Closet organizing systems is a term used to describe a very large and diverse group of products. These products range from the simple shelf and rod type system often installed in a new home by the builder to truly sophisticated and very high end closet shelving systems manufactured from melamine panels or even a real wood closet organizer. The wire shelving systems with which we are all familiar are also often installed as a builder standard in many new homes.
Pros and Cons of Closet Organization Systems
While something is typically better than nothing in most cases, it is valuable to understand the pros and cons of a particular type of closet organizing system and what makes one type of system superior to another.
The basic shelf and rod system has lots of drawbacks. True, it keeps you from having to store your clothes on the floor, but it really isn’t much more help than that. It does not take advantage of the useful space available in most closets. It is sometimes an acceptable alternative in a small foyer closet intended for use only as a repository for guests’ coats, but other than that, it is a sad excuse for a more sophisticated closet organizing system.
Wire systems often do take advantage of the height in a closet by utilizing double hanging sections, but these types of closet organizing systems have lots of associated problems. Many times when these systems are heavily loaded they actually pull away from the wall and your clothing is back to being stored on the floor. The racking is attached to the drywall with hollow wall anchors and the amount of weight that such anchors can support is minimal and finite.
Wire systems also lack any adjustability, unlike that is custom designed for a particular application, so what you have on day one will be what you always have regardless of whether your changing needs might dictate greater value in a different arrangement. While these systems are better than a shelf and rod, they are not nearly as worthwhile as a custom designed closet organizing system that utilizes melamine or veneer products for the structural components.
Closet cabinets and organizing systems such as those produced by Closet Works, Inc., are far superior to basic and wire systems in many ways.
In many cases, they are mounted as floor-supported systems – eliminating the possibility that they might fall away or pull out from the wall. Some systems of this type could be wall supported, but only if there is a significant reason to do so, perhaps if you need to be able to reach an access panel for plumbing or electrical components. Even in these situations you can choose to use the wall hung systems only in specific areas where they are helpful and depend on floor-mounted systems elsewhere. The noise from a collapsing closet system that happens to fall down when you are in the midst of a sound sleep is something you need experience only once to realize the benefit of floor-mounted closet organizing systems.
Laminate and wood closet organization systems also offer a very high degree of adjustability and even modification without the need to make major structural changes. Add this significant advantage to the benefits of having built-in drawers, custom solutions to specific storage challenges beyond a simple shelf and the higher utilization factor of available space and it becomes apparent that whenever possible, a closet organizing system such as this is the best way to go.
Please call us and let one of our space utilization experts come to your home for a free, no obligation design consultation and see what an amazing difference innovative closet organizing ideas can make in your life.
