Organized and chaos-free closets is like getting a haircut.
Fresh, beautiful, and ready for the world!
You have to love IKEA for these types of home organization jobs - fast, economical, and easy DIY. Plus Zara Home for Med Style baskets for extra storage. Consider a closet purge and “re-wrap” your pre-loved items with online clothes re-sale websites like Vestiaire Collective.
When I first moved into my Med Home there were already built-in closets, which I was grateful for, to save on buying wardrobes.
However, as my home is 30 years old, the wooden drawers in the closets would often stick - and so I avoided using them - losing a lot of closet organization space. Instead of using the drawers, I had a lot of felt baskets stacked on top of each other in the bottom of my closets.
This became extremely chaotic over time, and I started to loose sight of what was in those baskets. Plus, there was just one hanging rod that went across the top of the full closet - which over time became over-burdened as I crammed more clothes in there. The hanging rods finally broke down altogether, leaving my beautiful clothes in a heap - nightmare!
My home decor design style is minimalist, I don’t like chaotic spaces, and after a couple of years my closets were absolutely driving me crazy!
This is the year to finally sort my closets out.
3 Solutions to my Closet Chaos - Closet Organization DIY in a weekend!
1. Re-design closet interiors I IKEA
To prepare my new closet canvas, I first needed to remove the malfunctioning built in wooden drawers in each closet.
I was dreading this part as before getting started - I was fearing a messy job. But it turned out that all I needed was a handsaw to remove the wood casing - et voila, I just super-sized my closets!
For the re-design of my new enlarged interior of the closets I wanted something simple and fresh that would allow me to see all of my clothes and shoes. (If you can’t see them, you don’t wear them!)
I love IKEA for these jobs - you know what you are getting. You can design and order online to avoid the crowds of IKEA stores - and somehow many of us have become expert IKEA “engineers” fluent in the language of IKEA step-by-step pictorial assembly guides.
I now have a full set of IKEA assembly tools - I call them my lady tools - small drill, small screwdriver and wrench set, small power screwdriver….
For my closet interiors I chose IKEA closet interior system, BOAXEL.
BOAXEL has many pieces to mix and match for the ideal design for each closet’s purpose.
I created BOAXEL DESIGN 1 for my office - to hold a mix of coats, household products, and shoes. With many see through basket drawers for household products; and shelves to see all of my shoes.
I created BOAXEL DESIGN 2 for my bedroom - to hold clothes with separate levels for shirts and pants to optimise the space; see through baskets for delicates, socks, t-shirts, belts; and shelves for casual shirts and jeans.
I can now see all of my clothes, shoes, household products and coats! Nice and neat and tidy. Easy-peasy!
CLOSET CHAOS NO MORE :)
2. Re-claim unused space I ZARA HOME
My Med Home has high ceilings, which I love for opening up the space to be very light and airy. There are architectural features in the house that create large ledges above the closets. Spaces that I have been reluctant to clutter up, rather preferring the clean lines and open spaces.
However, I found that as I like to entertain a lot of house guests, I have accumulated a lot of sheets, bath towels, beach towels, duvets, and pillows for the guest rooms - that only get used a few weeks of the year - and are filling up my closets to the brim.
I decided to consult one of my favourite Med Home Decor shops, Zara Home, for stylish, very Med Style, baskets to put the bed and bath linens, towels and duvets - that only need to be accessed a few times a year.
Moving these items to baskets, neatly tucked away in those overhead nooks, has freed up an enormous amount of space in my linen closet.
3. Closet purge wardrobe re-sale I VESTIAIRE COLLECTIVE
Clearly if my closet hanger is breaking from too many clothes - I have too many clothes!
The first option to re-wrap my pre-loved designer clothes was to gift to family and friends. However, this option can be limited if your family and friends are not the same size, or prefer a different style.
Completely horrified by throwing my once loved designer clothes into the fabric recycling bin - I found a great option: pre-loved clothes up-cycling - online clothes re-sale - the new consignment store!
One of my favourite designers is Diane von Furstenberg. I have many DVF pieces more suited to a colder climate. In my new Mediterranean Lifestyle and HOT climate living, stunning pieces (according to me) have sat on the rack for two years now. I was delighted to find that DVF has an online re-sale website! DVF Re-Wrap . Sadly, it is limited only to the US.
So I went looking for something similar that serves Europe. I found Vestiaire Collective.
You can take photos of your pre-loved items and post them for re-sale. There is no sales commission for VC as of 2023, and VC takes care of the shipping and any returns.
If you have many items and don’t want to manage the sales yourself. VC has a consignment service. Note the consignment service will cost you a 30% sales commission that goes to VC. However, from another point of view, consider that 70% of the sale can be much better than the Zero % of un-worn clothes clogging up your closet.
I decided to try to manage my VC re-sale myself to start - and to consider the consignment service after 6 months if my on-line re-selling skills are not cutting it.
If your closets are driving you crazy, consider these fast and economical DIY closet organization options.
Set the chaos free this spring! Reap the benefits of freshly organised closets all Med summer entertaining season long…
Share your closet organisation tips in the comments below!
Jade
Lewon
Med
Vestiaire Collective online clothing re-sale was just featured on Emily in Paris, Season 4, Netflix
I’ve just started using the online re-seller Vinted. Maybe check them out too! It’s so easy and free as well. I’ve had lots of success with my designer shoes!