Do you often find yourself struggling to locate items in your hall closet? Is it overflowing with miscellaneous items, making it a chaotic mess? With a touch of organization, you can transform your hall closet into a tidy and functional space for your home.
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I have two tall and narrow hallway closets. The first step to organizing these spaces is to define the goals and intentions for each space. When organizing any space in your home, use your space for what makes sense for YOUR home as you move through each season of life.
Closet One: Located across the hall from my kiddos room. We've designated this closet as a toy storage as the kiddos have limited space in their room.
Closet Two: Located at the end of the hallway between the primary bedroom and the office. This closet serves as a storage space for flashlights, candles, first aid kits, sunblock, towels, and backup bathroom supplies.
5 Tips for Organizing & Maintaining Any Closet
1. Assess & Declutter: Start by removing the entire contents of the closet. Sort through each item and decide what to keep, donate, or discard separating as you empty the closet. Be ruthless in your decluttering process – if you or your family haven't used something in the past year, it's absolutely okay to let it go. Create space for items that serve a purpose and are used with intention. Mindfully group similar items you plan to keep into recognizable categories, i.e. action figures with action figures, flashlights with flashlights. Reviewing similar items together will support your assessment of how much/many you need of that item.
2. Categorize Items: Evaluate your items and determine the categories that make the most sense for your space. Grouping similar items (especially once removed from your closet) will help you evaluate how much you actually own. You might be surprised when you see everything laid out asking yourself, "How many throw blankets is too many?" Only separate your items and become as granular with your categories as you are willing to maintain. For example, I group all toy cars in bins regardless of type, but I separate Hot Wheels tracks because that makes sense for how we use these items in my home.
3. Invest in Storage Solutions: Maximize space in your hall closet with the help of storage solutions such as hooks, shelves, baskets, and over-the-door organizers. Utilize vertical space to make the most of the available area. For my kiddos, baskets serve a dual purpose. Baskets are great for shelf storage and for cleanup time as the baskets can be moved around the room to collect toys. Be intentional about the storage items you purchase. Beautiful storage is nice, but functional and durable storage is better.
4. Label Everything: One key to maintaining an organized space is making the system easy for everyone in your home to follow, which is why I love labels. Labeling bins, baskets, and containers can significantly streamline the organization process and make it easier for everyone in the household to find what they need and better yet, put those items away in their designated space.
5. Maintain Regularly: Schedule regular maintenance sessions to keep your hall closet organized and clutter-free. A quick tidy-up every month or so can prevent clutter from accumulating and maintain order in the space. Plan a deeper dive once a season or as significant life transitions happen within your household prompting you to use your space differently, like taking on a new hobby with added supplies or children outgrowing toys.
I honestly believe following a guide to organizing your space with these simple steps can help transform your hall closet or any closet for that matter, from a cluttered disaster into a well-organized storage haven. Say yes to a functional and tidy space that welcomes you every time you open the door, you'll be happy you made the organizing commitment.