Storage has always been an on-going issue for me where we live. We have closets, but they aren't huge and therefore I am always stuffing drawers and shelves to the brim or putting things in places where they don't belong. Bob keeps his closet in our bedroom and since we can't fit all our clothes in the same closet, I keep my clothes in the closet in Ruby's room. However, that situation isn't ideal because I can't always access my closet (like when she's sleeping at night).

So for the past couple years, I've turned this tiny alcove in our bedroom into my temporary closet for things I am currently wearing and used the closet in Ruby's room to store off-season items. The location and access has been so much better for me even if it's a smaller version of a full-sized closet. We got a cheapo clothing rack (before photo) that worked okay for a little bit, but eventually the rack fell over in the middle of the night so many times that something needed to change. I knew I could maximize that space more but didn't know exactly how until I met Beth of Bneato, a personal organizer, who made my life so much easier with a simple and beautiful update to my closet. Here's what she did and her tips for maximizing the space in any closet…

1. When reworking a closet, always lookout for negative space. For example, in Joy’s alcove closet, there was a lot of unused space at the top and bottom. When you see negative space, think how you can add shelves and hooks. 

2. In a closet, even if you’re not working with built-ins, you can recreate drawers with a free-standing drawer unit or dresser. They work great nestled underneath short hanging garments like blouses and shorter skirts. The Elfa Closet system from The Container Store is my go-to solution for transforming a closet. It’s a great price point for a make-over without breaking the bank. My favorite features are the pull-out drawers and shoe shelves.

3. Maximize either the pull-out or standing drawers for storing clutches, folded jeans, accessories and sweaters. 

4. I like to see decorative boxes on shelves to stores scarves and other hard-to-wrangle accessories. With Joy’s new closet, she can now store winter gear and clothes not used as often on the top shelf and swap out as needed. 

5. I highly recommend getting a few sets of uniform hangers so they are all the same. It's a quick and easy way to tighten up a closet and make everything look super streamlined and neat. 

6. In addition to sections clothes by type (blouses, dresses, pants, etc.), color-coordinating clothes also makes a closet more visually stunning and a good trick to help you get things back to where they belong quickly. 

7. Instead of storing bags on the new shelves, I opted to hang them on a hook which helps to free up more space in the alcove closet for items that need to be stored flat. 

8. A stool is super helpful for making things easy to get to as well as put away (we all know how we can get lazy and leave things on the floor or bed). If you choose a stool that matches your aesthetic, it will feel more like decor than a utility.

9. Label any closed boxes in a way that makes it easy for you to find those accessories or off-season clothes. Some use polaroids, I used gold sticker letters to label the boxes which you can label with any phrases or descriptions you want.

10. If you have the floor space, it's helpful to keep a place for laundry (like a basket or hamper) so you can have an area to easily toss dirty clothes and get them off to the wash. I like to put a dryer sheet in the laundry hamper, like Caldrea Black Coriander Lime, to refresh the small space and keep it smelling fresh.

A organized closet honestly makes my brain feel less cluttered. It's amazing how easy it was and so worth spending the time to figure out a new and more efficient solution! Thanks to Beth for her guidance and helping me to get a little bit more on track with my organization!

*This post is brought to you in collaboration with Caldrea. All content, ideas, and words are my own. Thanks for supporting the sponsors that allow me to create new and special content like this for Oh Joy.

{Photos by Casey Brodley for Oh Joy}