WIRE HANGERS These are the first thing I discard when organizing closets along with the plastic wraps. Wire hangers are too flimsy and usually lose their shape causing clothes to wrinkle and bunch up and they leave sharp creases. They tangle easily and it is really frustrating to handle them especially when your closet is full. Their sharp ends cause stretch marks on the garments shoulders and it is hard to use them with slippery items. Many Dry Cleaners will take in your wire hangers for recycling, so drop them off next time you bring your clothes in for cleaning. WOOD HANGERS I usually recommend wood hangers for the gentlemen’s closets as their garments tend to be a bit heavier, or for coats and jackets on the heavy side. Good quality wood hangers will support heavy loads, even without those super wide shoulders that will take up too much space in your closet, especially the curved ones.I try to remove as many of those as possible and replace with thinner ones especially when space is at premium. The curve in each hanger steals inches of space that can be put to better use with an equally supportive but straight wood hanger. There are various styles, the ones in the pictures will accommodate pants and light blazers, and have notches for garments with straps. CURVED HANGERS Unless I am working in a large walk in closet or for a family with multiple large closets I don't keep or use many of these, as you can see in the picture they require more space than straight hangers. So use these sparingly. VELVET HANGERS I love velvet hangers for multiple reasons, the main one is that they are very thin and take up very little space, secondly it make is so much easier to hang silks, and nylon garments without them slipping off over and over.In every closet I worked there were items on the floor for this reason. Tops with wider than normal neckline can be hung on velvet hangers as well without fear of them slipping off. Lastly, it is visually pleasing to see uniformity. The only downside is that they should not be used for heavy garments, these hangers were made for delicate and slippery clothes. PLASTIC HANGERS Plastic hangers are not my favorites but if you stick with one color and a neutral one like black or white it will still create a pleasant and uniform look. Your closet will look more stylish and peaceful. I have heard it many times from clients and I never get tired of it. It makes a difference. The ones in the picture are non-slip with little indents for straps. I mostly use them for t-shirts and tops as they are a bit slippery for pants but they can work if you use this particular style. Some of these have notches or little hooks that make them useful for garments with straps. They work fine with tops that are not too slippery or with wide necks. Depending on their thickness they will bend and lose shape if you use them with heavy garments. It is possible to find thicker ones if you need them for heavier items. BELOW you can see the change, from chaotic to organized and peaceful. This was done just by streamlining the hangers and rearranging the garments. Uniformity is very important.
SUITS HANGERS These type of hangers combine jackets and pants, or blazers and skirts on one hanger thus saving “hanging space” and making use of vertical space rather than horizontal space. Considering that some of these have wide shoulders you kinda make up for it by combining 2 pieces and saving space. SKIRTS/PANTS HANGERS These are great if you want to hang your pants vertically without a fold, as we know the other option is to hang pants folded in ½ which leaves a crease if you don’t wear them often. They are optimal for skirts as well, if you can’t fold them, because they are very long, of slippery material or a delicate garment. You can usually fit more than one on each hanger, I usually double it up to save space. I prefer the type without the clips because if the item is unworn for long the clips will leave marks. This style is a bit more gentle. SPECIALTY HANGERS During the course of my organizing I have handled many, many closets and sometimes the only way to save space is to purchase those hangers that have a special purpose. If you don’t have drawers available for ties and belts for example, these hangers are the best. I often see belts bunched up on one hanger creating a bulk that wastes space in a tight closet, and make it very difficult to untangle a single belt when needed, switching to a specialty hanger spreads the bulk creating more space, making it easier to retrieve and put back the items, and easier to find at a quick glance. The one in the picture is an example, I have used similar ones for belts with great results. TIES HANGER I have used similar hangers to the one in the picture to organize ties, there are different styles but I found this easier to work with for these 2 features. It rotates 360 degrees and it has little clips to keep the ties from falling. Consider this when purchasing ties organizers. PURSE HANGERS A few words about Purse hangers. Most people just store bags and purses on a shelf, sometimes I find them hanging from hooks or doorknobs but if so inclined and you have the space there are a couple of options to hang your purses, totes, and bags. If you have space in your closet they can hang with your clothes but if you don't, make use of the back of the closet door. The ones in the picture are just one option I found online at Miles Kimball these rotates and can accommodate 2 purses, keep in mind they are plastic so best suited for light weight purses, for heavier ones there are similar styles in metal. OVER THE DOOR PURSE HANGER If you opt to make use of the space on the back of your closet or other door, this is one option that will allow you to store multiple purses and keep them both accessible and visible. This is best for purses that you use often and need to grab quickly. It also makes it easy to put them away. For fancier and more pricey purses, it is best to store on a shelf in their dust bag. To protect not only from moisture and dust but to prevent the leather to stretch. In conclusion choosing the right type of hanger is very important if you want to make the best of your storage space, increase the life of your garments, make them accessible and easy to see. It will save you both time an space. With a little research you can find options for every budget. I found all of them on Amazon. I purposely did not add links as I don't want to advertise or push a particular item just give you options and ideas.
For more Hangers options CHECK OUT the PRODUCTS tab on this website. I hope you found it useful and if you think I left something out please let me know. It is everywhere, on Pinterest, Blogs, TV shows, Books, everyone is talking about decluttering and organizing, tidying up like the Japanese guru but a lot of people are confused on what exactly these words mean, or they mistake one for the other. As a Professional Organizer I get people contacting me to help them declutter and organize, which can be intense experiences but very rewarding in the end, but sometimes during our phone call consultations I realize what they mean is TIDYING UP. I hear things like “I have piles of laundry to put away” or “my living room is overrun with toys that no one puts away” these are TIDYING UP tasks. If you already have a place to put them in but lack the time to do so, and you don’t intend to get rid of anything, there is no decision making process needed, and TIDYING UP is all that is required. As a Professional Organizer I sometimes do that, these sessions are called Maintenance or Reset sessions. Many clients with busy work and family schedules, after the initial Decluttering and Organizing use my services to Maintain the organization systems we put in place. So here is a brief explanations of what these terms mean. TIDYING UP: to make a place or a collections of things tidy. When you tidy up you put things back in their proper places so that everything is neat. SYNONYMS: clean up, neaten, straighten out. Tidying up is not ORGANIZING. Your belongings already have a home, and there is no need to rehome them or find the right place for them. They just need to be put back where they BELONG. Tidying is what you do at night after dinner and before you head to bed. You straighten up the pillows on the couch, remove drinkware from the coffee table, pick up toys and put them away etc. so that your living room looks TIDY, and everything that does not belong there is put back in it’s proper place. In short it is a RESET, where everything returns home ready to be used the next day. Some professional Organizers offer this service, some call it Maintenance session, some call it a Reset and that is basically what it does it resets the area/room back to an organized state. This assuming you have worked with the Organizer in creating the systems that will keep you organized, in the first place. DECLUTTERING: to remove unnecessary items from an overcrowded place/area, in order to make it more pleasant and more useful. SYNONYMS: dejunk Decluttering is not ORGANIZING or TIDYING UP. Decluttering involves decisions making, when you declutter you “remove” things that you no longer want/like or use from an area or room. You will have to decide if you will trash (what is broken) keep (what you are still using or like) or recycle/donate (you no longer want it but it is still works). In some cases the items you will keep will be re-homed somewhere else where they are more accessible or will make life easier for you. ORGANIZING: to arrange something according to a particular system, to form into a cohesive unity or functioning whole, to set up a structure. SYNONYMS: systematize, methodize We are not all organized by nature, some will struggle with this more than others but we can all benefit from an organized environment, be it home or work. Organizing is NOT DECLUTTERING or TIDYING UP, organizing involves setting up systems and creating routines and habits that will be the base for becoming and staying organized. The scope of organizing is to make things functional, eye pleasing and make your life easier. Once you are organized and have your systems and routines in place, you will be able to TIDY UP at the end of the day in a matter of minutes. Now that you have a clearer idea of what each word means, and what it can do for you, how will you put it to work? Let me know if there is anything else I did not cover and that you would like me to add. |
AuthorHello, my name is Vicky and I am a Professional Organizer in NYC. I am passionate about anything related to organizing and most of all I fully believe in the benefits of it. Archives
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