Closet Organization Inspiration

Today is the day of unpacking. And not just suitcases. I’m unpacking an entire home. We moved into our new place just three days — yes, it was crazy — before leaving for Croatia. So we only had time to dump the boxes and run.

Now that we’re back, it’s time to figure out how we’re going to organize everything, most importantly, our closets. Like most people, we’re not blessed with a huge, walk-in closet. Instead, we have two standard closets. Thankfully one runs the entire length of the room. But still, as I look at our boxes and boxes — plus two racks — of clothes, I can’t help but wonder, “How is it all going to fit?”

Better yet, “How’s it all going to fit without looking like a tag sale explosion?”

The ideal is to have a beautiful closet that looks like a perfectly organized jewel box every time you open it. The reality is everything you own must fit. Making them both happen? A challenge. A huge challenge. And I’m guessing you know what I’m talking about. We’ve all been there.

The key to creating both a beautiful and functional closet is two fold. First, it’s super important to edit your wardrobe keeping only the things you truly love to wear, because the less you have, the easier it is to store and find.

Secondly, you need to be clever about how you use your space. The typical closet with one rod across and a shelf above leaves you with lots of dead, empty space underneath your clothes. But that doesn’t cut it when you have lots of stuff to store. Every, single inch should be utilized for storage.

To give you — as well as myself — some ideas for how to utilize that dead space, I’ve gathered a number of closet photos for inspiration. Many of them feature walk-in closets — our dream, not our reality. But that doesn’t mean they can’t be useful as inspiration. The storage elements of a walk-in closet can easily be incorporated into the standard closet. Open shelves. Cubbies. Two layers of hanging rods. Drawers. And doing so will make your closet feel more beautiful and luxurious.

You don’t need a walk-in closet to be wowed when you open your closet doors. Just good planning that displays your wears in the best way possible.