John Louis Home JLH-523 Closet Organizer

• The unit fits in closets up to 10 feet in length.
• In total the unit provides a whopping 24 feet of shelving space and up 18 feet of hanging space.
• It was designed with propery air flow and proper ventilation in mind, which is important for keeping clothes fresh in the long term without any mold or that common “old closet smell.”
• All shelves are 12 inches deep. This is considered the standard for closets organizers.
• Assemply is required. This is going to be the biggest hurdle to jump for many people interesting in a nice closet organizer such as this one. The company tries to make light of it, stating that to put it together all that’s needed is “a pencil, level, screwdriver and saw.” Now, the first three are easy enough but a saw? Please keep in mind that you will need a saw to cut this unit as you see fit and then assemble it as you like. For some, this means a huge amount of control over the unit and the ability to customize it for there needs. For others however, this means either skipping out on one where you don’t have to do any cutting or hesitantly proceeding with saw in hand! Reviews from users on this point are mixed.
• On that note, here are the pieces which come on their own, of which will require assembly: Three 12″ x 24″ shelves, Three 12″ x 72″ shelves, Five Wardrobe Bars, 9 Bar Spacers, 4 Angle Brackets. Additionally, this organizer system comes with a few “freebies” of sorts, which includes a stand alone tower and two additional shelves for this piece. This tower can be used alongside the rest of the JL-523 or placed anywhere else where it’s needed. It can also be further customized beyond the two included shelf pieces with more shelving and racks.

For those individuals who are adept at do it yourself projects and are comfortable working with saws and screws, this is a fine closet organizer. If that scares you, it’d probably be better to check out some of our other reviews for less products which require less intense assemply.

Be advised that this closet organizer systems weights approximately 50 pounds. Prices fluctuate depending on where you look, but expect to pay $200-300 for this unit, plus shipping and handling fees. Also note some stores offer home installation, which of course, will come with a price tag of its own!

Note: Amazon.com is currently offering free shipping on the John Loius JL-523 Closet Shelving System!

Many, many closet organizer products are available for just this purpose, and they target just about anything you might have hanging in the closet, or rather, lying on the floor, as the case may be. Some simple solutions to your closet woes are just a few dollars away. Here are some recommendations made by The Closet Organizers Guide for getting things managable:

Buy some additional shelves that you can just hang up. Yes, this means you don’t have to mess around with screws or nails, or god forbid, bust out a saw and have to cut away the shelves to fit. (Sorry John Loius.) Being a capitalist economy that caters to every need, one can find just about every kind of hanging shelf you’d want to put in a closet.

Suggestions include a simple hanging shelf rack, which provides half a dozen or so small shelves or racks for shoes, clothes, and sweaters, nicely folded of course. The more creative types in our audience will realize that, despite products being sold exclusively as a sweater rack or a shoe rack, adventurous organizers may put tshirts, underwear, socks, and even hats into these racks. (Don’t worry, we won’t tell you on!)

Prices for simple hanging shelves are on the very cheap end, such as a $20 unit sold by Whitney Design, modeol 01822-3, for organizing shoes, sweaters, and shirts.

Get a ‘double up’ rack and hang twice as many clothes. Now this option won’t work for everyone – it depends on how high your rack is already and if you have room underneath the area where you hang your clothes. But if you can make it work, check out what’s called a
Double Up Closet Doubler Rod. It attaches to your pre-existing closet bar and wah-lah, you instantly have twice as much space to hang clothes! This is perfect for those with small closets, such as dorm rooms and college apartments. If also fits the college student budget, typically costing under $20. Nice.

Donate your old shirts, sweaters, pants, and shoes you don’t actually wear and only take up precious, precious space. Ah, in a guide to organzing your closet, you probably knew in the back of your mind that we’d suggest you go through and rid  yourself of clothes you don’t wear anymore. After all, the less stuff you have to organize, the easier and better organized the closet will be. Simple math. (Plus you get the karma bonus points of giving clothes to someone who needs them. It’s a win-win situation.)

Seriously though, don’t overlook this suggestion. Many people, and dare we say most people, realize on closer inspection that 50% of the items in the closet haven’t been worn in years. If that’s the case, get rid of it. And while it’s hard to let go, once you have alll that extra space, trust us, you’ll be happy you did! It’s the equivalent to getting a closet that’s twice as big.

. . .

If you take these three tips together, you can literally have a whole new closet and it’ll cost you less than $50, and even much less if you are a bargain hunter on something like Amazon.com.

Rubbermaid 3H88 Closet Organizer

Fast Facts on the Rubbermaid 3H88:

• Easier to Assemble than most higher end products.
• No cutting is required. No saws or fancy equipment is needed.
• Provides up to 10 feet of hangin space and 18 feet of shelving space.
• Available in titanium or a white finish.
• Unit costs less than higher end solid wooded closet shelving / organizers.
• Shipping weight is approximately 55 pounds.

Low Price Alert: Right now, Amazon.com is offering this unit less than $150 and that includes Free Shipping.

Rubbermaid has a good reputation for providing quality closet organizers and closet shelving systems. It’s not without reason, and the Rubbermaid 38HH Delux Custom Closet Kit makes good on this point. Available for under $200 (currently around $150 at Amazon.com – and it even comes with free shipping at this time of this writing!) this closet organizer provides everything you could want in a closet organizer system without the hefty price tag. (For those seeking a higher price tag, there is one thing you could want that’s not here: a nice wooden finish! But you can’t have everything for such a great price…)

Buyers report that it is comparably a breeze to assemble (although it still will take a few hours!) and one important point is that it does not involve any cutting, like some other organizers, such as the very nice John Louis Closet Shelving System we wrote about earlier. We feel that this is an important point for many people interested in getting a nice organizer for their closets who lack – how shall we say – certain mechanical skills? Yes!

You can see from the picture a good idea of what this unit offers, but don’t be fooled by the seemingly small size. Yes, this is a unit that will fit 3-to-6 foot closets  but it provides a heck of a lot of space; notably, you’ll get 10 feet of space to hang suits, dresses, shirts, and so on, and a whopping 18 feet of shelving space for folded clothes and other knicknacks. A particularly elegant use of the shelves is to allow the bottom two shelves to be used as shoe racks, as shown in the photo. This keeps your shoes easily accessible and organized, as well as off the floor of your closet. (How many shoes are somewhere in the void of your closet floor at this moment? Exactly! Wouldn’t it be nice to give a home to all your pairs of Vans Men’s Shoes? )

For the price tag, this unit delivers. Currently in the range of $175-$225, with relatively easy assembly, and again – no cutting involved, with 28 total feet (!) to organize your clothes and shoes, this is a unit you won’t be disappointed with.