Closet Confidential: Using Shelves Effectively!

Being lucky enough to design my own closest space was really awesome for me (thanks Dad) but at age 18 my design skills were more aesthetic than practical and I ended up having way too much shelving space in my closet. Being a bit OCD about hanging every piece of clothing on its very own hanger (soon to be wooden hangers of all the same shape, color and size) the shelving situation has driven me slightly crazy! I found a really great an effective way to use my shelving though and I would love to share it with all of my closet organizing peers out there.

Fold Up Boxes

I bought these really great paisley printed boxes from Mr Price Home. They came in a selection of colors ranging from white to black, I chose grey because there wasn't much stock in white. Initially I had preferred using a solid white colored box with no print but Woolworths and Mr Price Home did not have any in stock and I was forced to get these. I ended up preferring the print - it adds a neat yet fun element to my closet. I labelled each box with a label maker (obsessed with this! You can get them at Makro and Game). One box containing "Memories"; photographs, birthday cards and special letters. The other boxes contain sewing paraphernalia and other goods which were previously stored in bags inside my closet. I also neatly folded my Paul Van Zyl Matric Farewell gown in its bag below one of the boxes, although I would consider using the box to store garments inside. This is a bit tricky though as you may require moth balls (gross). I also use them to store my scarves which I will share with you all in the next insert.

Shoes:

Although I have a shoe shelving unit installed my wedges and ankle boots could not fit on the installation so I got creative and made use of my deep shelving. I found storing each pair with one forward facing and one back facing was the best way to see all my shoes clearly. This makes getting dressed really simple as I have a clear view of all my shoes. I also store my sneakers in one of the deep shelves because I have quite a few and prefer them higher up as apposed to below my longer dresses.

Hand Bags:

Using shelving to store your handbags can be quite tricky. I find its best to fold leatherette bags flat and place them flush against each other as they tend to crease. With genuine leather bags you have more leeway as they don't crease as easily (and if they do they don't look so bad). Similar to leatherette bags, canvas bags can crease but I'm sure you could pull a steam iron across them and restore the original look.

Hats:

I don't own many stand alone hats besides 2 X floppy hats and one bowler hat and one straight peak cap. These all need to be stored in a shelf with lots of space though so I found ways to slot them above my folded box and between handbags in an aesthetically pleasing way, as seen in the photographs above.


The whole point of this post was not to answer the very juvenile question of "what" to place in your shelves but more to give you an idea of how I use my shelving both aesthetically and effectively. There is no need to waste space or have an untidy wardrobe! Remember to tweet me @bakedtheblog with any of your closet woes or just to say hi! Follow me on Facebook/bakedtheblog for the latest celeb style files.

Keeping It Tidy 
x x x 
Aisha B