Currently, there is one brand name in the area of closets that speaks of luxury and elegance. Sounds expensive, huh? Well, not really. In fact, this brand has been a big favorite amongst many house owners since a decade ago – John Louis. Actually, this closet organizer manufacturer specializes in wood closet systems in a wide range of models and designs. Of course, there are other brands of elegant wood closet organizer systems out there; but, the John Louis brand has been consistent in staying on top of the list. We will tackle briefly why this is so.

John Louis closet organizers are made from the finest timber known to man – red mahogany. However though, other timber materials coming from solid pine and teak may also be used in some models. Without a doubt, solid pine wood and teak wood are also tough by themselves; but, red mahogany has the upper hand when it comes to conveying a luxurious and elegant statement. The natural shade of red mahogany makes it perfect for a wardrobe closet setting considering that it tends to blend well with various garment colors and styles.

A John Louis closet organizing system can cost between $250 up to $499 depending on size and features. Custom closet organizers from John Louis can also be had especially for larger closet spaces (i.e. walk-in closets). A big number of home improvement and furniture stores may carry this brand in their product inventories. Target and Home Depot are two big stores that carry this brand. Fortunately, there are lots of merchants that already have established online presence; hence, looking for a John Louis closet system may not be that hard these days.

Let’s start with the people who are just looking for a few items to organize their closet. Items they are potentially searching for include shoe storage bins, closet hangers, closet shelves, tie organizers, and hang bars. These people may want all of these items for their closet or maybe they just want one or two of these items. Let’s call these items closet organizer accessories just so they have a name.

If you are someone who is only looking for a few accessories to organize your closet than we suggest you search for them by their given name. For example instead of typing in “closet organizers” to the search engine (this will likely result in showing you “complete” closet organizers with everything included) try typing in “closet shelves” or “shoe organizer.” Not everyone wants to spend $400 to get a complete closet organizing system.

Let’s proceed to the next group. This group wants the whole kitten caboodle. They are the ones who want to be able to purchase a complete closet organizing system. This group faces its own dilemmas. They must decide if they want to personally develop their own closet organizer of they would prefer to buy a cookie cutter version.

Customizing Your Closet

The main advantage of designing your closet is that you get exactly what you want; you decide where everything goes, what could be wrong with that?

I’ll tell you what could be wrong with that: it can be a lot of work/time.  If you are designing your closet online then you have to learn how the website’s design software works. Another problem is that you may design a closet organizing system that won’t actually work (meaning that your design won’t cooperate with the house specifications).

With that being said, designing your own closet can be fun and rewarding as long as the proper steps are taken.

Cookie-Cutter Closets

This type of closet organizing system has already been designed by the manufacturers. However, even these require some work on your behalf (for example you will have to measure the depth and width of your closet).

Tip: Try purchasing a closet organizer accessory if you are only looking to clean up a small part of your closet. This is a lot easier than having to design your closet and install a huge system.

Getting organized requires a little bit of work initially, but it will save you a lot of time/frustration in the long run.

The Lazy and Poor Man’s Guide to Organizing your Closet

Identify one problem area and only one; then solve it (if the problem continues, move on to another problem area). A mistake I have made in the past is taking on projects that are too big for the time/energy I have available.  For example, I’ll be annoyed that I can’t find one of my shoes before work. This will annoy be extremely so I’ll decide to “clean out” my closet. After I’ve pulled out all my shoes, clothes, and boxes I realize I’m dead tired and it is time to go to work. I throw everything back into the closet and my problem is worse than before.

Try starting with one area. For example, let’s say your shoes are a mess. Try pulling them all out of your closet, buying a shoe organizer, and replacing your shoes in the organizer. If after a week or two you are still unhappy with your closet’s organization, then tackle another problem.

By applying this method you avoid two pitfalls:

(1)    Never making any progress. As mentioned previously, trying to take on too much will leave you doing nothing.
(2)    Spending way more money than needed. You could buy a complete closet organizing system, but it will cost you a lot of money; money that you might not need to spend.

Individual Closet Organizers

Shoe Organizers/ Shoe Racks – These can really save you some space. They make it a lot easier to find your shoes as well. The key is to take your time to put your shoes back in them every day.

Adjustable Closet Shelves – Shelves can be extremely helpful in keep your closet organized. They are relatively inexpensive, and if they are adjustable then you can move them around as you see room for improvement.

Tie Organizers – Instead of having your ties falling off your hangars all the time, try purchasing a tie organizer or a belt organizer.
Have you had success with closet organizers? Please share your story below.