It’s well into winter and your coat closet is probably in need of some organization. Is your coat closet packed with heavy coats, hanging sloppily from flimsy hangers? Are the shoes, boots, gloves, hats and scarves all mixed up? A messy coat closet will not only cost you time when you’re trying to get out the door, but it can also cause your coats to get musty, wrinkled, and lose their shape.

Tailored coats, wool coats, suit coats, and other winter wear is generally shaped at the shoulder. This helps them to look nice when worn over other clothes. It covers bulk and gives you clean lines that make you look sharp. However, ordinary hangers are not meant to hold the shape of these garments. Hangers that are too slim will make shoulders pucker and hang flat. Once that shoulder shape is lost, you could never get it back.

Choosing a coat hanger that helps your coats keep their intended shape and structure can make your coats look nice for many years. A high quality coat hanger is generally curved to fit the shape of the back of your fine coats. The shoulders should be wide, but slope down so that the corners do not push out on the sleeves. There are coat hangers made for bigger coats and plus size coats. There are also ones made in petite sizes and even children’s sizes.

You can stock the rest of your coat closet with clothes hangers that save space. These are great for lighter jackets and sweaters. Your hangers should be sturdy enough to hold the weight of the garments that you put on them. They should also have good enough grips to hold onto slippery fabrics when you pull your other coats out.

Putting wet boots and shoes in the bottom of your coat closet may keep them out of site, but it can cause your coats to smell musty. That musty smell is actually mold and mildew developing in the fabrics. You should come up with a place for your boots and shoes to dry, outside of the closet. If you’re worried about moisture, mildew, mold and musty odors, you might consider wood hangers made from cedar. Cedar clothes hangers not only deodorize, but it actually absorb moisture, keeping your coats safe.

You may need bins or baskets labeled for gloves, scarves and hats in the winter. You can get separate ones for each family member to keep things separated and easy to find. Clear bins can make it easier to see what is in each container. Mesh baskets that hang inside the door are also nice. Check out some pantry organizers that attach to the door and consider them for your coat closet organization.

About the Author: Charlie Hafter is on the staff of Closet Hanger Factory, a leading online resource for clothes hangers. Get all of the closet and clothes hanger accessories you could need at http://www.closethangerfactory.com, which is recognized worldwide for their excellent quality hangers.

A small closet can be a real problem if you don’t have a good arrangement. Most closets sport one long hanging bar and one long top shelf. To make matters worse, this bar is often positioned in the exact center of the closet, wasting the space in front of and behind the bar. You can rearrange the closet configuration to make it meet your needs. Stop wasting closet space and get yours organized today.

Start by evaluating your priorities when it comes to storing things. Do you really need every single thing in your closet? Not only can you most likely get rid of a lot of things, but half of the things in there probably could be stored somewhere else. Make rules and boundaries for your precious closet space so that you can make it more efficient and effective for what you really need it for.

Blankets, suitcases, pillows and other items can come out of the closet and be stored underneath beds. You can put them into large plastic containers that will protect them from dust, pests, and pets. Categorize your storage items as much as possible so that when new things show up in the bedroom, you’ll know where you should put it. This will help you keep your closet organized once it gets that way.

Now that you’ve narrowed down what you want to keep in your closet, organize it outside of the closet. Use the bed or the floor to stack up the things that you want to keep in the closet. Play around with configurations to see what you like. Do you think you could make more space if you hung all of the items that are the same length together? Hanging all of your pants together, or smaller shirts together often makes room for a second bar, drawers, or laundry basket underneath. Doing this can actually double your space.

If you install a second bar, consider moving the top bar up a little. There is usually a lot of unused space by the ceiling, so you may be able to move that shelf up higher, too. If you have longer dresses that need a high bar, install a smaller one on one side or the other of the closet so that they can hang down. You may also decide to push the bars back so that you reveal space at the front of the closet.

If you do have some room at the front, you can install shelving. Corner shelves, cubby shelves, or just book style shelving can give you tons of extra storage in a small space. Utilize boxes, bins, baskets and buckets for these little hidden spaces.

When you are done, update your clothes hangers. There are many options here. You may love the look of luxurious wood hangers. You may decide to go with hangers that save space. There are also specialty hangers, like belt hangers and tie hangers that can help you keep the closet organized.

About the Author: Charlie Hafter is on the staff of Closet Hanger Factory, a leading online resource for clothes hangers. Get all of the closet and clothes hanger accessories you could need at http://www.closethangerfactory.com, which is recognized worldwide for their excellent quality hangers.

Are you aggravated by your cluttered closet space? It’s time to do something about it. If you’re interested in do it yourself projects, then the closet is a good place to test your skills. You can make a closet as basic or as complex as your skills will allow. Designing and building a closet system yourself, as opposed to buying a ready-made system, can be rewarding and give you the personalized space that you need to get your closet organized.

There are many closet systems on the market, some more expensive, some less expensive. You can get away with the cheapest closet system that works by going with wire shelving. Because you can cut the lengths of wire shelving that you need, this can be a cost effective option that doesn’t hinder your creative style. However, some people do not like the look of the wire closet system, and would like something more permanent or attractive, like wood.

Wood shelving systems can get very expensive, but not if you do it yourself. You may need a helper to install wood shelves, but having a second person on the job can be beneficial anyway. Run your ideas past your partner and get input. Sometimes, if you open the door, so to speak, people will surprise you with their ideas. Do some research online as well so that you can get ideas. Figure out what you might be able to build and put it in the plan.

Customize the design as much as you’d like. Things like drawers can be difficult if you’re inexperienced, but something like a shoe shelf can be relatively easy. You can slant shelves and install a dowel rod at the front to keep shoes from slipping. Simply glue it down or tack it with finishing nails. Make sure that you sand, stain, and varnish your shelves, unless they are cedar.

Cedar closets are really beautiful and offer many benefits; one being that you don’t have to stain or varnish! Cedar is a very aromatic wood that actually deodorizes your closet. It absorbs moisture and humidity from the air so that you don’t ever have to worry about mold, mildew, or their musty odors. Cedar will also keep your closet free of pests. It’s so beautiful and all you have to do is sand.

When you’re done with your project, dress it up a bit by using wooden hangers. You can buy wholesale wood hangers to make it an inexpensive upgrade for your closet. Cedar hangers are a great addition whether you have a cedar closet or not. You may also want some specialty wood hangers, such as a tie hanger, belt hanger, or pants hanger. These don’t just look great, they’re functional, too. You’ll have your new closet looking great in no time.

About the Author: Charlie Hafter is on the staff of Closet Hanger Factory, a leading online resource for wooden hangers. Get all of the wood hangers and closet accessories you could need at http://www.closethangerfactory.com, which is recognized worldwide for their excellent quality hangers.