An Organized Closet Organizes Your Mind

I’ve already revealed the challenges that I had buying my first apartment and moving into it in New York City. However – one of the highlights was being able to organize the space from scratch so it works efficiently for me and my hubby Jay. He shares my affinity for everything having a place. Of course, looking for an apartment in New York City is a lot more straightforward than it is now and we didn’t really have coliving spaces similar to Urbanests to call back on.

When we were searching for an apartment we would get so excited when we found one that had really organized closets. So we vowed that when we got a place of our own we would do the same.

So one of the really great improvements we made during the renovation of our apartment was to go totally wild in The Container Store.

If you don’t know about this store — you must. It’s a staple for anyone who loves organizational stuff or simply needs a little bit of help keeping things together. They have a line of closet shelving called “elfa” and we used it throughout our home in every single closet.

Here are my highlights:

The Command Center: When you first walk into our apartment there is a large closet right there in the foyer. We decided to make this the “command center.” This is where keys, bags, coats, umbrellas, boots and any items that you walk through the door will go.

So we have hooks for everything and that’s where those items go every single time we enter the apartment. It’s a huge time saver when you know where your keys are at all times. Plus keeping this all behind closed doors means that our entryway is clear of clutter. What a nice way to come home!

Logical Linen Closet: So not only did I want a place to keep all our towels and sheets but I tend to accumulate a lot of beauty products that need a home. See all those baskets – yep, those are where I keep my semi-messy collection of sample lipglosses, travel-sized lotions and other potions. But you’d never know it from first glance because it’s all tucked away. But it’s also great because I always know where to find extra floss or that eye cream I’ve been hoarding.

Smart Shoe Storage: In my old apartment I had my shoes all lined up on the bottom of the closet. I hated this system. It was OK because at least I could see everything but it always looked messy to me. And inevitably I would end up with a pile of shoes in a corner sometimes.

But thankfully with the elfa system I could have shelves installed for all our shoes! It’s great to be able to see everything right in front of us and not have to go picking through lots of piles of stuff to get what we need.

Jazzy Jewelry Drawer: This is my absolute favorite part of my closet makeover. This drawer has a spot for every piece of jewelry that I own. There’s a side that you don’t see on the right side for bigger items like necklaces and bracelets. It’s amazing to have everything laid out in front of me so I don’t have to sort through a bunch of earrings looking for the correct one! Such a time saver and it makes me remember to wear some of my favorite pieces.

All I had to do was bring the dimensions of all of my closets to the Container Store and I sat with a designer. She asked me what I wanted to go into each closet and she customized each space. We picked drawers in the walk-in closet so I could keep my winter sweaters and even Jay’s ties. (They are rolled up in the bottom drawer.) I needed to leave enough space for my luggage and even my Christmas tree — and the designer helped me do it all.

Behind the Scenes

Installation took about an hour for all 5 closets. And the best part was that once I put my stuff in all the closets I realized that I didn’t need some of the shelves that I bought but would rather have some more hanging space. Not a problem – they swapped it out and got me what I needed quickly. It was so easy.