Weekend DIY Project Ideas For A Functional Organized Wardrobe
You’ve worked hard all week - you probably don’t want to spend your entire weekend cleaning and organizing your house.
Luckily, there are some easy DIY ideas you can follow to help keep your wardrobe organized. Most of these tasks can be completed as a weekend project, so whether it’s an entire wardrobe you are trying to neaten up or a few simple women’s clothes items, you don't need to have a ton of time on your hands.
Consider these helpful tips as you begin the task of organizing your closet. It doesn’t have to be overwhelming!
Build a Single-Sheet Plywood Organizer
All you need is a sheet of plywood, some closet rods, and a few dowels to build a simple closet organizer for your GOTS Certified Women’s Clothing. You can cut the sheet into separate chunks (measure as you see fit, depending on the amount of space you want and need) to make shelves and use the rods to hang your gear.
You don’t have to run to the home improvement store to pick up organizing essentials after all!
Build Additional Shelves
Sick of scrambling to try and food space in your closet for all of your essentials? Scramble no more.
Simply build a few additional shelves. You can make your own custom shelves or come up with custom solutions that will work well for the space you have, like cup hooks and wooden hangers to hang things like belts and jewelry.
If you can, put in a few two-story closet shelves, too. There’s so much space above that top shelf in the closet - and it’s a space that often goes to waste. It might be a bit hard to reach, but as long as you have a step stool, you shouldn’t let that stand in your way. You can stash lesser used items, like ice skates or heirlooms, up here so that they aren’t in the way, but there when you need them.
Don’t let those lesser-used places go to waste, either. For example, you have plenty of wasted space in the recessed areas at the end of your closet for jeans and hoodies. Make the most of the space you have by installing some wire shelving. You can buy these in a variety of widths - but make sure you measure how wide and deep your space.
Then, you can choose the ideal shelving and have a salesperson at the store cut your shelves to length (just make sure you subtract ⅜ inch from the width to determine the best shelf length). You’ll also need to buy a pair of plastic clips and end mounting brackets - but the rest is entirely seamless!
Another unused spot? The spot behind the door. You can hang shoe organization racks on your door or you can even hang some coat hooks to keep your ironing board out of the way - but there when you need it.
Hang a Second Closet Rod
Don’t have a lot of closet space to stash your wardrobe essentials? Not a problem. Just hang an additional closet rod. You’re probably wasting a ton of vertical space by only utilizing one closet rod. By adding another, you’ll double the amount of usable space you have.
Make a Freestanding Closet
If you don’t have a large closet in your apartment - or if you perhaps don’t have any kind of closet at all - you may want to build a freestanding closet. This will let you store all the gear you need without having to invest in a major construction project. You can easily make your own shelves using rods and some basic wood shelving.
Add A Closet Door Shelf
As a corollary to the last point, one of the easiest ways to make the most of your closet space is to add more storage area to your closet door. Closet doors shouldn’t just be used for opening and closing - they should also be used for storage! You don’t need to be an expert woodworker in order to create this DIY solution. Just make a tiered array of shallow shelves and you’ll be good to go.
Put Up a Pegboard
You may have thought that pegboards were good storage solutions for your garage only, but believe it or not, there are plenty of ways you can use pegboards in your closet, too. You can organize both your tools and your favorite Jimmy Choos with some handy pegboards!
Just attach a pegboard to the back of your closet and use some neutral-colored fabric to disguise it. Then, you can use it to store all kinds of essentials, from socks to belts and everything in between.
If a pegboard isn’t an appealing idea, consider making another kind of jewelry organizer by painting a shutter. Simply paint a shutter, hang it with Command Strips, and add some S-hooks to hold even the most massive collection of jewelry.
Use Cabinet Knobs for Hanging
Don’t spend all of your hard earned cash on expensive closet organizing accessories at the Container Store. Instead, pick up a few cabinet knobs at your local home improvement store. Not only will this solution save you money, but it will also allow you to create a custom organization solution that will look super chic, too.
Choose whichever cabinet knobs you would like to use - ideally, they will be ones that match your decor. Hang the knobs in your closet and you can use them to store necklaces, scarves, and other items. You may want to affix the knobs to a rack or hanger base instead.
When you hang your completed hook rack, make sure you choose a wall with studs at the same length as the mounting holes. If you don’t hang in studs, use anchors instead.
Pack Seasonal Clothing
Don’t keep clothing around that you aren’t going to wear for several months. Of course, you don’t have to donate it to Goodwill - next fall is right around the corner. Instead, make some extra space by stashing seasonal accessories and clothing somewhere else. This will give you more room for the items you need now.
Not sure what to do with them? Grab a few vacuum storage bags. You will likely be blown away by how much space you can save by removing the air from your bags! If you want to be able to keep tabs on what you have in your closet, just make a list and put the list where you can read it. That way, you’ll be able to find anything you need if you happen to want it or need it unexpectedly.
Once you have your clothes packed away, you can store them in a storage box, under your bed, in the attic, or in some other easy-to-reach place (ideally, a place that’s not your closet!).
Keep Doors in Tip Top Shape
Don’t let poorly-functioning doors be a hindrance to you making the most out of your closet storage space. Instead, fix and update your doors on the regular. If you have bifold doors that don’t work right, for instance, you can fix it so that it doesn’t stick or trim it so it doesn’t bind. Make sure all of your handles are tightened up and secure, too.
Other Helpful Tips
Invest in Sliding Solutions
Another handy tip? Invest in sliding solutions. If you have more pants than you know what to do with, for example, you can build your own sliding pants rack or purchase one that is already made. You’ll not only be able to present wrinkles in your clothes, but a sliding rack will give you more space to store things on your closet hanging rods.
Box it Up
You don’t have to start boxing up and giving away all of your favorite gear, of course - and that’s not what we mean by this tip anyway! Instead, consider using boxes to help you make the most of your storage space. You can build simple wooden boxes and then stack them in your closet for easy, geometric organization.
If you don’t want to build your own boxes, invest in cubbies or bins that can be used to stash untidy items like sweaters, scarves, and socks.
Putting everything into neat little boxes will not only satisfy and indulge your inner neat freak, but it will also help you keep tabs of everything in your closet. You can create separate zones and compartments for various items, too. This is a great tip for nursery closets in particular, where everything seems to be found in miniature - and is therefore very easy to lose!
Divide Those Drawers
Have some drawers you need to separate? If so, you may want to divide them using pre-measured pieces of wood and cord clips. That way, you can separate out all kinds for all gear in your dresser drawers without losing your mind.
Don’t have any pieces of wood to spare? It might be time to consider what you have left after your last trip to the liquor store.
No, not that bottle of Merlot (at least, not yet). Instead, look at the delivery box. The cardboard wine dividers that come in boxes of wine can be incredibly handy at helping you get organized. Just insert the dividers into your dresser drawers (or into tubs or baskets) for a handy DIY solution that will cost you zero money.
Turn Your Hangers
If you find yourself wading through huge piles of women’s clothes that you haven’t worn in months, it might be time to do some purging. It can be tough to get rid of items, but this easy hack should help you do it.
After you’ve gone through and weeded out all the items you know you don’t wear on a regular basis, turn the hanging clothing so that the hangers face outward. Once you’ve worn and washed the item, return it to the rod with the hanger facing the back of the closet.
After a year, any items of clothing that are still facing outward are those that have not been worn. It might be time to consider getting rid of them to free up space for new duds!
Get Your Shoes in Line
Shoes can take up a ton of space in a closet, especially if they aren’t organized properly. One easy way to make the most of your storage space is to build a stool for your vegan shoes. You can build a handy stool in just an hour and leave it in your closet. You’ll only need a sheet of plywood, some wood glue, and some finish nails to do this.
If you don’t have any floor space in your closet, you can always build and install a basic wall-mounted shoe organizer instead. There are plenty that can be hung from the back of your closet door, too, so don’t be afraid to check those out if you’re tight on real estate. You’ll just want to make sure your closet door is still able to shut once you install this kind of organizer.
Label Everything
If you constantly find yourself forgetting what you have stashed in all those pretty (but opaque) storage boxes, consider this tip. Make an erasable label. All you need to do is put a clear piece of tape over some masking tape.
Write on it using a dry erase marker. It will wipe off easily so you can change it whenever you need to (just be careful because of this - you don’t want the writing to smear so that it is illegible!).
Feel Good After A Weekend Warrior Closet DIY Project Adventure
Before you get started on your weekend warrior closet DIY project adventure, take the time to pare down some of the junk. Only keep the necessities. It can be hard to get rid of items that you never wear - but are still emotionally attached to. However, it’s necessary.
As much as you can organize and expand the space you have in your closet, having too much clutter around will just get in your way and impede your best efforts. Implement these tips instead, and you’ll be able to enjoy a DIY project that will actually last.
Rebekah Pierce is a professional social blogger and has worked on several online publications including Citrus Sleep. Rebekah is an experienced content writer and copyeditor. You will find many of her works throughout CitrusSleep.com that cover a wide array of subjects including sleep education, natural, sleep products, electronics, fashion and many more. She is passionate about her work and family.
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