It starts by knowing which organization mistakes you need to avoid to make sure your home looks its best. Here are the top organization mistakes everyone makes, and how you can fix them and organize your life.

1. Storing Clothes Out of Season

One big organizational mistake we see all the time is keeping clothes in your closet that are out of season. You may be asking why you shouldn’t keep all your clothes in your closet all year round. This is a good question that also has a simple answer.

The reason is that clothes can quickly take up a lot of space. This is especially true when it comes to winter coats and other seasonal items. Parkas and winter coats may look luxurious after Labor Day, but they look out of place in the middle of July.

It’s hard to make your closet look organized when it’s so full that it’s about to burst. Make room in your closet to give your clothes and your closet room to breathe. Store your winter clothes away during the spring and summer months to make more room in your closet for a cohesive and organized look you can love all year round. Not only will your closet look better, it will also be easier to find seasonally appropriate clothes for your outfit too.

2. Holding on to Things You Don’t Wear

Another organizing mistake people make is hanging onto things they don’t use or wear. We know it can be hard to let things go, but you’re not doing yourself, or your closet, any favors by holding on to clothes that either don’t fit, need to be repaired, or you just don’t like anymore.

Go through your closet and perform an inventory of your wardrobe. If you haven’t worn a piece of clothing for six months to a year, it’s probably time to donate or recycle it. You don’t need space in your life taken up by things that just weigh you down. Clear out your closet to make room for you to organize the clothes you actually care about.

3. Letting Piles Pile Up

No matter how nicely you stack things, a pile is still a pile. This is true whether it’s your clothes, mail, papers, or books. A mantra for good organization is “a place for everything and everything in its place.” A pile is not a good place for anything.

Items in piles can’t look organized because that’s obviously not where they belong. By adding bins and other storage solutions to your closet or home, you can keep lose items like scarfs, belts, bracelets, and more organized and out of sigh.

Even if your pile is more of a stack, it’s important not to let it get too high. Depending on the clothes, a stack on your closet shelf should never go more than three or four items high. Once you reach a certain height, it stops looking organized and looks more like you don’t have a place for all your clothes.

4. Clutter That is Out of Control

Clutter can be tricky because of the way it sneaks up on us. It starts as a shoebox or shopping bag here and there. Before you know it, there are things commandeering every closets in the house. Even if you’ve carefully arranged each knick-knack, a closets packed to the brim doesn’t look organized. It looks like you have too much stuff!

Try to pare down your items so there are only a few, specially selected things occupying each shelf. That doesn’t mean there isn’t space for your little Picasso’s masterpiece. It means you should be discerning with your decorations to make sure you see all your bric-a-brac in its best light. You can also teach your kids how to be clutter busters and build good habits.

5. Using Your Closet as a Storage Unit

We’ve all been there before. A few extra boxes, maybe some holiday decorations, or a Halloween costume make their way into your closet for a quick fix, with promises that you’ll move them later.

A few days turn into a few weeks, which turns into a few months. More things keep getting added to the closet. Before you know it, you don’t have any room for your clothes!

There is plenty of storage space in your home you didn’t know you had, which means there’s no excuse to let junk pile up in your closet. Save your closet for your clothes instead of turning it into a glorified storage unit.

Let Closets by Design Find Your Organization Solution

It’s easy to make a lot of these simple organization mistakes. That’s why sometimes the best solution is to trust the professionals! A professional designer with Closets by Design can help you set up the perfect system to organize your home and make sure it stays that way. Schedule your complimentary appointment with Closets by Design and start getting organized today!

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Let’s take a walk through the ages to discover the history of the closet, where it comes from, and where we can expect it to go.

Closets Date Back to Roman Times

At its simplest, a closet is a room, cabinet, or recess designed to hold clothing, china, and other possessions. It should come as no surprise that such a fundamental and helpful space would have been around for some time.

It turns out that some of the earliest people to use a closet were Roman soldiers. The soldiers needed a more practical way to store and transport weapons and armor, especially on long journeys. These storage units were called “armoriums.” As you might have guessed, the Latin word “armorium” became what we know today as an “armoire.”

Closets Became More Common in Early Modern Europe

In France during the 16th century, the armoire came to popularity among the upper class as a way to store weapons, tools, and clothing. There were even closets in England as early as the 1550s. However, these early closets had more in common with walk-in closets than the reach-in closet you’re familiar with.

These closets and were closer to a small private study instead of what we think of as a closet today. They were often used to store odds and ends like maps and books rather than a place to keep your coats.

As industrialization happened across the world, and goods were more affordable and easier to produce, people had more stuff to store. This led to a change in how people viewed and used the closet, but it wasn’t until much later that the modern closet started to take shape.

Closets Take Shape in the 1800s

The idea of the closet, as a dedicated space built into the home for storage, happened in the United States around 1840. We already told you about how Europeans had rooms called closets and used similar pieces of furniture for hundreds of years. However, it was Americans that established the closet as its own space built directly into the wall during the 19^th century.

The convenience of the closet built into the home rapidly became a standard feature in many American homes. It was nowhere near as expensive or bulky as furniture like armoires and chests. However, while Americans (and the rest of the world) were starting to warm up to the closet, they also didn’t give the closet too much thought.

It wasn’t until the 1950s, after World War II, that we started to really see what we think of as the modern closet.

America Creates the Modern Closet

The economic boom following the war led to an even larger consumer culture in the U.S., and increased need for a place to keep everything. More people began moving to the suburbs and buying larger homes. These larger homes came with closets, and Americans had plenty of new clothes to fill them with.

Closets by Design Reinvents the Closet in 1982

By the 1980s, people started to look at their closets in a new way. The question now became what you could do to upgrade their closets to make them more attractive and efficient. Enter Closets by Design.

Closets by Design was founded in 1982, and the way the world looks at closets hasn’t been the same since. Thanks to its incredible custom-tailored designs and commitment to total customer satisfaction, Closets by Design has reinvented the closet and continues to lead the way in modern closet design today!

Schedule Your Design Consultation With a Historic Industry Leader

We hope this has helped you learn a thing or two about the fascinating history of the closet. It’s always amazing to learn about the evolution of our homes throughout the ages. Are you ready to take your home into the future? Schedule your free in-home design consultation with one of the professional designers at Closets by Design and see how you can really make your closet stand the test of time.

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There are all sorts of benefits to organizing your closet by color, and it’s a lot more than looking great! See how the right kind of closet organization can make your life easier while also saving you time and money!

Save Time in the Mornings

Everyone wishes that they had more time in the morning. Between getting kids ready for school, making breakfast, and getting everyone out the door; getting dressed often takes a back seat. How often do you find yourself quickly grabbing something out of the closet, giving your outfit a quick glance in the mirror and dashing out the door?

When you organize your closet by color, it’s easy to see what you have and pick something out for your workday! Before your closet makeover, you were forced to search through your entire closet to find one specific item. When you organize your closet by color, you’re searching through a much smaller section of your closet. This makes it much easier to find that green top you need. Not only will color-coding your closet help you look better, you’ll also save time!

Make Vacation Packing a Breeze

One of the most stressful parts of a vacation is packing your bags. How do you decide on each outfit and what you need to bring? Are you going to need a jacket or a sweater? Where is that cute pink blouse you love so much?

Arranging your clothes by color simplifies packing by sorting everything in one central place. Now, you can just take a look at your closet and quickly find a matching piece to the skirt or pants you are packing. It becomes even easier when you add a custom closet system from Closets by Design featuring custom shelves and cubbies. Custom shelving gives you even more organizational options to let you arrange your closet by color, season, and occasion while convenient cubbies provide extra space for those hard to categorize pieces.

Fun and Easy to Create Outfits

Everyone loves putting together a great outfit. Mixing and matching different clothes to see what you can put together is a fun way to show off your creativity while looking and feeling great. Of course, it’s hard to put together an outfit when you can’t see or find your clothes. How many of us have lots of our favorite clothes lying in piles in our closet or stuffed into drawers? It makes it hard to see all of your options!

When you organize your closet by color, you’re essentially creating a giant color wheel to help you pick the right outfit. All you need to do is stand in front of your closet and take a good look. You may be surprised by how inspired you are when you have your clothes in front of you.

Enjoy a Handy Shopping Guide

Nobody can remember and name every piece of clothing in your closet. When you are out shopping, you may not remember you wanted to buy a certain color top or bottom to match something you already have. By having all your clothes organized by color, it’s easy to see what you have and easier to identify what you need.

Looking for the perfect sweater to pair with that lovely purple skirt? Take a look at your perfectly organized custom closet to see what is already there. You may be surprised by what’s hiding in your wardrobe.

Wow Friends with Your Wardrobe

There’s one big advantage to arranging your closet by color that you may not have considered. We’re talking about how amazing it will look! Organizing your closet into a radiant rainbow of fashion is enough to wow even your most critical of friends.

A beautifully arranged color spectrum of all your clothes quickly becomes more than a practical organization system. It turns into a defining feature of your room itself. Talk about fashionable and functional!

Upgrade and Organize Your Closet Today!

By now, you should know all of the great reasons why you should organize your closet by color. Are you ready to reorganize your life? One of the best ways to get started is by upgrading your closet! Closets by Design can work with you to create a custom closet of your dreams. Don’t wait to take back control of your closet. Get organized today and schedule your consultation with Closets by Design!

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Imagination Is the Limit (and the Point)

Let’s be honest: If you spend more than 10 minutes on Pinterest, you’ll find a plethora of options for organizing your kids’ favorite things. Just remember that playtime for kids is all about imagination. Give them easy access to the building blocks, and they’ll create the fairy grotto or fort with whatever tools they have on hand.

Below, we’ve listed ideas for putting their toys, clothes and books in order. The more organized your home, the quicker they can grab what they need — and clean up when they’re done!

Clearing the Closet Clutter

Your kids won’t get far unless they’re able to find their shoes, socks and play clothes in a hurry. Avoid morning-time meltdowns by getting their closets in order! Extra storage is one of the easiest ways to separate items by category, whether it’s simple over-the-door hanging storage or custom built-in drawers, rods and shelves.

Start by getting rid of any items they’ve outgrown — by donating them, trashing unusable items or selling anything of value. Services such as ThredUp.com and Swap.com provide a way to sell or trade items, letting you get some extra mileage out of their belongings!

Next Steps

Once the pathway is clear, we can come in for a personal consultation — and then install cabinets, shelves and any other storage you need. From there, you can get to work adding the details that’ll keep everything tidy all summer long.

With your new custom storage, stock the shelves with baskets and tubs to keep toys easily accessible. Labeling each bin with a word and a picture is a great way to teach kids how to clean up after themselves as well as reinforce language skills.

For even more clever storage and organization ideas, click here. Soon, you’ll have everything in its place!

Organizing Common Areas

Getting your kids’ closets in order is one thing; making sure the rest of the home can keep up with busy hands is another. For common areas, apply the same principles you did in the closet by keeping items clearly marked and within reach.

A shoe organizer can become a home for arts and crafts supplies, such as paintbrushes, markers and glue sticks. Buy one with clear pockets so it’s easy to see what’s inside, and don’t forget to label it. Then, simply hang it on the back of a pantry or closet door!

Maximizing Garage Space

If you’d rather contain messes to the garage, we can help you make use of unused spaces and create a corner play area, too. First, decide what to keep, donate or throw away — and then we can install custom shelves and cabinets that make it a cinch to store arts and craft supplies, sports equipment, water-play toys and much more.

These are just a few ways to tidy up and organize play areas for your children. Field your kids for thoughts and ideas, and try to incorporate their interests. If you have more ideas, post them in the comments section.

To discuss designing custom spaces for any place in your home, please contact us.

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