7 Surprising Things You Should Never Have in Your Bedroom

What’s the messiest room in your home?

According to numerous surveys, homeowners struggle most when it comes to keeping their garage, kitchen, and bedrooms tidy.

Take stock of any untidy room and here’s one guaranteed commonality – there are things in the space that simply shouldn’t be there.

Old tires or broken yard tools shouldn’t be on your garage floor. Cookware you never use shouldn’t be taking up precious storage space in your kitchen.

And when you look at how many things people make the mistake of having in their bedrooms, it’s no wonder keeping them organized is such a challenge.

Assessing the types of things you should never have in your bedroom goes beyond clutter-related issues as well. Keeping some things in your bedroom can also negatively affect your health.

Photo by Bruno Cervera on Unsplash

Get these 7 things out of your bedroom

If any of the following things are mainstays in your bedroom, reconsider their place in a space where you spend about a third of your day.

Getting rid of them will make your bedroom a healthier and tidier space.

1. Pets

A survey by the American Pet Products Association found that almost half of dog owners allow their pet to sleep on their bed. Just under two-thirds of cats sleep on the beds of their owners.

There’s undeniably a distinct comfort in cozying up to your dog or cat as you drift off to sleep. Some pet owners and pets alike also appreciate the extra sense of security.

Every household and pet is different. Be mindful that pets may enhance your sleep, yet other’s may disrupt your sleep. This is very individual as the inconvenience may well be worth a nighttime of snuggles.

2. Clutter

Another of the things you should never have in your bedroom is clutter.

Clutter directly clashes with what should be a serene, relaxing environment where you’re supposed to be recharging your batteries. Just as pets can interfere with the efficiency and quality of your sleep, so too does clutter.

A cluttered environment is an environment that’s constantly reminding you it’s not orderly. That burdens your brain (even if you’re not aware of it) with the feeling that there’s work to do.

It makes it harder to relax and get a good night’s sleep, which can contribute to added stress and deeper health issues.

Visible clutter, such as clutter on your nightstand, dresser, or bedroom floor is naturally more problematic.

Clutter that’s kept behind a closet door, under your bed, or in a bedroom drawer may be out of sight, but it’s clutter nonetheless.

If your bedroom clutter is unmanageable, look for better storage and organization systems to help you out. A closet organizer, extra wardrobe, or a bed surround unit that maximizes your bedroom’s storage space are great places to start.

things you should never have in your bedroom bed surround

A clean, clutter-free bedroom is important for getting a good night’s sleep.

3. Electronic devices

Electronic devices are as deeply ingrained into our lives as ever, so keeping them out of the bedroom may be a tall order for many.

There are several reasons why you should make an effort, however.

Most importantly, the blue light emitted from a laptop, smartphone, flatscreen TV, and tablet screens makes it harder for your brain to produce melatonin. As a result, it can become harder to fall asleep and your sleep patterns might be disrupted.

It’s recommended to refrain from using your electronics no later than a couple of hours before going to bed to avoid this problem.

The “night mode” setting on devices, which adjusts the colours on your screen before bedtime to warmer colours that are more sleep-friendly, might help. This operating system feature is very new, however, and it’s still unclear how effective it is.

Making your bedroom a device-free zone is also advisable because it’s not just their screens that can affect how we sleep.

Constant phone notifications, getting stressed out over the news you’re reading online, social media-related worries, and general information overload don’t contribute to getting a consistently restful night of sleep.

Try untethering yourself from your devices for a few hours both before going to bed and after waking up. You might just notice an improvement in the quality of your sleep.

4. Exercise equipment

Keeping exercise equipment in the bedroom is something you should avoid.

It might seem quite convenient to have your elliptical machine, treadmill, or exercise bike easily accessible, right there in your bedroom.

Or perhaps it’s out of necessity simply because you live in a small home or condo. But even if you have a big bedroom, consider relocating your workout equipment elsewhere in your home (or get a gym membership).

Here are some of the reasons exercise equipment is one of the things you should never have in your bedroom:

  • exercise machines that stop getting used just become clutter (and a resting place for more clutter)
  • working out before bed can make it harder for you to sleep
  • workout equipment (even equipment only you use) usually isn’t very sanitary
  • if you haven’t been keeping up with your workouts, having always-visible exercise equipment in the bedroom increases your feelings of guilt

5. A workspace or desk

Using the bedroom to take care of work tasks is surprisingly common. One study found that of the 1,000 workers surveyed, half of them admitted to reading and responding to business emails in bed.

Maybe you’re using a laptop or smartphone in bed for work or to pay a few bills. Perhaps it’s a desk in your bedroom that you regularly work from.

Try to keep your work out of the bedroom because boundaries matter. The bedroom is supposed to be a space where you relax and unwind. If you’re not allowing yourself to do that, it becomes a life-work balance problem.

You need a space that allows you to escape from the obligations and commitments that cause stress. Establish a dedicated home workspace, like a home office.

6. Dirty laundry

Accumulating dirty laundry is unavoidable, of course. Just don’t let that laundry pile in your bedroom get too high.

A laundry basket that’s overflowing with dirty clothes adds to the cluttered look of a bedroom. Your space looks even worse when dirty clothes end up draped over a chair or on your closet or bedroom floor.

Like the rest of the room’s clutter, your brain registers it as another task that needs to be taken care of.

Smelly dirty laundry can also affect your bedroom’s air quality. And if you leave damp clothes or towels balled up in your laundry pile, mould can start growing in as little as a day.

Keep your dirty clothes organized and hidden by incorporating pullout laundry hampers into your closet and/or laundry room design.

things you should never have in your bedroom, hamper

Avoid leaving unsightly dirty laundry piled up in your bedroom. Hidden laundry hampers in the bedroom or laundry room are a better solution.

7. An old mattress

A lot of people have no idea that the recommended lifespan of a mattress is 8-10 years. And people sleeping on mattresses that are 30 or 40 years old happens more often than you might think.

Many people wait until their mattress begins showing noticeable signs of deterioration before replacing it.

Old mattresses can cause back problems or aggravate existing back issues. Today’s mattresses are more comfortable than ever and simply switching to a new one might result in a more restful night of sleep.

There’s another reason to upgrade to a new mattress if you’re sleeping on one that’s more than a decade old.

Even if you’re washing your bed linens regularly and using bed covers that are allergen-proof, the body oils and dead skin cells on mattresses will still attract dust mites.

An Ohio State University expert estimated there could be up to 10 million of the tiny insects living on an average regularly slept-on mattress.

Want another gross old mattress fact? Experts say a mattress that’s 10 years old or more can have as much as 10 pounds of dead skin on it. Yuck.

While we’re on the subject of what you sleep on, here’s one last thing you should never have in your bedroom (at least for too long) – an unmade bed.

Studies show that making your bed every morning makes people feel happier because it helps them get their day off to a more productive start.

Take charge of your bedroom!

Are any of these seven things you should never have in your bedroom a surprise?

You can improve how your home’s bedrooms function and how well your family sleeps merely by having higher standards for what’s allowed in these rooms.

For expert help to get any room in your house or condo more organized, schedule a free in-home design consultation with us.

Please share this post if you found it useful.

See also:

2018 Winter Coat Drive: Donate a Coat and Warm a Heart

Organized Interiors is pleased to once again be participating in The Children’s Breakfast Club’s Winter Coat Drive.

The goal of the 2018 Winter Coat Drive is to collect 55,000 clean, gently-used coats and warm clothing items. All donations will ensure that no child in Ontario is cold this winter.

About The Children’s Breakfast Club

The Children’s Breakfast Club is a non-profit charitable organization that began in 1984. They believe every child is entitled to a nutritious breakfast and currently have more than 20 clubs in the Greater Toronto Area. An estimated 4,000 meals are served by the organization every week.

The Children’s Breakfast Club’s other objectives are to:

  • encourage children to develop healthy nutritional, behavioural, and personal hygiene habits
  • provide children with emotional support and social and intellectual stimulation
  • encourage and develop the skills of staff, volunteers, and other community members

What is the Winter Coat Drive?

The Winter Coat Drive collects and distributes new and gently-used winter clothing to children and their families in need of proper winter attire. The Children’s Breakfast Club began the Winter Coat Drive in 2014.

2015’s Winter Coat Drive collected more than 30,000 items of winter clothing. That number grew to more than 40,000 pieces collected the following year. 2017’s Winter Coat Drive was another huge success.

All donations end up at The Children’s Breakfast Club’s Coat Warehouse, which operates throughout the winter season.

Toronto Police will hand out vouchers to families they encounter who are most in need of this winter clothing. The vouchers can then be redeemed by the family members for a winter coat or item of clothing they’re most in need of.

Organized Interiors’ involvement in the Winter Coat Drive

The 2018 Winter Coat Drive kicked off on October 19th and this will be Organized Interiors’ third year of involvement in this worthy cause.

Our participation in the 2016 Winter Coat Drive was inspired by Toronto’s very own NBA All-Star, Toronto Raptor Alumni, and Assistant Coach and Community Ambassador Jamaal Magloire.

Jamaal challenged all of Toronto to “Donate a Coat” and “Warm a Heart”.

More than four truckloads of coats and winter clothing were collected that year at Vaughan’s first drop-off centre in the Organized Interiors showroom.

With our customers’ incredible generosity, five truckloads of winter clothing were promptly delivered to the Coat Warehouse last year.

The drop-off centre at Organized Interiors is the first in Vaughan. Help us fill our bin with warm winter coats.

How you can help

You can get involved by making donations for the 2018 Winter Coat Drive at the Coat Drive drop-off centre in the Organized Interiors showroom at 201 Chrislea Road in Vaughan.

Along with new and gently-used winter coats, we’ll also be gratefully accepting donations of any of the following (in all sizes) until December 31st:

  • hoodies
  • sweaters
  • hats
  • mitts and gloves
  • scarves

Clothing donations can also be made directly to The Children’s Breakfast Club’s main Winter Coat Drive drop-off centre through February 28th, 2019.

It’s located in the Muslim Welfare Centre of Toronto at 100 McLevin Avenue (unit 4) in Scarborough. Call (437) 836-6222 to make coat drop-off arrangements.

Monetary donations can also be made at breakfastclubs.ca (a tax receipt will be issued for donations of $20 or more).

Donate a coat and warm a heart

Warm winter clothing is something most of us take for granted. But consider the ways in which inadequate winter clothing can impact a child’s daily life.

Inadequate winter clothing can cause kids to get sick more often, which may affect their school attendance. Unsuitable winter clothing also limits the ability of children to participate in outdoor winter activities.

Your generous donation can help make this winter a little more comfortable for someone in need. We look forward to seeing you at the Winter Coat Drive drop-off centre in our showroom!

Please help to spread the word about the Winter Coat Drive by sharing this post with your family, friends, and co-workers.

See also:

7 Things You’ll Love About a Custom Closet System

custom closet system

Is your bedroom closet a perpetual disaster zone?

Dealing with that constant closet mess gets exhausting. Stop wasting time searching for clothes in all of that clutter. It’s time for a closet makeover.

Should you save a few bucks and settle for the more limited range of choices that comes with buying DIY “off the shelf” closet systems at a local store or online?

Or is the closet space you want worthy of a little more care and special attention to justify investing in a custom closet system?

When you consider what a vital role a bedroom closet plays in your life every single day, the answer should be quite clear.

Keep reading to find out why you’ll love what a custom closet system provides for your home.

1. An organized custom closet is a beautiful thing

Bedroom closets that are well-designed (and therefore very organized) will save you a lot of time and headaches. That’s reason enough to give serious consideration to a custom closet system.

By creating a home for each item of clothing and accessory you own, a closet organization system does the following things:

  • makes everything much easier to find
  • significantly simplifies the process of putting things away
  • becomes an organized space you feel comfortable in
  • maximizes closet storage space
  • can be tailored to look and function just the way you need

2. A custom closet system is built to last

The materials and craftsmanship with an assemble-it-yourself store-bought closet system simply won’t match up to the quality you’ll get from a professionally designed custom closet system.

Most of us have bought flimsy prefabricated storage products that just aren’t durable and lack any style or character.

Consider the money and time you’ll spend on shopping for a cheap closet storage system, installing it yourself, and then replacing it sooner than you’d like. Why not do it right the first time and just invest in something nicer and longer lasting?

That better quality is one of the things you’re paying a little more for. And quite reasonably, you should expect that higher quality to translate into a longer life and fewer problems.

Also, keep in mind that a high-quality custom closet system is a smart investment you’ll benefit from for many years and then get to enjoy the back-end benefit it has when selling your home.

Homebuyers covet ample home storage space, especially efficient closet storage space. And if your closet system looks that much nicer, buyers will take notice.

3. A custom closet system expresses who you are

A DIY closet system is designed to appeal to the highest number of consumers possible. Unfortunately, that “mass appeal” product strategy severely restricts the ability to customize or adapt to a customer’s specific taste, or perhaps even the unique dimensions of someone’s closet space.

A custom closet system on the other hand (especially one in a dressing room or large walk-in closet), is a wonderful way to express your personality and can be adapted to your needs.

From exhibiting your taste in décor to your taste in clothes by showcasing your wardrobe collection, a closet that’s carefully customized to your requirements will become a space you look forward to entering, instead of dreading.

When a custom closet designer is putting a closet’s design together, it’s a collaborative process with the client.

How the closet is laid out, what types of accessories are incorporated into the design, and which types of finishes and hardware are used will all give the custom closet its identity.

And when the project is completed, that identity should accurately reflect just who you are.

4. Get a better product warranty

Another reason you’ll love a custom closet system is the better warranty they typically provide.

DIY closet organizer kits usually have a one or two-year limited warranty. And if you mess up any aspect of the installation, that’s on you because you’re the installer.

Having to replace parts that are covered under warranty for a closet organizer purchased in a store or online can take time and be a headache. There’s also no guarantee parts will be available for one of their discontinued products years from now.

Companies that specialize in custom closets, however, tend to be more accommodating and convenient if follow-up service is needed. They also usually provide longer warranties.

Organized Interiors, for example, carries a 10-year warranty on our products, which guarantees them to be free from defects in workmanship or materials.

A longer warranty and the assurance of reliable customer service, if needed, can provide a comforting peace of mind when deciding on which closet organization system to buy.

woman's classic custom closet system

5. Custom closets come with custom closet expertise

Most likely, you have no idea what goes into properly designing a custom closet system.

That sales associate working in the home organization department at your local big box store where the closet organization systems are sold? Let’s face it, they’ll probably only have a limited amount of knowledge on the topic of closet design.

Sure, you can do some online research, but there’s simply no substitute for genuine expertise when it comes to having a well-rounded knowledge of a trade.

Like any design trade, there’s a significant amount of expertise required in order to produce an effective custom closet design.

A talented, experienced closet designer will know what works and what doesn’t when it comes to putting together a great closet organization system.

They’ll have helpful suggestions and know-how related to important features like:

6. A tidy bedroom closet = a tidy bedroom

Restoring order to not just your bedroom closet, but any closet in your home has a positive “knock-on effect”.

Just as an overstuffed front entryway closet will eventually lead to your front hallway becoming messier, the same holds true for your bedroom closet and bedroom (probably even more so).

Your bedroom closet clutter will start to become clutter that’s finding its way into your main bedroom space. Shirts and pants will start getting draped over chairs or hung in places they shouldn’t be kept.

Maybe you resort to buying a hanging rack that’s stuck in a bedroom corner in order to handle what your closet is no longer capable of storing. That’s never a good look.

Keeping your bedroom tidy by making sure your closet is functioning the way it should is important. Having too much bedroom clutter can contribute to poor sleep habits and added stress (on top of the stress of dealing with just a messy closet).

That’s because keeping the area where you’re spending at least a third of your day in a disorganized state taxes your brain and makes it harder for you to relax.

classic custom closet system

7. Save time and feel less stressed

It’s frustrating when it takes much longer than it should require to find something in a messy closet.

Repeat that experience daily (and often more than once per day) and the degree to which a cluttered closet becomes a huge time suck can get downright depressing.

Frequently, you’re racing against the clock to find something or make a wardrobe decision, which only adds to your heightened stress.

There’s also time wasted because you have to sometimes re-iron clothing that’s gotten wrinkled in an overstuffed closet.

A well-designed closet that’s easier to maintain eliminates all of these issues. You can streamline your daily routine and end up saving many hours of wasted time each year.

With so many stressful things to deal with in our busy lives, you can lighten your stress load a little simply by keeping your closet tidier.

Get a custom closet system you’ll love

Organized Interiors’ clients who have had us design a custom closet system for their home absolutely love what we can do with any closet space.

To find out what kind of creative wizardry our design experts can accomplish with your closet space, take just a few seconds to book a free in-home consultation with us.

Please share this post if you found it useful.

See also:

7 Laundry Room Organization Ideas You Should Be Using

Amazingly, there are apparently people out there who actually enjoy doing laundry.

They say doing the laundry gives them the deep satisfaction of revitalizing their family’s dirty and unwearable garments into fresh, neatly pressed pieces of clothing that play an essential role in the daily lives of each family member.

These laundry lovers also enjoy the repetitive, methodical nature their laundry work requires and find it to be a relaxing routine that allows for quality thinking time.

If any of this seems like a completely foreign concept to you, we suspect you’re in the vast majority of people who wish their laundry chores could be a lot less tedious and time-consuming.

laundry room organization, woman hanging clothes

Practical laundry room organization ideas and tips

While you may not share a similar level of enthusiasm for doing this unavoidable part of your housework, it’s a good bet these laundry lovers have paid considerable attention to how well their laundry room organization functions.

When your laundry room is set up to be a more functional space when it comes to organization and storage, laundry duty becomes a more streamlined and efficient process.

That can make it a task that you may not necessarily come to love, but one that you can enjoy just a little more.

After all, we spend a lot of time in the laundry room. The average American family does about 8 loads of laundry per week. That adds up to hundreds of hours each family spends in the laundry room over the course of a year.

Get one of your home’s hardest working spaces working that much harder for you by using these 7 laundry room organization ideas and tips.

1. Modern laundry room storage cabinets

If your laundry room is using outdated cabinetry, modernizing the space with custom cabinets is a great way to make your laundry room organization function at a higher level.

A family of four or five can require a large number of laundry supplies, such as detergent containers and pods, fabric softener, bleach, dryer sheets, and stain removers.

That’s a lot of items to store and keep organized. Create just the amount of storage space you need for everything with cabinets custom-built to the depth and width you require.

If space allows, the laundry room is also ideal for adding storage space for things in your home other than laundry supplies, such as linens or out-of-season clothing.

Add shelving and storage cubbies for extra storage space for items like laundry baskets and decorative jars to hold your clothes pins and detergents, which adds a little character to the room.

2. Cabinets with pullouts

New storage cabinets are a worthwhile addition to any laundry room. Add some pullouts to those custom cabinets, however, and your laundry room organization gets even easier to manage.

Take the laundry room closet pictured below. The bottom pullout shelves make it much easier to locate and access stored items, whether it’s paper towels, toilet paper, laundry supplies, or the home’s cleaning supplies.

Drawer pullouts can also be added to your cabinetry to give you extra drying racks or a space-saving ironing board. Pullout folding counters and pullout valet rods are another laundry room organization option.

In addition to the functional benefits of cabinets that are custom-made to fit your space and needs, there are also aesthetic benefits.

With beautiful high-end finishes and decorative touches like stylish contemporary hardware, new cabinetry with extra functionality using pullouts can provide the sorely needed modern touch your laundry room has been lacking for too long.

laundry room organization closet

Pullout shelves in a laundry room closet make stored items more accessible.

3. Hidden laundry room storage

Another of our laundry room organization ideas with an eye toward maximizing your storage space is to utilize more of your room’s hidden storage space.

A lot of homes have underutilized storage space underneath the bathroom, kitchen, and laundry room sinks. Add an under sink organizer to put that small space to better use. Considering its low location and the space’s typically poor visibility, use a more convenient pullout under sink organizer.

If your washer and dry are installed on pedestals, take advantage of the drawer storage space they offer.

Another way to add some hidden storage space to a room, while also getting multi-purpose functionality, is with a bench that has underseat storage. Waiting for a washer or dryer cycle to finish is part of the laundry ritual, so why not do it on a comfortable bench that can also store a few things?

All of this hidden laundry room storage, in addition to storing things out of sight behind your cabinetry doors, helps to create a space with less visual clutter.

Studies show that people working in a room with little to no clutter tend to be more productive. That includes the laundry room.

4. Ample hanging space

Having enough hanging space in your laundry room is a key part of keeping it organized.

If you have ample hanging space, you won’t need to clog up your countertops with items of clothing that need to be ironed or folded.

Here are a few laundry room organization ideas for hanging your clothes:

Being able to take items fresh out of the dryer and hanging them in your laundry room’s designated hanging spaces minimizes wrinkling and extra ironing work.

For more delicate clothing that needs to be air-dried, any of these hanging laundry room organization accessories and solutions are also ideal.

5. A folding station

Laundry rooms that aren’t designed to handle all of your laundry duties only add to the amount of time the task takes.

For example, say your laundry room doesn’t have a folding station or enough counter space to sort and fold your finished laundry.

That means you’ll need to move everything to another room and deal with it there. In the meantime, things will get wrinkled and the whole process just takes longer than it should.

A folding station should be part of any laundry room design that aspires to be as functional and as organized as possible for its users.

A workable folding station simply requires having a comfortable amount of flat space to handle your folding duties.

That can come in the form of your laundry room countertops, an island countertop, or pullout counter space.

If you have a small laundry room, the tops of your washer and dryer can also be used as a folding station if they’re at comfortable enough height.

6. Laundry hampers

It’s highly practical to have laundry hampers built right into your laundry room’s cabinetry.

Having multiple laundry hampers located right where you do your laundry allows you and the rest of your family to keep dirty clothes sorted by colour.

Laundry hampers with removable, carryable bags could also be added to your home’s bedroom closets to keep dirty laundry more organized. You also won’t need to deal with unpleasant odours from dirty clothing.

Get the dirty clothes sorted at the source where they’re coming from and you’ll spend less time sorting (or picking them up off the floor) when laundry day comes.

laundry room organization hampers

Add built-in laundry hampers to your bedroom or laundry room. They keep dirty clothes sorted and more organized.

7. A laundry room island

Combine a couple of these laundry room organization ideas by creating a multi-purpose work surface that also provides room for storage – a laundry room island.

For larger laundry rooms, the addition of an island makes a lot of sense. The open space in the middle of a larger room can be put to good use with an island. It may very well become the anchor of your laundry room’s design, where you find yourself spending the majority of your time when tackling your laundry duties.

A laundry room island with a sturdy, yet stylish countertop can be used as your main folding and sorting area.

Some of those aforementioned handy pullout features in your custom cabinetry (like an ironing board and laundry hampers) could be incorporated into a laundry room island.

An ironing board, in particular, is ideal for a laundry room island and the counter space it provides for handling your freshly laundered garments.

Smart laundry room organization solutions

Like washing the dishes or cooking, laundry duties are something that never lets up. Laundry day doesn’t have to be something that makes you regularly shudder, however.

Adding some modern laundry room organization amenities and upgrades can save you time and make your workspace a little more pleasant to spend time in.

Find out how Organized Interiors’ smart and stylish laundry room designs can benefit your home and family. Book a free in-home design consultation with us today.

Please share this post if you found it useful.

See also:

The 10 Most Important Closet Storage Tips You’ll Ever Need

Keeping a closet space neat and tidy is an ongoing and daily process.

It can only take a few days for closets to go from functional to dysfunctional, either because we lack the time, are too tired, or are simply feeling too little lazy to put things away properly.

With the help of a few closet storage tips, you should find your closets require a lot less effort to maintain and keep clutter-free.

10 essential closet storage tips

These 10 important closet storage tips include a few organization ideas that might seem like no-brainers, such as reducing the amount of clothes you own.

But sometimes the most obvious solution to a problem is the one we fail to identify until it becomes glaringly obvious.

Go through our list of closet storage tips for a helpful reminder on some simple, fundamental strategies to restore order to your closets.

Hopefully you’ll also discover a useful closet storage and organization idea or two here that might not have occurred to you before.

1. Re-evaluate the size of your wardrobe

Re-evaluating how many items really need to be stored in your closets and taking meaningful action to reduce your wardrobe to a manageable size is one of our more common-sense closet storage tips.

It’s something that many of us fail to do, however. Consider the following statistics:

  • 61% of women who have a hard time finding anything in their closet end up buying new clothes. (OnePoll survey)
  • 80% of your clothes are only worn about 20% of the time. (NAPO study)
  • A study of over 2,000 U.S. women revealed that their closets had an average of $550 worth of unworn clothing. (10 Yetis survey)

Having a clothing collection comprised of numerous things you never wear only slows down your decision-making process when picking out an outfit.

A good wardrobe purge every now and then to get rid of things that don’t fit, are damaged, or are out of style will make your closets easier to manage and save you time.

2. Prioritize your storage needs

Prioritizing your closet storage needs doesn’t just mean removing clothing items you never wear. It also means not using your closet space for storing things you wear on a seasonal basis and don’t currently need.

Of course, if you’re fortunate enough to have a dressing room/large walk-in closet, you’ll have all the closet storage space you need.

Otherwise, you’ll probably need to be a little more selective with where your seasonal items are stored. This especially holds true when the weather warms up. That bulky fall and winter clothing that won’t get worn for months can fill up your drawer and closet space quickly.

Designate another space in your home, such as the basement or a spare closet, as your family’s out-of-season clothing storage area. Other closet space-hogging items like luggage should also be stored there year-round.

Make sure to wash (and dry clean if necessary) your out-of-season clothing before storing everything away in clothing storage bags or storage bins.

3. Use a closet organizer

With the challenge of minimizing your closet clutter being a never-ending process, why not use the best solution available?

Get a high quality closet organizer to do most of the hard work.

A closet organizer system is designed to maximize your closet’s available storage space. By incorporating features such as drawers, strategically located shelving, and other clever design elements, an optimal level of functionality within a closet can be achieved.

If your budget allows, go with a custom closet design instead of a one-size-fits-all closet organizer system from a big box retailer. You’ll get better quality and a lot more customization options that will prove to be worth the extra expense.

If your closet space is shared, a closet organization system is particularly valuable. Having designated “his and her” closet zones ensures order is maintained within a shared storage space (and that’s order not just with closet clutter, but with squabbles that can result because of clutter).

4. Add closet drawers

Adding drawers to your closet makes perfect sense.

Drawers that are included in a closet’s custom cabinetry helps to keep all of your apparel in one main area. That can free up space in your bedroom by allowing you to get rid of a dresser.

A smaller system of drawers within a closet can also potentially give you as much (or even more) storage space as a typical dresser.

You just need to have the right kind of space-saving design, such as outfitting your drawers with dividers that allow you to keep smaller items like socks, underwear, stockings, and scarves well-organized.

Vertically folding your socks, t-shirts, jeans, and a few other types of clothing will also make maximize your drawer storage space.

closet storage tips drawer

Closet drawers with dividers keep socks and underwear and well-organized.

5. Add more hanging rods

Continuing our theme of closet storage tips that enable you to maximize your storage space, add a few extra smartly positioned hanging rods in your closets.

If your closet space allows for it, having extra hanging rods gives you a few more options with how your hanging space is used.

It becomes easier to group like items of clothing together or keep your hung items colour-coordinated. Lower hanging rods can be added, or even one that’s attached in a perpendicular configuration on the side wall of your closet.

Extra hanging closet space could also come in the form of a pullout pant rack.

6. Use your closet floor space wisely

Closets tend to become catch-all spaces for those odds and ends you’re not sure what to do with. And closet floors seem to be where many of these things without a home end up.

Try to make better use of your closet floor space, because it’s much more useful than as a dumping ground for those “out of sight, out of mind” items. Shoe storage is the most logical choice.

If you’re using a wall-mounted closet organization system (such as our SmartLine system) that leaves open floor space, add some single-tier shoe racks.

Or you could make sure your custom closet design utilizes your floor space with open shelving shoe storage or a multi-tier pullout shoe rack.

7. Accessorize your closet

You should be well on your way to transforming how your closet functions if you’ve used just a few of these closet storage tips.

Be sure to also include closet accessorizing in your closet makeover process.

Those little extras you can add to your closet with some helpful closet accessories will streamline your daily dressing routine even further.

We’ve already mentioned closet drawers, extra hanging rods, and shoe racks. Here are some more practical closet accessory ideas:

  • laundry hampers
  • retractable valet rods
  • belt hooks
  • sliding belt racks
  • decorative hooks
  • tie hooks

8. Add extra closet shelves

Having some extra closet shelves is never a bad idea if your closet space can accommodate it.

Some open shelving is great for items like sweaters, which can save them from getting stretched when they’re hung up. Jeans can also be folded and stored on your shelving to save drawer and hanging space for other things.

To stay organized, shelf dividers can be used. Stylish baskets are also useful for keeping loose items contained.

Consider adding an extra shelf in your closet’s upper area if possible, as that is space is commonly underutilized in closets. Keep a good step stool tucked away to ensure you can safely store and retrieve things from your closet’s upper reaches.

Perfumes, colognes, framed photos, or other trinkets you want to display can also occupy your shelves to personalize your closet space a little more.

9. Use better closet lighting

A tidy closet is a wonderful thing, but it isn’t as functional as it could be unless it has good lighting. Deeper closets and closets with a smaller doorway may not allow as much light in from your main bedroom lights as you need.

Illuminate the entire space so you’ll be able to find things not just because all your things are well-organized, but because you can actually see everything!

Make sure your closet is equipped with something more than just an outdated incandescent light bulb with a pull chain. A new energy efficient LED light fixture or perhaps some recessed overhead lighting will work nicely.

If some areas of your closet are still a little too dimly lit for your liking, add some extra light sources, such as a few LED puck lights.

You’ll have the option of using battery-powered or hardwired LED task lighting. Try and use the latter, as you’ll get better quality lighting and won’t have to worry about replacing batteries.

closet storage tips lighting

Use good closet lighting to make your organized closet even easier to function in.

10. Don’t overburden your closet doors

Using the back of your closet doors for extra storage might appear to be one of those no-brainer closet storage tips, but there are drawbacks to doing so.

In theory, those over-the-door hanging shoe organizers seem like a practical storage option. In practice, however, they make your closet doors heavier and more cumbersome to open.

They also aren’t much to look at. After all, mesh (which most organizers are made with) rarely looks very stylish.

Some of these organizers also do a poor job of actually keeping your shoes securely in place. That can damage your shoes and become a nuisance when you’re frequently having to put them back in their proper home.

Additionally, don’t install too many hooks on the back of your closet doors for the same reasons as mentioned above.

Closet storage tips to simplify your daily routine

Follow these closet storage tips and you’ll find that your daily dressing routine will become a lot easier and more efficient.

Remember not to go overboard by adding too many new features to your closets. You still need space in your closets for air to circulate, which helps keep your clothes fresh.

That’s why hiring a closet design expert like Organized Interiors can be so beneficial. Our design consultants will know exactly what your closet needs in order to serve you best.

To get your home’s closet spaces working harder for you, schedule a free in-home design consultation with Organized Interiors today.

See also: