Wonder Hanger is Pretty Wonderful

Last night while shopping with my husband, I was compelled to buy the "Wonder Hanger" in the As See On TV section. I decided it would make for a fun experiment I could do in my own home and blog about (I've been curious since I first saw the commercial!), while qualifying as a business expense. Win-win :)

It cost just under $10 for 8 hangers you get to assemble (which was harder than I'd anticipated, but nothing difficult). They are made of very sturdy plastic, and once put together, they do not come back apart.

After I assembled the hangers, I tried them out in several closets and am pretty darn happy with the results. They made so much extra room in our coat closet (see pictures below) and the closet in my husband's office! I'm excited that we actually have room for guests to hang their coats now - just in time for the holiday season. The Wonder Hanger would also be useful in a guest bedroom or seasonal clothes closet. They are surprisingly strong - I have one holding up 5 winter and leather coats and it's handling it just fine.

However, I couldn't use them in half of our master closet because of the height of the bars - it makes things hang much lower than a standard hanger, so I ended up with dress shirts resting on the bar below and getting in the way. Another downside is that you need enough room to move both hooks onto the bar in order to remove an item from the hanger; so it's not advised to cram a small closet full of these or you'll run out of room to actually get things out!

Overall, I recommend the Wonder Hanger - a quick and easy fix to make closets less cluttered and more usable. I am especially thrilled with the results in our coat closet (Left: all coats hanging across, Right: Wonder Hangers activate!) .

Happy organizing,
-amy

Closet Mini-Make-Over

Earlier this week, WSJ online did a short article on Veronica Webb's organized closet. I was in awe! Not only at the organization, but the sheer amount of clothing and shoes she has. The life of a model! At least she's making me look better :)

And how's this for coincidental timing? Just last week I did a mini-make-over on my own closet (shared with the hubby) and finally removed all of the sweaters so it's not so crowded. The sweaters will make a reappearance come Fall; and the shorts will then go into storage (a large, clear bin that lives in the basement laundry room). My main goal was to group things together better -- by style and how often worn. It's so much easier to find things now, and I only spent 2 hours!

I'm pretty happy with it, but am looking for better solutions for belts and pants. Think I may have to break down and purchase some nice pants hangers rather than trying to make do with what I already have. Any suggestions for good belt systems? I hate having to take them all off to get at the one farthest in...

Another goal was to remove all the wire hangers from the closet, which I've successfully done, but am now stuck with a rather large pile of them. Apparently hangers are not welcome in the trash or recycling in my town (they wreak havoc on the sorting machines), so I've been trying to find other options. Three ideas I've come across so far:
- return them to your dry cleaners for reuse or proper recycling
- take them to a metal recycling center (and they'll pay you!)
- use them in craft projects

Have a closet you're afraid to tackle on your own? Try doing it in parts, rather than overwhelming yourself in the first try. For example, just sort through all of your dress clothes one evening. And keep reminding yourself that not only are you making more room and making things easier to find, but you can sell or donate anything you get rid of to help your bottom line!

Happy organizing,
-amy