Thursday, May 26, 2011

Kids Closet Organizers

Click Here for further information or to purchase the kids closet organizer shown in this post

 There are many different closet organization systems on the market today.  However, few are designed in a way that can make them suitable for using in a closet used by children.  Well, that situation has now been addressed thanks to the Neu Home Closet Doubler.  This system allows for the adjustment of the height of the bottom rod which allows you hang your child's shorter tops or bottoms on the top closet rod and if you desire, adult size clothing below.  If you are looking for kids closet organizers, read below what people are saying about this unique closet system.

I have to share a closet with not only my husband, but my daughter as well. We live in a small two bedroom and only one bedroom has a closet. For years we've been having trouble with other closet doubler rods, they were always hard to keep in place and only had one length on it which was hard to decide whose clothes went on top and bottom because it always dragged someone's clothes.  With this Adjustable Closet Doubler, it has saved our wardrobe. My daughters clothes go on top and I have the rod just below them, giving my clothes room to hang. Now, they don't slide around on the floor and get dusty or wrinkly. This product has just been a lifesaver! And it was so easy to put together, I thought that it was almost too easy!  I recommend it anyone who is wanting more space in their closet but with low cost!

The single most important thing you need to know about this doubler is that in order to use the top half for women's shirts/blouses, you will need to hang the rod on the bottom rung and even then, it might still be too short. I put this in my smaller single closet where it pretty much takes up the whole width. A couple things to note that I was uncertain about when I bought this:

1. Don't worry too much about the length of this, I measured my closet and it seemed several inches short of these measurements but the "hooks" that hang on your original closet rod can move about a bit.

2. This arrives in literally three pieces, the left "hook" and the right "hook," which are interchangeable, and the bottom rod. You hang the two hooks from your original closet rod and then slip the rod onto the rungs of the hooks. At first, it seems shaky but once my clothing was on it, I didn't notice it much and have no trouble taking things on and off the bars.

3. To give your bottom clothing just a bit more clearance, instead of putting your hangers inside the rectangular compartments on the bottom rod, simply hang your hangers right over the top of the bar. Hopefully you can see this in my picture that I've included vs. the stock pic.

4. Unless you are a small man, men's shirts will not fit on the original closet bar anymore even with the bottom bar hung on the last rung. To give you some idea of size, my size 0 dress shirts fit on the top bar with perhaps two inches clearance. Having said that, see #5.

5. There are eight rungs that you can adjust the bar on. Even if you can't fit your shirts on the top closet bar even with the bottom bar on the last rung, you can simply move the bottom bar higher so that you have more room on the bottom. The first several rungs are very high so you could hang the rod from one of those, giving you just a bit space on top that you could use to hang one of those wire baskets/shelves or hang other small things like hats of folded scarves etc.

6. The three pieces seem well made and durable, not too heavy or flimsy.

Overall, this was a super inexpensive way to double my closet and I highly recommend it but with the caveat that depending on your clothing length and how high your original closet bar, it might not be perfect for everyone. But with my standard apartment sized closet, it works quite well.

I'm so glad this is adjustable!!! Instead of making a second level of hanging clothes (the way most people will use it), we used this to make another rod approximately 8 inches lower than the regular high closet rod so that my very short 80 year old mother could reach the hangers! The package came with 3 pieces (the two sides and the cross bar) and it was very easy to lay the cross bar into the slots and just hang it up! I added tape around where the cross bar meets the sides, just to make sure it wouldn't pop out, although I wasn't really that worried about it popping out. You have several choices on where to lay the cross bar. I would be more specific with measurements but I didn't think to measure before I came back from putting it up for her (she lives in another state.) I was unnecessarily worried that she would have to put the clothes in the slotted areas shown on the cross bar but we just laid them across the top of the cross bar and they slide easily (that's probably the way it is meant to work, I don't know why I was thinking she might have to put them in the slots!!) Altogether -- it works GREAT and it was easy to put up!!

Rubbermaid Closet Organizers

Click here for additional information or to purchase the Rubbermaid Closet Organizer pictured in this post.

There is little more frustrating than going to your closet and attempting to locate an item you need right now only to have no luck due to the clutter that consumes many of our closets.  To help better organize our closets, there are few products available with any more flexibility than Rubbermaid closet organizers.  These closet organization systems feature kits that can easily be used in closets from three to eight feet in length, adjustable shelves and expandable single double and single hang rods, as well as, all needed mounting hardware.  Due to the quality materials used by Rubbermaid, most of their closet organization items receive ratings of four to five stars on Amazon.  Read below what people are saying about these products.

I bought a new house that had blank closets. I liked that I could order two of the same product and customize my daughter's and my closet differently according to our needs. Our closets were an inch or two shy of 8 feet. The hardest part was finding the studs since I have thick plaster walls. There are studs on both edges of the closet. I had to drill a few holes to find the other stud. Once I found the first one that was not at the edge of the closet, the remaining two were 16" apart. What I did find weird is that the uprights (which need to go into studs or anchored-plaster anchors are not included, only drywall ones are) are supposed to be 22" apart. This means that they won't be hitting the studs without some adjustments. Overall, I am extremely happy with the way my closets turned out. I have even rearranged my daughter's closet once with ease.

After looking at several different closet systems, I decided on Rubbermaid because of a) brand, b) price and c) ability to customize to fit my needs. It's great to open your box and find that all hardware and parts are there and undamaged. I also appreciate instructions that are easy to read and include pictures and diagrams. Being a 60+ female and power-tool-challenged, I still was able to do most of the work and only needed my husband to fasten the last wall anchor! Our closet was a tad smaller than 4', but we didn't have any trouble cutting things down to size. It feels VERY sturdy. The recommended height seems too high for the upper shelf; however, it has to be in order to hang a second bar at a lower level. As long as the wall anchors hold everything up in our plaster walls, I'm going to be very happy with this storage system.

I researched 2 other brands of closet systems before settling on this one. I was a little concerned because the price of this system was lower than some others we saw, but the quality is great. We purchased this item for our 7' closet in our master bedroom. It didn't have enough room for the 2 of us and now we do. I love this item, I was able to empty 3 closets in our house into this system. I wish it came with more shelf brackets, but no biggie. It was easy to hang up, after reading the instructions and marking the studs the whole project took about 1 hour to attach it to the wall.


About Rubbermaid
For more than 70 years, Rubbermaid has committed to creating durable, innovative products that help simplify life and make living and work spaces more comfortable and attractive. From its original line of simple housewares, Rubbermaid has expanded to become a major designer of a wide array of products ranging from home and garden to seasonal and commercial products. Recognized as a "Brand of the Century" by the Brand Marketing magazine, Rubbermaid prides itself on being a name synonymous with excellent quality housewares.