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Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Curated Closet: my closet tour

Over the past couple of months we have been talking about curating the closet of your dreams.

So far the "Curated Closet" series has covered identifying the problem, filling wardrobe holes, adding wardrobe completers & closet organization.

The last time I gave a tour of my closet was December 2011 & I think we are due for another round!
And here she is!
As a reminder, I live in a 900 square foot townhouse with my fiancé & two pugs. Storage space is pretty much lacking in every corner of our place, with the exception of my bedroom that happens to have decent closets despite it all (it's my saving grace!)

Two closets span one wall in my room & I have to say, I have utilized every inch of this hard to come by storage.
In the left hand side closet I hang (from Left to Right): coats, jackets, dresses, long skirts & then large handbags.
Down below the left side lives:
- a storage box of costumes (my college had a theme party every weekend & I just haven't been able to part with any of them yet!)
- Overnight bags (all the small ones are stored inside the largest one)
- Clutches, scarves & hats live in a little storage unit that I found in the bathroom section of Target (you never know where you are going to find great stuff!)

In the right hand side closet I hang (from Left to Right): cardigans, button downs, blouses, short skirts & then trousers & denim.
Up top lives special occasion shoes, large sunhats & out of season clothes in vacuum storage bags.
Down below the right side are my shoes (the ones that get regularly worn... I'm a shoe girl!). Alternating the way every other shoe faces (heels to toe) makes way for so much more room (at least an extra pair each row!)
Uniform skinny hangers make it feel so luxe in my closet!
My tips for making the most of your closet space?
1. slim profile hangers (seriously makes so much difference!)
2. vacuum bags for out of season clothes
3. maximize vertical space with floor shelves/storage
4. hang belts (any other option is just a mess)
5. make the most of cascading hangers
6. hang pants/trousers, 2 to a hanger if you can
9. group like tops on the same hanger
10. turn shoes heel to toe
So you can see, skinny & uniform hangers save space & make me feel like I am shopping at a boutique in my own closet.

Alternating the way my shoes point lets me add more to my collection. 

Maximizing the number of items I can fit on a hanger means I can use less hangers.

I try to purchase clothes that work for multiple seasons, but any seriously out of season items (the really heavy stuff or skimpy stuff that is sadly only a 1 season wear) gets stored in vacuum bags (under the bed or above the hanger bar are good underutilized storage spots!)


What state is your closet it? Boutique curated? Or heaping mess?
Any winning tips you can share?

P.S. Don't forget to enter to win a Stella & Dot necklace {here}

40 comments:

  1. I love closet tours! Thanks so much for sharing!

    The Style Storm

    xo, Christina

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  2. Whoa your closet is amazing and so organized too! Wish mine was like that!

    Yuen @ The Craziest Paradigm - a 'lil bit of rust & stardust

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  3. These are great tips–and you're so lucky you have so much closet space! I WISH I had more room!

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  4. My closet is unfortunately not designed in a way to allow much organization. The clothes hang too low and cover my shoe rack, and there's only the slimmest space to the side to store anything else. There are two upper shelves, but they're full of non-clothes storage. I could probably benefit from some sort of over the door hanging system thing or another. Would probably be good for a place for my purses (currently taking up space on my shoe rack), belts and scarves which are just thrown over the pole and taking up space from my clothes. I really need a bigger closet. Do people who build houses not understand women? There shouldn't even be such a thing as a tiny closet. haha :D

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  5. I really need to work on getting uniform hangers! I love the way they look, and the skinny ones let you add so much space to your closet (I'm also working with limited closet space, it's the worst!)

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  6. I am so in need of going through my belts (and everything else in my closet) - they are a giant mess on the closet floor. Great organization Jessica, can you come over and help me? :)


    Alice
    www.happinesssatmidlife.com

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  7. the photo of your two pugs in the closet just made my morning :)

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  8. Thanks for sharing your closet Jessica... mine is a mess but I love living vicariously organized through you!

    xoxo,
    Chelsea & The City

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  9. Where did you get your shoe shelves? Those are EXACTLY what I've been searching for! I think I'm going to get the belt hanger too - I was just trying to figure out how to hang them. Your closet looks amazing! We just moved so I'm inspired to get mine in order. Where do Ty's clothes go? :-)


    Lastly....Doug & Scout are KILLING me in your shoe pic!

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  10. I have a small closet, so I love seeing closets of similar size so organized! Great tips! Thanks for sharing.


    Shannon
    clothesandquotes.blogspot.com

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  11. Great organizational skills! I like looking at closets. And I like that yours doesn't look TOO perfect and make me feel bad about myself.

    ~Sarah of Sarah's Real Life

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  12. This is genius! You are inspiring my closet re-organization!
    xo,
    Kate
    http://www.stilettoedtosteeltoed.com

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  13. I actually keep a storage ottoman inside of my closet because I can store shoes in there, and when I'm feeling especially troll-like at 4:45 in the morning, I can plop down on there and pretend I know which colors "go." Cascading hangers are one of my favorite purchases that I found before college in '06. Those things have traveled from closet to closet with me! I have them for both skirts and pants. I didn't know they sold such a thing as hanger hooks. I need to invest :)

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  14. The dog picture is too precious! Thanks for sharing, I love seeing how others organize!

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  15. I have a few of those hangers and they are great for sweaters so you don't get pointy shoulders. I really should transition my whole closet to those hangers. And I'm glad I'm not the only one that pairs like items on one hanger. I own about 5 basic black layering tank tops and they are all on one hanger to save space!


    -AJ
    FitTravelerAJ.com

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  16. Love this!! I'm really organized so I have a specific spot for everything, too, but my closet right now can barely be described as a closet. Some genius basically installed a gigantic white box/ledge that takes up the bottom 3 feet of my closet, and I can't use it for anything! So annoying. My #1 priority are nice hangers so I'm totally on board with you!


    Kaitlin
    www.teaandsequins.com

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  17. I love this belt hanger: http://www.amazon.com/Vinyl-Dipped-Hangers-Belt-Hanger/dp/B003DL5S82/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1378959012&sr=8-3&keywords=belt+hanger Frank uses it for his belts & it's super easy to get a belt off the ring when you need it without having to take them all off or go digging for one. Just turn the ring to the right belt, pull open the 2 rubber parts, and you got your belt! :) I also love those slim hangers & using a 5 tiered hanger for slacks: http://www.amazon.com/Organize-It-All-5-Tier-1302W-6/dp/B000IF8O1O/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1378959171&sr=8-4&keywords=5+tiered+hanger i <3 organizing!

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  18. I love this belt hanger: http://www.amazon.com/Vinyl-Dipped-Hangers-Belt-Hanger/dp/B003DL5S82/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1378959012&sr=8-3&keywords=belt+hanger Frank uses it for all of his belts & it's super easy to get just one belt and not take them all off or dig through them. I also love the slim hangers & we use a 5 tiered hanger for his slacks: http://www.amazon.com/Organize-It-All-5-Tier-1302W-6/dp/B000IF8O1O/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1378959171&sr=8-4&keywords=5+tiered+hanger I totally did the shoe thing like you before & it's awesome, but my current shoe rack doesn't allow me to do that now... Have you ever used boot shapers or hangers? I wanted to buy some, but then I just hung up my boots with a skirt/pants clip hanger and it worked--the boots aren't super heavy though. I even bought plastic dividers for my undergarments, which are actually awesome! i <3 organizing!

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  19. Right here lady: http://popsu.gr/mHmI
    Thank you Target!
    Ty has all of his clothes hanging in his own room, half the space, but I help him keep it all organized :)
    xx

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  20. I suspected that was a Target purchase but wasn't sure. Thanks for the tip!

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  21. I love seeing inside people's closets! Thanks for sharing!
    ~Jessica

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  22. You are very welcome. Thanks for stopping by!
    xx

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  23. Thanks lady! I am a little particular when it comes to my closet, but it saves me so much time in the mornings & I feel good taking care of clothes that I spent a little more on & know will serve me for years to come!
    xx

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  24. I really did luck out on this space - nowhere to put the pots & pans, but my shoes have room to breathe... win some, loose some!
    xx

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  25. Oh bummer! Things to look forward to? And yes, it really should be a crime for a house builder to put in a tiny closet!
    xx

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  26. Um yea, I haven't really thrown anything away since high school... I feel a big purge coming soon!
    xx

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  27. The huggable hangers are definitely more expensive than wire or plastic hangers, but so worth it. Over the course of a year, every time that I went into Target I picked up a pack of hangers, and then before I knew it, my closet was filled! It also helped me toss some older pieces that I didn't think were "worthy" of the special hangers!
    xx

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  28. I wish! I think I missed my calling in life as a closet organizer!
    xx

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  29. Haha, this is real life people! I do what a can, and more times than I care to admit there is a pile of clothes sitting in front of the closet... which is where the pugs LOVE to lie!
    xx

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  30. Um, a closet big enough to hold an ottoman... that sounds so luxurious! 4:45 am... not so much!
    xx

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  31. Every time I go into Target I pick up a pack of huggable hangers, and then only the special pieces get to go on the fancy hangers... a great way to make more space with the hangers and by tossing old items in the process!
    xx

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  32. Ugh, so sorry lady! It really should be a contractor violation to make a small/non-functional closet!
    xx

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  33. I'm so jealous of all of your closet space! I'm about to move into a new place and first goal is to make sure my closet starts out organized -- the slim hangers are key!

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  34. I love seeing bloggers' closets! No idea why, but it's so interesting to me! I share a normal size bedroom closet with my boyfriend but the way it's set up is not that user friendly! The top rack has a shelf beneath it so most of my clothes are too long to hang there but I need to space to fit everything! Then I have to fold over my maxi dresses since they drag on the lower rack and everything is too long to see any of my shoes underneath! I haven't figured out how to fix that but for now half my clothes are there, and the rest in a dresser. I'd ideally like to have all my clothes together in one large closet where I can see everything, including my shoes! One day...

    By the way, I have to ask, what is with the two pink poodles on your top shelf??

    Great post!
    Lauren
    Exploring My Style

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  35. Just a remnant of childhood. That's Gigi and Lola up there ;)
    xx

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Thank you for your comments, they make my day!!
xx