You need an efficient, well-organized storage system in your home and nothing says “efficient” like closet organizers. These can be wall-mounted, hanging, stacked, built-in or modular. Choose the style that suits your various rooms, the space available, your personality, and the kind of valuable items (or junk) you have accumulated or are currently accumulating. As crucial as it is to put wasted space to good use with storage units appropriate to the space you are filling, it is equally important to be able to find things after storing them.

The most popular excuse used by people who never put anything away is that they can’t find things that are out of sight. Your storage system has to make it easy to find anything that has been stored – add labels and color codes if necessary – or no one, including you, will use the system, no matter how great it is.

Wall-Mounted Shelves, Hanging Units and Hooks are Easy to Install

• A canvas holder can be mounted inside a closet door with pockets for gloves, scarves, and hats.
• Canvas shelves hung from a rail, along with the addition of pegs and hooks, high and low on the walls, can transform a closet.
• Use peg boards and hooks to keep things off the floor.

Modular Stacking Containers Make Neat Closet Organizers

• Inexpensive plastic crates create a splash of color in a drab laundry room or playroom closet, and are especially great when ventilation is important (e.g., for sports equipment).
• Wicker baskets are attractive and never go out of style. They can be placed on shelves and provide quick access to their contents.
• Clear plastic bins stacked on top of each other with contents visible make good closet organizers and eliminate the desperate search for a label or any clue as to what is in them.
• Movable trolleys equipped with crates, baskets, or bins allow you to easily pull stacks of storage items out of dark closets, or into rooms where you are going to use them (e.g. a trolley with bins of Christmas decorations, or sewing supplies, or party items).

Built-in Storage Units Can be Attractive and Useful Closet Organizers

• Find unused space in your home and press it into service for storage: under stairs; in the attic and/or basement; and by taking advantage of wall space (don’t forget corridors and entrance lobbies).
• Build wall-to-wall shelves, with or without doors, in one or more rooms. Shelves should match the decor of the room (unless they are hidden).
• Build a system of shelves, rails and hooks at various levels in all your closets.

Plan and Design

• Select the area to convert or improve.
• Arm yourself with a measuring tape. In a notepad or on lined paper, sketch the area and record the measurements – length, width, and depth.
• If you are experienced at do-it-yourself (DIY) projects, you can now download some shelving plans off the Internet and start calculating the amount and kinds of materials you need to buy. If you are new to the DIY game, you will be happy to know that you can probably manage with pre-constructed modular units, shelves, crates, bins and hooks, and a few simple tools to help you assemble, attach and hang things.
• Make sure you have a standard hammer and an assortment of nails. You also need a drill and four or five screwdrivers and screws and anchors of various sizes, or take this opportunity to invest in a cordless drill, which you will bless every time you place a screw. Drills are one of the biggest time savers for DIY-ers and are very easy to use.

Now get busy! With good closet organizers and storage units, you can live large in a very small space.

This article was provided by DIY Home Repairs. Scott Gray is a home improvement handyman enthusiast and freelance writer who enjoys providing tips to consumers about do-it-yourself repairs for maintaining their homes.