When our clients are faced with the often overwhelming decision of where to start organizing we always suggest that they think about the area in their homes that bother them the most. Is there are certain area that frequently slows them down, or is there something every day that they struggle to find and have to waste time looking for? Once they’ve figured out the answer — which typically doesn’t take very long — that’s where we tell them to start.
One thing we’ve noticed clients often struggle with is getting out of the door in the morning in a timely manner. Whether you have children, or not, getting out of the house in the the morning can be quite the struggle, especially if you can’t find everything you need to take with you for the day. Being frazzled is no way to start the day. So to help make getting out of the door a little easier we wanted to share a few simple organizing tips focused on coat closets, because that’s the space where we typically go to grab what we need on our way out the door.
1. Take EVERYTHING out of your coat closet. Only keep the items that you need to access quickly on a daily basis in the closet like jackets, bags, and pet leashes. (We only keep the jackets for the current season in the closet and change them out as the weather changes.)
2. Use matching hangers. This is one of the most simple tricks professional organizers use to instantly make a space feel more organized and look more polished. We especially love these non-slip hangers. (For heavy coats we suggest using sturdy wood hangers, because they won’t bend or break under the weight.)
3. Invest in a system that lets you utilize the back of the closet door. If you’ve been following us for awhile then you know how much we love taking advantage of vertical space — especially in areas that have very limited space like a coat closet. We’ve noticed that this space often goes overlooked, but with the help of The Container Store we recently discovered one of the best ways to take full advantage of the vertical space behind any door — the Elfa Utility Mesh Closet Door & Wall Rack.
We use it in our coat closets to hold the items we use every day, plus, a lot of our outdoor items like sunscreen, bug spray, leashes, and umbrellas. The system is extremely easy to put together and install. You can mount it to any door or wall without ever having to drill anything. Plus, everything is adjustable, so you can use it many different ways. While we used it to help organize our coat closet, it would also be great in a pantry or clothing closet to hang scarves or jewelry. Right now the wall rack is 30% off through 2/25.
4. Use baskets with labels to make finding items easier. Categorize baskets with like items and label them, so you know exactly where you can an item without having to sort through everything — no one has time for that in the morning. We love the Water Hyacinth Storage Cubes with Handles and these sturdy labels.
5. Take the time every day to put your coat up and hang your bag/purse in the same place. It’s a lot easier just to do it a soon as you get in than to lay items somewhere around the house and not be able to find them the next time you need to leave.
We hope these tips will help your mornings go a lot more smoothly. For more tips check out our recent post on Easy Ways To Organize Your Linen Closet.
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Thank you to The Container Store for sponsoring this post. All photos and opinions are ours. We may earn a commission when you use one of our links to make a purchase.