Are you running out of space in your storage closet? Are you finding it hard to find things? A closet should not be just a place to hide things that you don’t want to see. It should be more like a store’s stock room. That’s a place where you store things to be reliably accessible and findable. Here are five tips on how to get your storage closet organized and how to keep it that way.

1. Remote at the top

The top shelf should be reserved for items that you use the least, like seasonal or keepsake items. When you get these items on the hard-to-reach shelf, you free up space on the lower shelves. On lower shelves the more important items can be more easily accessed. Upper-shelf items are accessed less often, so it’s less of a hardship to pull out a step-stool for them.

2. Larger, lighter next

The shelf just above eye level is best for larger, lighter, and more self-explanatory items. Rolls of paper towels or linens would be good examples. They don’t require room to sort through, strength to access, or labels to identify.

3. Eye-level prime real estate

The eye-level shelf is prime real estate. Reserve the items that you access most frequently for this level. This is the perfect spot for clear plastic boxes with labels or items without containers.

4. Below eye-level drawers

The shelf below eye-level is the perfect spot for clear drawers with labels. Drawers are great containers for saving space and making smaller items more findable. They don’t make sense at or above eye level. Below eye level, however, you can look down into the drawers.

5. Floor level strategy

Like the top shelf, the floor, particularly in the back, is good for items that you access less frequently. For deeper closets with recessed shelves, it is important to leave the front of the floor open. This way, you can step in and access the shelves. There is a great way to prevent this spot from filling up with a pile of loose stuff. Store a large item with wheels there. It’s then a simple matter to roll it out the way. A suitcase or a tower of drawers with wheels, would both be good candidates, as space-holders.

Obviously these don’t represent hard and fast rules. Storage closets come in many different configurations and may not have all these shelves. These are just some guidelines you should consider when you organize your storage closet from top to bottom.

If you’d like to have great custom closet systems installed, I recommend Closet & Storage Concepts.  If you’d like some help decluttering your closets and a process for keeping them organized, call us at 203.428.6294.