Functional Organization

Does anyone else struggle with their storage? With its function - or lack of function? 

I can’t be alone in this? 

My closets are driving me mental at the moment.  Mostly because they lack function and this is incredibly frustrating.  Or at least it is to me - so I am left mentally fighting with my closets.  This escalated when I moved some things around so my hats, mitts and scarves were more accessible - it’s that time of year. 

I think I’ve pinpointed why this is aggressively bothersome … I had no closet space in my apartment. Not an exaggeration.  I had a linen closet beside the bathroom, a mirror in the bathroom that opened to reveal three shelves and a small closet in the bedroom - which was about the size of a linen closet. That’s it.  That’s all the closet space I had.  

Shortly after moving in I went to IKEA and designed a wardrobe to fit my needs as it relates to storage.  It incorporated shelving, drawers and space to hang clothes.  It was perfect.  It worked.  It was functional.  

Sighs. 

I bought some felt baskets for hats and mitts … I don’t have a lot … two for everyday and two for when it’s very cold out or I’m out skiing and need a hat under my helmet.  Same with mitts, same with scarves.  

I used to get tonsillitis as a kid … My grandmother was big on scarves or things around my neck to protect my throat and to keep me warm.  It’s something that has followed me into adulthood.  The scarves - not the tonsillitis.

In the winter I am rarely - if ever - without something around my neck … a turtleneck, a scarf, a cowl.  Something warm to keep me warm.  I’m also rarely without a winter hat.  I’m not a fan of being cold. 

I live in an area where there is humidity - so wet heat can be a thing in the summer and damp cold in the winter.  The damp gets into your bones and takes so much longer to leave … so layering and dressing for warmth is a thing … well … it’s my thing. 

Having a place for things - also a thing for me.  Clutter and I aren’t bedfellows.  Clutter is that toxic friend who brings out the worst in you … slowly, painfully … so dropping things in the front hall … hard no. I want/need things to have a home where they just go.  So I put them there when I walk in or know where to find them when I am getting ready to leave.  

Honestly - in my brain, this is just common sense.  A place for everything and everything in its place.  It's a saying for a reason. 

This brings me back to my hall closet. 

I have a vision for how I want it to function - how I think it should be designed.  It is currently not that. 

The real problem. 

I do not possess the skills or tools to turn my current closet into the one I want/need. 

Sighs. 

Also … I’ve been down this path before and it did not end well.  Recap - it ended with me on the floor crying … in frustration and in pain. It ended with me returning the closet to its original state. 

It was not a fun experience.  At all. 

Would I do it again?  Probably.  Should I? Only if I take the lessons I learned from that experience into this one.  What were those lessons?  More planning. Tools. Maybe a second set of eyes and hands. 

Spatial reasoning.  Spatial awareness.  These are not my strengths. Measuring helps … and taping stuff out - I need the visual representation of how something will or won’t fill a space.  

I know how I want the closet to function.  I even have a picture in my mind's eye of what the finished product would look like.  So … I have the what but am missing the how. 

This will likely be a 2026 project.  Given how much it's annoying me now - I can’t imagine I will let this go unresolved through the year ahead. To buy me time - I am using baskets.  Larger baskets aren’t as useful as small organizers in drawers - you lose sight of what you have - which means you don’t wear what you have - but that’s a whole other blog post. 

I can keep closet doors closed, which I do - these merely moves the problem from top of mind to the back burner.  So, always percolating.  

In fairness - the hall closet and the bedroom closets all share the same problem … lack of function.  At the moment the hall is just a bigger pain point … that’s not to say the bedrooms won’t rotate up as the seasons change … they will.  

Clearly I don’t just prefer no clutter … I prefer functional organization.  This seems like something everyone should want … which is really me saying … I defend my need for this, my wanting to prioritize this. 

Crazy thing to get hung up on? 

Maybe. 

But it’s my thing and I’m beyond ok with that.

It frees up my already over crowded, over worked brain … it makes things that should be easy - easy. 

Functional organization might be my 2026 buzz word … as I incorporate it into all areas of my home.  

If it brings peace into my space through increased function then functional organization can be whatever phrase it wants to be.