A Closet Case

Jul 25, 2008 @ 11:59am

ocd closet.jpg Hi Fashionista,

Didn't want to post this on your blog - though you are free to do so - but your recent post with "This is what's inside the fridge...." made me smile.

I'm a professional organizer and this is what the inside of a professional organizer's closet looks like (mine)! I love reading your blog. Take care!

xo Geralin Thomas - metropolitanorganizing.com

We're posting this because we're absolutely dying to know if anyone else's closet actually looks like this. Because, well, ours most definitely does not.

ocd closet.jpg

posted by guest

Jul 25, 2008 12:08PM

I'm not a professional organizer, but mine looks like this! On my shoeboxes, I have polaroids of the shoes inside.
I even have a revolving tie rack for my scarves!

My mom thinks I'm crazy hahah

posted by CovetDeschanel

Jul 25, 2008 12:09PM

Oooooh... Nirvana!

posted by guest

Jul 25, 2008 12:10PM

this is absolutely amazing. words can't describe how jealous I am!

posted by guest

Jul 25, 2008 12:23PM

the hangers don't even match... i'm not that impressed.

posted by guest

Jul 25, 2008 12:24PM

Insanely organized! It looks great my closet def does not look like that!

posted by guest

Jul 25, 2008 12:29PM

Mine is color coordinated like this, but then it's also separated in to categories... short sleeve by color, then long sleeve by color, etc.
I don't keep my shoes like this because it would be unpractical for me - I'm very short and can barely reach the shelf above my clothes!

posted by i hope

Jul 25, 2008 12:30PM

i'm dreaming of more closet space, let alone TWO shelves just for shoes. my shoes are relegated to the closet floor to leave shelf space for all my sweaters.

posted by fashionursta

Jul 25, 2008 12:32PM

Looks great, but I challenge her to do that in a my cramped NYC closet that I share with my husband. I've got shoes stacked up on the shelves, behind a rack of hanging stuff and under the bed. If anyone knows someone that can do that, please drop the person's name!

posted by guest

Jul 25, 2008 12:37PM

"no wire hangers!!!" lol

posted by UrbanGrandmaChiq

Jul 25, 2008 12:38PM

I lived out of a suitcase for almost a year. Once I was finally home, to make up for the fact that my poor clothing was stuck in hiding for so long, I decided I wanted to live in my closet so I bought a bunch of clothing racks and turned my entire room into a closet. Now I am surrounded by my loves; shoes,bags,and clothes.There is no having to search for anything! My clothes are the perfect decorations. However, her shoe boxes are amazing!

posted by guest

Jul 25, 2008 12:46PM

Yes. Yes. Polaroids on the shoeboxes.

Here is a serious question... how do you guys feel about plastic hangers?

posted by guest

Jul 25, 2008 12:52PM

ditto fashionursta! different city, same problem.

posted by fashionursta

Jul 25, 2008 12:55PM

No Plastic Hangers Ever!!! I got the greatest chrome hangers that are skinny so they take up the least amount of space on the bar, from manhattanwardrobesupply.com. They are not like wire hangers from the dry cleaner, much stronger. MWS is a fabulous resource (all the stylists get stuff from them) and you can buy them in bulk. I was able to cram in more stuff because the hangers don't take up a lot of space. And having all the same hangers makes the closet look more organized.

posted by guest

Jul 25, 2008 1:00PM

Thanks for the link!

I agree with you that matching hangers looks so much better. Wood takes up waaaaay too much room after a while.

posted by guest

Jul 25, 2008 1:15PM

I don't think that her hangers are wire, I think they are those new velvet hangers. I hear they're amazing and don't take up much room. I have wood and it's not giving me enough space for new clothes. I love her closet- wish I had that space for shoes!

posted by The Habit

Jul 25, 2008 1:22PM

That's lovely, but I think mine is even better. ;)

posted by BunnyB

Jul 25, 2008 1:42PM

This is what my closet used to look like before I moved :( but yeah those velvet hangers are great!

posted by guest

Jul 25, 2008 1:42PM

Wow. My shoes are in a big jumble and while I do hang my clothes properly on nice hangers, they are NOT color coded.

posted by KLW

Jul 25, 2008 1:50PM

I tried to do this once when I was in high school and reading too many women's magazines. My mom got furious and suggested that every time I get the urge to start spending money on matching shoe boxes and photographing my shoes, I should instead go jump off a bridge for wasting my time instead of taking advantage of the opportunities my incredibly privileged life have given me.

Harsh? Yes. True? Definitely. And still the only thing I can think of when I see closets like these. I get that it's "harmless," and I'm as huge a fashion fan as anyone, but what a world we do live in when this can be someone's priority, or LACKING this can be a source of someone's jealousy.

posted by guest

Jul 25, 2008 2:02PM

The hangers she has are called Huggable Hangers, you can get them off HSN. They create soo much more room and dont leave marks on the shoulders....

posted by sally carrol happer

Jul 25, 2008 2:13PM

I treat my room as one big closet too - I have a clothing rack which is never enough since I have a strong passion for wooden hangers and I'd never even consider switching for smaller ones, so my clothes are always all over the place, not to mention the shoes. And as for the part that gets to hang on the rack - I don't believe in color organization at all. I find it way easier to find what I need or get a good idea for an outfit if the clothes are grouped by type.

posted by guest

Jul 25, 2008 2:21PM

Oh my goodness!

But really, why would you co-ordinate by colour and not garment? Surely you think"I want to wear shorts today" not "I want to wear aquamarine"? Or maybe I've got it all wrong?!

posted by Ginge

Jul 25, 2008 2:36PM

Yeah, if I tried to do that my shoes would never make it back into the boxes.

Wire hangers are actually good for reducing static electricity. Although I mostly just have that problem with sweaters, which I don't hang up.

posted by southweststyle

Jul 25, 2008 3:12PM

oooh - i like the huggable hangers. no more shoulder nipples!

posted by guest

Jul 25, 2008 3:17PM

guest comment from 12:23 . .way to be jealous. baha

posted by FashionIntelligentsia

Jul 25, 2008 3:17PM

Gah - I need more closet space. I think you can tell a lot by hanger choice. What do your hangers say about your personality? Mine are all wood, same design and must align perfectly. Virgo? Possibly.

posted by guest

Jul 25, 2008 3:19PM

inspiration! i'm in the middle of a big closet overhaul that's proving to be a very painful process. a bit overwhelmed by all the piles of clothes around my room waiting to be organized. i think i'm now ready for round 2! : )

posted by guest

Jul 25, 2008 4:08PM

is there a difference between huggable hangers and just velvet hangers? they seem to be more expensive for no reason at all.

posted by guest

Jul 25, 2008 4:08PM

1. i'm not impressed, either. at all.

2. i have huggable hangers (a gift) and i hhhhhhhhate them; they DO leave marks and they're too wide so they stretch my clothes out. i'm in the process of replacing them all with wood again.

posted by Nagiko9

Jul 25, 2008 4:19PM

With exception of the shoes, my closet looks just like that. My shoes hang in rainbow color order from the door.

posted by cassie

Jul 25, 2008 4:40PM

my closet used to look like that, when i had 3 of them! now i only have 1, but i got these great cubbies from the hardware store so now my shoes and bags are stacked to the ceiling, which helps a lot.

posted by guest

Jul 25, 2008 4:44PM

i certainly don't have as many clothes but my stuff is organized by color and all my shoes are in those clear plastic shoe boxes from the container store! it took me a full weekend to organize my closet.

posted by Rockmantica

Jul 25, 2008 7:18PM

lol the name of that picture file is "OCD CLOSET". Yes, I am OCD as well.

posted by guest

Jul 25, 2008 8:46PM

i like to use child hangers to hang some stuff like tanks and slip dresses so they dont get stretched out at the top!

posted by sillysara495

Jul 25, 2008 10:46PM

The hangers should all be matching in what kind they are, but otherwise, I'm jealous of the shoe organization

I have plastic hangers :0 but when I hang up my shirts, I make sure the hanger color matches with the shirt i'm hanging up.

posted by disneyrollergirl

Jul 26, 2008 5:16AM

I am just loving this debate about plastic vs wood hangers. Only on Fashionista! I'd love all wood but don't have the space. I used to store my shoes in semi-opaque plastic boxes from Muji and label them with Dymo tape (Polaroids are too showy)...and then the labels dropped off.

posted by guest

Jul 26, 2008 7:25AM

Colour coordinating your hangers to your clothing seems like WAAAAAY too much effort.

I think her closet is perfect - well organized, all items accessible, without being downright anal.

posted by marybelle

Jul 26, 2008 9:43AM

Geralin's shoes are so sensible! YUCK!

posted by guest

Jul 27, 2008 3:31PM

I have two rooms one for clothes and one for accessories -- reality is when you have alot of items and you do constantly weed through and give to consignment and charity that much space would never do for me!!!!!

posted by hannah

Jul 27, 2008 3:39PM

marybelle- I was thinking the exact same thing, haha!

My closet however has no method of organization but soon I shall be moving in to a room with 2 closets and I plan to organize when I move. I really need to do something about my shoes, but boxes like that simply aren't an option.

posted by guest

Jul 27, 2008 7:27PM

No wooden hangers, no care.

posted by midnightdrive

Jul 28, 2008 10:47AM

I love the organization, but the pictures on the shoe boxes looks kinda tacky.

posted by Perry

Jul 28, 2008 2:45PM

And I thought I was a neat freak...the pictures on the shoe boxes is brilliant though

posted by guest

Jul 29, 2008 7:20PM

i actually think the shoebox idea is really impractical. the majority of my shoes are lined up in front of my mirror. they'd just take a lot of effort if you were trying on several pairs of shoes, knowing me all the shoes would either be in the wrong boxes or not in boxes at all.