Category Archives: Reach-in Closets

How A Custom Closet For Dad Will Make His Father’s Day

Let’s face it – Father’s Day doesn’t get the same level of respect as Mother’s Day.

In the U.S., Mother’s Day was officially declared a national holiday in 1914. Father’s Day wasn’t granted the same status until almost six decades later, in 1972.

Furthermore, a survey conducted last year by the National Retail Federation found that American consumers were expected to spend $13 billion on Father’s Day gifts that year versus $21 billion spent on mom’s special day.

Why not do your part to help balance the scales of gift-giving inequity? Make dad’s day this coming Father’s Day with the unique and practical gift of a custom closet and some handy closet accessories to help him get organized.

A custom closet maximizes dad’s storage space

A professionally designed custom closet maximizes your available storage space and your ability to get organized and stay organized.

Shoe racks, closet shelving that can hold out-of-season clothing, drawers with dividers, and other handy features will make dad’s daily routine much smoother.

He’ll love the vastly improved sense of order he’ll experience in the bedroom with his wardrobe and other belongings.

Improve marital harmony

Adding a custom closet can minimize bickering between couples that may occur due to a lack of storage space in the bedroom.

After all, more closet space for dad also means more storage freedom for mom!

Add value to your home

Unlike most store-bought closet organizers, a custom closet designed by a professional is high quality and built for a long life.

This adds value to your home. It can also be designed to complement your bedroom’s decor.

Complement your new addition with closet accessories

There are a wide range of closet accessories to elevate the amazing functionality of a custom closet to even greater heights.

a tie rack lets you easily find any tie you need and is a much better option than letting them get wrinkled by folding them up in a drawer or hanging them over a hanger or the closet rod
retractable valet rods don’t take up much room and provide a space to hang your ready-to-go outfit for the next day
a low profile belt rack allows you to keep your belts properly organized and can be installed just about anywhere in a custom closet
a watch winder and storage space for your watches (in drawers or a glass-covered cabinet) are the perfect home for dad’s collection of fine timepieces

Spend less time ironing

When your clothes are jammed into too confined a space, they’re more likely to wrinkle.

A custom closet allows you to keep more space between clothing that’s more susceptible to wrinkling, like dress pants and dress shirts. Improved closet spacing means less time on the ironing board.

Buck the trend of buying a traditional and unimaginative Father’s Day gift this year, such as a tie.

A custom closet organization solution for dad on his special day will surprise and delight him, delivering the benefits of more space and enhanced organization capabilities on a daily basis for years.

Visit our showroom for some custom closet ideas and when you’re ready, book a free in-home consultation with one of our designers.

A Quick Guide to Donating Clothes and Organizing Closets

You’re ready to hit the big summer sales, but the bedroom closet is already stuffed full of clothes.

Fortunately, you can easily make room in your closet by donating or tossing the items you no longer wear.

Clearing out old clothes not only creates more space for the latest trends, but it also helps you keep your closet organized and tidy.

Do a clothes audit

To start, go through your wardrobe and pull out any tops, dresses, jackets, slacks or skirts that you haven’t worn in the past six months.

Some apparel you might only wear for special occasions, like a fancy cocktail dress or a suit, and it’s okay to keep those items.

Clothes that are suitable for a variety of occasions but you never seem to wear, however, are the items you want to remove.

Once a pile is put together, sort through the clothes once more to decide which items should be tossed and which should be donated.

When to donate

You have a blouse that has gone out of style, a dress you feel doesn’t flatter you and a jacket that is no longer the right size.

These are the types of clothing you want to donate. You can also donate any clothes that you simply don’t like any more.

When to toss

If a shirt has a hole or a bad stain that won’t come out, toss it. Clothes that are dirty or badly worn out are not worth donating, and many stores will simply throw them out anyway.

Sorting through your closet and getting rid of articles of clothing you no longer wear is a good practice to follow every year.

No one likes a cluttered closet and going through your clothes may even help you discover pieces you thought were missing. Use these tips to guide you through the process.

Where to donate

Finally, where should you donate your clothes in the greater Toronto area? It depends if you want to donate your clothes to community groups, charities, thrift stores or resale shops.

Here are a few organizations that take clothing donations to help others in some way:

Some organizations like OFCP have a free home collection service to collect clothes, shoes, coats, bedding and linen.

If you think somebody can benefit from used clothing, donate it instead of throwing it out.

Reduce Your Time Spent On Laundry With These Tips

When people hear you say the word “laundry,” they often assume you’re referring to washing and drying clothes.

However, this step is only a part of the laundry cycle, which actually begins and ends in the closet.

Here’s a quick breakdown:

You select an outfit from your wardrobe to wear.
After changing, you place dirty clothes in the hamper.
When the laundry bin is full, you sort clothes and separate colours.
Dirty clothes are washed, dried and folded.
Clean laundry is put away.

The cycle seems simple, but you know full well that it doesn’t always go smoothly or quickly. Prevent laundry gridlock and make this process more efficient.

13 hours of free time

What if you could save 15 minutes every week from your laundry cycle? That adds up to 780 minutes a year or 13 hours of free time.

Small changes in your daily routine can lead to big savings in time. Try to reduce your time spent on laundry with these simple tips.

Place dirty clothes into three separate bins

If you separate colours at the very beginning of the cycle, you’ll be able to skip an entire step later on in the process.

Add built-in laundry hampers to your closet cabinetry

Built-in laundry hampers help you stay organized without taking up space. They are also a great way to conceal mess and odour.

Consider customized laundry closets and cabinetry

If you often misplace the dryer sheets or your laundry area always seems cluttered, custom laundry cabinetry is a great way to help you stay organized.

Organize your bedroom closets

Putting away laundry is the last step in the cycle and it’s a very important part of the overall process.

If your bedroom closet isn’t organized and you put clothes away in random places, you are wasting valuable time every morning when you get dressed for work.

A closet organizer makes it easier to know where everything belongs. You’ll speed up your morning routine and putting away laundry will be less of a chore.

3 Storage Ideas To Keep Your Kid’s Room Organized

Kids might be messy, but that doesn’t mean you can’t teach them a thing or two about organization.

The key to helping your children keep a tidy room is to find storage solutions that are easy to use.

Here are a few ideas you might consider for your child’s bedroom or play area.

Open shelves in the closet

If your kids are new to organization and cleaning, open shelves are a great place to start. With open shelves, your kids can see where items go, and they’ll have easy access to their stuff.

Closets with open shelves can be used for shoes, books, backpacks, clothes and storage bins. All your kids have to do is place a particular item back on the shelf where they first removed it to keep their space tidy.

Easy reach storage

Kids can’t be expected to keep a room tidy if they can’t reach the shelves or drawers. Organized Interiors offers custom closet solutions that make storage spaces accessible to your children.

Ensure that your child’s bedroom cabinetry is kid-friendly with easy reach storage. If you share a hallway closet with the kids, you can place their belongings on lower shelves and your items on the hard-to-reach upper shelves.

Sort with labels

A great way to keep toys from cluttering a room is to store them in bins. This, however, can also make toys harder to find. If your kids are old enough to read, try using labels to help your kids keep their toys organized.

Use label categories like “lego”, “dolls” and “games” to keep things sorted. If your children aren’t reading yet you can try using different colour bins to group toys.

Do you want your children to start learning practical organization skills? Provide them with a storage solutions that will make it easier to keep a room tidy and organized.

If your interested in more storage ideas for your children’s rooms then contact us and we’ll put you in touch with one of our design consultants.

Maximize Your Closet Space – Big Storage Solutions for Small Closets

You may think you couldn’t possibly get more use out of your small closet without studying the laws of physics and gravity. But all you need is a simple change in perspective.

Think differently

Look at your closet. Standard closets come with one rack spanning the width of the space with a shelf on top of it. Look past it, or better yet, take it out. Now what do you see? It’s more than just a box, it’s a three dimensional space.

Now consider the height, width, and depth. If it were a sealed space, how much water could it contain? Don’t try this! Just get your mind thinking about the space as a big container ready for filling.

Let’s get personal

Think about what you need to store in it. Do you wear suits, dresses, and skirts? If so you need to hang them up, leaving about 24″ of depth and enough room across so the clothing can “breathe” and not get crushed.

Think vertically

Look up. Take advantage of the height and double-hang the racks so there is enough room so that the clothing on the bottom rack doesn’t graze the floor. You can either extend the top rack to accommodate long pieces or add another long rack.

Think horizontally

This will leave more space to add horizontal shelving. There’s no need for a 24″ depth for sweaters and ready-to-wear items, unless the shelves can be pulled out so you can see what’s in the back. Otherwise, consider short-stacking the shelves so fewer items rest on more shelves.

Keep it at eye level

Keep what you need on a regular basis at eye level. Use upper storage for items used less often. Some people prefer to use storage boxes and containers for the out-of-the-way items and the day-to-day items exposed for easy use.

If the shoe fits…

If the shoe fits, take good care of it! After a quick wipe down, shoes need to be stored in a dry, clean space, preferably upright and properly supported (like popping simple cardboard tubes into boots).

If your preference is to put them in drawers, look into a pull out shoe rack for larger footwear collections. Even the smallest closets can add stacked shelves on the floor.

Bags of bags

Like shoes, purses can take up lots of space. If you hang them together they can become a big, twisted clump. Give them their space. Add a series of cubbies or store them in clear boxes so you can see each one and access them easily.

It’s the little things that count

At the end of the day when you want to take off your watch, jewelry, belts, and small accessories, you need to have a place to put them.

There are multiple solutions and container systems available that take up very little space. Even a simple hook can do wonders. An extra shelf or counter top can be a regular drop-off spot, or include a drawer in your shelving system so you can simply tuck away and hide.

It’s personal

Your closet is your space, a reflection of your lifestyle. You can try to modify the space on your own or you can talk to an expert and have them show you how to maximize your closet space.

Organized Interiors’ design consultants specialize in creating personal, one-of-a-kind fittings, custom-designed for your personal storage needs.

Schedule a free in-home design consultation with one of our professionals to start getting more from your closet spaces.