Houston Professional Organizer // Montrose Client Closet Organization Before & After

We have been working for this professional organizing / concierge client for several years and have helped them through many life transitions from break ups to moving to getting married to having a baby. I always love when we get to help clients and see how things have grown and changed through the years. This closet project was after they moved into their new house. It took several hours and organizing is not always as easy or as fast as it looks. That is a very common myth with organizing. 

Here is what we did:

• Sort clothes by his & hers and then by type & color.
• Switch hangers where necessary.
• Fold jeans on shelves.
• Pair shoes together. 
• Separate and fold items in drawers like socks, underwear, bras, workout, pjs and t-shirts.
• Better utilize the shelves. 
• Go through bins and baskets. 
• Organize!

Before: 

After:

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Professional Closet Organizing Questions

Being a professional closet organizer there are various questions we often get asked when it comes to organizing closets, since it is one of our specialities. We are based in Houston, TX, but travel all over. Being a closet organizer in Houston is similar to other places, but some answers to questions may be different because of different regions and climates.

 -What are the benefits to getting your closet organized? Endless! But here are a few, less stressed, saves time because you are not constantly looking for items, saves money because you know what you have and are not going out and buying additional items, added storage because you can usually have more room in an organized, etc. 

-How often should people get their closets organized? Maintenance is key, really you should constantly be maintaining. Some clients we go to weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly.

-When is the best time to get your closet organized? From the moment you move into a new home and if you are already in your home or have been there for years there is no right time, you preferably just need to start!

-Who can benefit from getting their closet organized? Everyone. You reap the benefits immediately, your partner because unorganized closets can be a point of contention for many because everyone is stressed, late, etc. If you or a loved one in your household happen to pass having an organized closet can help you find certain items that are needed of sentimental value, etc.

-So you’ve organized my closet, what happens to the items I don’t want/need anymore? Personally at Eco Modern Concierge, as of right now, if you want them donated we donate them for free, if they can fit in our vehicle, on behalf of clients. Client's sometimes donate to their church, give to friends, family or coworkers, some try to sell online or at local resale shops. 

-What are some tips I should keep in mind after my closet is organized? Maintain, purge often, go through your closet seasonally, have a spot designated for repairs, dry clean and alterations.

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Houston Professional Organizer // Client Teacher: Closet Organization

Last year we helped this teacher get organized in her closet. She was so overwhelmed by the clothes piling up and didn't know where to start so she decided to call in a professional organizer to help her. Luckily, we were the professional organizers she called in to help her organize her closet. She is a teacher and time is very limited for her, so having help was important because most people don't want to spend their weekends getting organized if they do not have to. We worked on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day because that was when she had off from school. We work on a lot of national holidays because people a lot of times do have off.

This closet organization project we began by pulling everything out. As we pulled everything out of her closet, she decided to go through each piece of clothing and decide what keep, what to trash and what to donate. The amount of donations at the end of the day was massive. She was an amazing at purging her closet and got rid of a ton of things that she no longer liked, had not worn in years, didn't make her happy and things that no longer fit. 

Here is a little bit about how we organized her closet:

1. Pull everything out and go through every single thing that came out of the closet.
2. Organize clothing by type and color.
3. Get all shoes off the floor and onto their designated shelves.
4. Less used items went on the top shelves of the closet.
5. Since she shares her closet with her husband, we organized his clothing as well. 

Does your closet need an overhaul? Do you hate walking into your closet to get dressed each morning? If getting started sounds so daunting, take it in small steps. Maybe start with just the shirts or just shoes and then go from there. If organizing your closet still seems very overwhelming you can consider hiring a professional organizer to help you get it done faster and correctly. 

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Houston Professional Organizer // Kid's Closet Organization

Being a professional organizer means that we organize all types of spaces including kids spaces. The son and daughter were sharing a closet so we made sure each of them had a designated side of the closet and we put some organization systems in place. This client did not want to change the hangers in the closet so we left them how they were. We did not purge anything and made everything work based on the space and organization products we had on hand. 

Here is what we did:

1. Made sure each child had their own side of the closet.
2. Used what they had in regards to hangers.
3. Separated clothes by child, type and color.
4. Added baskets for for various things that they had in their rooms. 
5. Added labels and labeled each basket.
6. Organized inside of all the drawers.

You can visit the Eco Modern Concierge shop page to view the products we used for this space. 

Below are some of the befores and afters.

BEFORE

AFTER

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8 Common Mistakes When Designing a Closet

As a professional organizer we see a ton of different closet designs. Some are really good and some are really not that great. As professional organizers there are so many times that we say how much we wish contractors, design professionals and home owners would consult with us before designing a closest. 

Here are some common design mistakes when it comes to designing a master closet:

1. Not enough long hang. I can't tell you how many times that we go into a closet and there is not nearly enough long hanging space in an area. Many women have a ton of dresses and long hanging space is necessary to make things fit properly. 
2. Not using dead space properly. A lot of times there is dead space randomly in a closet whether that is up high, in a corner, on the side of a bay, etc. In order to maximize storage try to use every little bit of space. 
3. Shelves not deep enough. If there is shelving above a closet rod or somewhere in the closet it is usually not deep enough. You want it to be deep enough in order to be able to utilize the shelf with some type of basket or bin if one is needed. 
4. Shelving is not adjustable. If you have a wall of shelving, often times we see that it is not adjustable. It is really beneficial to have adjustable shelves inside of cabinet or if there is a wall of shelves. 
5. Rod not out deep enough for hanger size. The average adult size hanger is around 15-17". If you want a non messy look then make the closet rod come out to at least 14" deep.
6. Bad lighting. If your closet has bad lighting you will not enjoy it and it will more than likely not spark a lot of happiness and joy when you walk into it. 
7. Not enough shoe storage. If you have a lot of shoes plan a space for it. I promise it will be helpful. 
8. Not planning a place for jewelry, socks, underwear, t-shirts, etc. If you know you will wan to be some or all of these items in your closet, then plan for it. 

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Client Baby on the Way: Closet Organization Before & After

I am still catching up on old organizing projects through the years. I started helping this client get organized several years ago. At the time of this closet organization project she was pregnant. On this project we used what the client already had to get organized. You don't always need to go out and buy a ton of items to get organized. 

Here is what we did:

• Sorted like items together.
• Color coded.
• Rearranged the shelf above the clothes.
• Switched hangers based on the hangers they had.
• You can't see it, but there is an elfa drawer system on the left where we kept her underwear, bras, workout clothes, etc. 
• There wasn't enough room for flip flops in the shoe cubbies, so we used a basket that you see to the left of the cubbies to put them in. 

BEFORE

AFTER

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Client Awesome Writer: Closet Organization Before & After

I am still trying to catch up on blogging organization projects we worked on from years ago and this is one of them. This client was located in the Boulevard Oaks / Southampton area of Houston. She is a writer and her husband is a pilot. We spent many hours organizing and she went through every single item in her closet. Here is what we did:

1. Take everything out
2. Declutter
3. Put into keep and donate piles
4. Put everything back in the closet
5. Put like items together like shirts, pants, dresses
6. Arrange by color
7. Rearrange the shelves and get rid of a lot of things on the shelves and put items from the shelves into drawers

We went through the racks, shelves and drawers and the client was really able to clear a ton of clutter. 

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Houston Organizer // Client Traveller: Closet Organization Before & After

I have worked with this client for many, many years and helped her organize her closet a few years ago after she moved in and every so often I help her with refreshing her space. 

Closet organizing tip:

1. Declutter: get rid of what you no longer need, want, like, items that have tears, stains, etc. 
2. The easiest way to make a closet look organized is to switch hangers and color code.
1. This client loved using white hangers 
3. Typically I sort by type so sleeveless, short sleeve, long sleeve, etc. Then sometimes I break it down to dress shirts, casual, sweaters, etc. 
4. Typically we will have tops on the top part of the closet bays and bottoms on the bottom. It just depends on the closet, how the client wants it, etc.
5. Use drawer organizers like these cloth drawer organizers.
6. Some clients like leaving their shoes open on the shelf and some others like using clear shoe boxes like these. 

How do you like to organize your closet? 

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Houston Organizer // Client EaDo Get it Done: Closet Organization Before & After

I started this professional organizing project last year and we worked in different parts of the home to help them get organized and do what worked best for them. The transition in this closet organization project worked great. Here are some things that we did. 

1. I sorted all items. 
2. Folded clothes in the drawers.
3. Sorted hanging items. They choose to use the hangers they already had.
4. Added purse shapers and a clutch holder.
5. Took all shoes out of their boxes and added clear boxes.
6. Then I organized everything else!

Before:

After:

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