SHOWER CURTAIN HANGERS FOR ACCESSORIES! This is by far my favorite closet organization tip! Here I'm using them for my belts and bags, but you can also tie a scarf over it and it works like a charm. If you need to save more space, hang those suckers on a sturdy (preferably wooden) hanger instead of directly on the hanging rod. You can buy a pack of these at Target for a little more than a dollar.

TIP #7: BARGAIN HUNT FOR ORGANIZATION PRODUCTS. Both of the following items I purchased at the dollar store. You don't have to spend a whole lot to get quality items. If the dollar store had carried a shoe rack, I would have purchased that there as well! 

I picked up these ADORABLE baskets for $2 apiece. I used one for beanies, winter headbands, and gloves, one for my two earflap hats, and one for scarves that didn't fold well enough to put in these little boxes:

For my scarves that do fold easily, I put them in these boxes, which were $1 each at the dollar store. They are actually meant to be used as shoe boxes, but it fit my needs perfectly! I recommend getting a box that is see-through so that you can easily know which scarves are in what box and find them more quickly.

GRAND TOTAL: All of this cost me less than $30!! And I have a great-looking, well-organized space that is functional for me. 

Now, I did already own the storage cubes and shoe hanger, but I saw a three-pack of storage cubes for $6 at the dollar store, and you can find a shoe hanger for about $10, which would bring your grand total to $46. 

Let me know here or on Facebook if you like organization tips and if you want to see more, because I could talk about organization all day long! My bedroom was the first thing I organized, and up next are my bathroom, kitchen, office, and living room.

Hugs and Kisses to all my neat-freak friends! Until next time!