Clean Your Closet Clutter
DEAR TIM: Help! I've got too much stuff and am running out of storage space. Not only are my bedroom closets a disaster, but I am also having problems in my kitchen and bathroom pantry, and laundry room. Are the wire shelving systems any good? Are there other storage systems that will maximize my available closet space? Susanne W., Gig Harbor, WA
DEAR SUSANNE: You and I are in the same boat. I am drowning in clutter at my house. The root of my problem is my pack rat character flaw. It never seems to fail that one week after throwing something away, a need develops for that freshly buried item in the landfill! My guess is that if a storage expert visited your house and mine he would quickly determine that well over 50 percent of the space in our closets is poorly used or wasted.
The wire shelving industry has experienced significant growth over the past 15 - 20 years. The coated steel shelving was innovative when first introduced. Because it possesses numerous advantages over the traditional pole and plank shelving, it continues to have growing and wide- spread popularity. Wire shelving comes from the factory pre-finished. There is no need to paint it. The open weave of the shelving provides great ventilation for clothes. Special wall anchors and support brackets allow you to install the shelving with little concern as to wall stud locations. In fact, the installation instructions with many systems tell you to avoid wall studs!
The newer closet storage systems solve clutter problems by creating additional horizontal platforms in closets and pantries. Shirts, blouses, and pants folded over a hanger only need approximately 32 to 36 inches of vertical hanging height. When placed on a traditional pole, all of the space below is wasted. Two distinct levels of wire shelves that have built in continuous rods can be placed in an average closet. This will double your storage space. The lower shelf can be stopped 18 inches shorter than the top shelf. This provides uninterrupted room to hang long garments from the top shelf.
All sorts of accessories are available. You can get special necktie hangers, shoe racks, clothes baskets, belt hooks, and more. All of these items are built to attach easily to the walls and wire shelving components. The wire clothes baskets work similar to file cabinets. The drawers stack on top of one another and they slide in and out on nifty racks. Because they are open wire, you can easily spot the sweater or sweatshirt that you want to wear.
Your kitchen and bath pantries can be transformed with multiple shelves and a door rack. Pantry space is often wasted because the shelves are not spaced properly. Consider installing wire shelves that begin at 29 inches off the floor. Then install shelves at 42, 55, 68, and 81 inches respectively off the floor. Inexpensive wire shelving door racks attach to the backside of the pantry door. When the door is closed, they will not hit the shelves. The racks are perfect for soup cans, aerosol cans, tea boxes, and packaged bags of beans.
You can quickly organize your laundry room by installing a combination of shelving and cabinets over your washer and dryer. I happen to have some inexpensive 30 inch tall kitchen wall cabinets placed on the wall above my machines. The cabinets are perfect for all of the laundry supplies, light bulbs, and miscellaneous household supplies. I intend to install additional wire shelving next to the cabinets. These will be perfect for beach towels, folded laundry, and my box of household rags.
You can also purchase some deluxe closet organizing systems. These consist of melamine cabinets, shelving units, shoe cubes, and drawers. These units can add an elegant touch to any closet, pantry, home office, laundry room, or even a garage workshop. Be sure to consult with a storage expert if you decide to use these units. They will help you maximize the utility and function of these wonderful systems.
