Keeping a Shared Closet Organized

Many of us get used to having our own personal closets when we live alone.  Life does not always remain the same and we may go on to share our rooms with friends, colleagues, or significant others. Transitioning from having your own closet to sharing a closet with someone can be difficult.  You may need to adjust the way you organize to make space for two where there was once only one!

Start by each person designating a personal storage space within the closet. Try to make this as fair as possible while keeping in mind one person may have more to store than the other.  Consider yourself lucky if your partner does not require much storage space and allows you to have the lion’s share.

Following the division of storage space, you should clean up the clutter. You have to be ruthless in this case. Just do away with items that you are not using anymore; some of them might be useful to others.  You can always donate items to friends, family, or those less fortunate than you.  Cleaning the clutter is an activity that should be redone periodically otherwise you will find your closet getting filled with things you do not need or use.

Now comes the organizing part.  Invest in shelf dividers, hangars, shoe-holders, hanging sweater organizers, and other compartmentalized products; they are extremely useful in keeping your closet organized.  Consider storing items that are not used very often (holiday decorations or seasonal clothing) in a different place, such as in suitable containers under the bed. 

Another
option is to redesign the space completely to better suit both of your
needs for shelf space, hanging sections and other specialized style options.

Once everything has its place, make sure to put things away in their designated areas.  Even when in a hurry it is helpful to put things back where you got them.  This will keep your closet tidy and require major clean-outs to be less frequent. If you stick to these basics you can easily manage your closet space and actually enjoy it!