shoes

Elfa Closet System to the Rescue!

Does your home suffer the curse of small closets? We are here to tell you that hope is not lost!

Cramped spaces make it harder to access and see what we have and keep it organized. With closets, this can be an even bigger mess because if we can’t access it, that also means it’s harder to put clothes away, which leads to us living out of the laundry basket. But there is a solution out there!

As always, we love a good product that is worth the investment, and Elfa Closets are one of those life-changing products.

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Recently, we worked with a client who moved into a one bedroom apartment that only had one, relatively small, walk-in closet. The client was worried about how to access and display her clothes in both a functional and visually appealing way— and would it all fit in the small closet?

We recommended the Elfa System and she decided to give it a try.

Elfa Closet Systems are made to be designed to your needs. You can purchase items individually, or you can design a closet based on your space.

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What we love most- is that it’s SUPER user friendly. On their website, click on the “Design Center” tab. This will open up with the start of your closet remodel journey. After putting in a few measurements, and asking a few questions, Elfa will generate a suggested closet model that you can then customize based on your needs.

Do you have more shoes? Add some shoe shelves. Not a lot of shoes, but have plenty to hang? Add an extra row of hanging bars. The design is sleek and customizable in colors too!

Now you might be thinking— that sounds great, but it’s probably hard to install and requires some hard labor.

That’s the absolute best part of this set up— it’s super simple to install and set up! Here’s how it works:

order your customized closet,

it ships to you with everything you need ( with the exception of a drill, and level.)

When you open the boxes, there are instructions with each wall labeled A, B, C, D.

Install the anchor rail

Following the instructions for each wall, install the anchor rail across the length of each wall. Congratulations, the hardest part is over!

hang the vertical anchor bars

Once the anchor rail is in place the vertical bars just wedge into place on the bar can slide to their needed positions on the wall. After that, it’s just a matter of hooking the shelves into the vertical anchor bars, and following the design you created.

Once it’s completed, you have an amazingly accessible closet installed and ready for you to hang your clothes, and shelve your shoes. AND if you ever decide you want to change it up, you can! If you decide you wanted your shoes on the other side of the closet, you can move them! Want to shift everything over, you can!

The client we were working with was beyond pleased with how her new closet turned out, and was amazed that everything fit, it wasn’t cramped, and it looked visually appealing too.

While this system is an investment, it makes life so much easier and keeps us from living out of the laundry basket.

Want to get started planning your dream closet? Click here to get started.

Closet Purging 101

February is a great time to go through your closet. Purging your closet prior to switching out seasonal clothes makes it easier to see what you have and see what you need next winter when you transition again. We have come up with a few suggestions on how to get started and questions to ask yourself when you get stuck.

One of the most helpful things is to closet purge with someone who you can trust to tell you the truth about what's flattering and what's not, what looks dingy, and what is outdated.

We always suggest pulling everything out and categorizing by type of item. For example, shoes, belts, t shirts, nicer shirts, skirts, sweaters, jackets etc. Pick a category and go through each item and decide whether to keep it, give it away, return it to someone, or trash it. Once you are done with the category, put the items you are keeping back into the closet.

Often times when organizing you will end up with a "maybe" pile or those items that are just really hard to make decisions on. The following 4 questions may help you figure out why you are hesitant to let it go which may help you make a decision.

1. Do you feel good about yourself when you wear it?

2. Have you worn it in the past year?

3. Do you have other clothing items that look very similar or serve the same purpose?

4. Are you holding onto it for sentimental reasons or out of guilt? (We often recommend photographing beloved clothing items that you know you won't wear again so that you can have a visual memory to hold onto that won't take up place in your closet. Trying to keep your closet limited to items that you actually wear will make getting dressed a lot easier.)

 BONUS- A great resource article for you… Second Chances: Renovate Your Wardrobe Instead of Buying New!