Which comes first when you move into a new home, the clutter or the closet? Are you about to shove all your worldly belongings into freshly painted closets and new cabinets at move-in, taking an "organize it all later" approach? Now may be the time to consider nipping the "clutter-bug" on its proverbial bottom and start with organized spaces, rather than just aspire to having them someday.

Many builder design centers now offer custom closet organizing opportunities to new homebuyers so they need not wait years down the road to get the "neatness" bug, and include the cost of these built-ins with their monthly house payment. One such company that works with new homebuilders is Closet Creations Plus in Rancho Cordova, CA. President and co-owner Lewis Hartbower, along with designer/partner Linda Lencioni have been organizing storage space in both new homes and established homes for the past 16 years or so, and are pleased at the current "neatness" trend they are finding out there.

"With two-income households, people just don't have the time to spend doing strategic storage planning, and they end up throwing their hands up in the air and calling on us," says Hartbower. His firm installs organizers for just about anything in a home, from closet space to kitchen cabinet pull-out shelving to customized storage solutions in the garage for snowboards and power tools.

But how do firms like this start a project as individualized as home storage and organizing? Sometimes people first want to know how to prepare themselves for an orderly move. That's where the services of a professional organizer like Anna Tonkin of "Get it Organized!" in Sacramento comes in. "The secret is to eliminate the clutter before you have to pay to get it moved, " says Tonkin. "Doing it before the move, before it gets thrown into a box saves time and the money." According to Tonkin, some people have some gorgeous clothes, for instance, but wear only about 20% of what they own. Tonkin can usually determine what clothing, toys and furniture is marketable for consignment shops, and what is worthy of donation, and then works with buyers to eliminate as much superfluous stuff as possible. "My clients are delighted to continually receive checks in the mail after they move into their new homes for the items we eliminated before the move," beams Tonkin. Many homeowners seldom take the time to weed out old sheets, blankets, towels and bathroom items they not longer use. "The effect is liberating," laughs Tonkin.

The next step is to use organizers, dividers, washable non-skid cloth shelf and drawer liners in the new home before things are put into place. "I like to use the 'Organize It!' stores because they have specific areas in the store designated to organize different rooms of the house, such as a kitchen area, closet area, garage area, and bathroom area.

Then it's time to bring in the big guns, like Closet Creations Plus. "The first thing we do is measure," says Hartbower. "We'll need to know just how much space we have to work with, then we'll sit down with you and show you an entire book of pictures and ideas to achieve the kind of organization that is appropriate for you and your family." Let's study the most commonly organized areas of the home and get an idea of how diverse these solutions can become.

Master Bedroom (Walk-in closet): "We can double and sometimes even triple the number of items you can put into your closet with the proper use of space, and it still won't look crowded," admits Hartbower. "People just don't realize how much space has been wasted until we do our magic." Indeed, homeowners sometimes don't realize that high vertical space is just as important as what is at their fingertips. New homes with 9-foot and 10-foot ceilings can sometimes accommodate three rows of short hanging items, or allow room for several layers of shelving for items that are not used every day.

"I am a stickler for hangers," says Tonkin. Using the same types of hangers throughout the closet can make a huge difference in how good it looks when it is finally organized. For an example, Tonkin says it's great to take a look at a classy department store, like Nordstrom, and examine why it always looks so neat and organized. "It's the clear plastic hangers," says Tonkin. "They are all exactly alike in every department, for jackets, dresses, trousers, skirts, etc."

Hartbower asks his clients to make decisions on what they want to achieve in the master closet, based on their needs. For instance, questions asked may be: do you have a large number of folded items? If so, do you want them easily visible, on shelves, or tucked away in drawers? How do you want shoes displayed, on shoe shelves, or in individual cubbyholes for each pair? Are more of your clothing pieces short or long? Percentages of each must be determined for the plan to be practical. Closet Creations Plus uses a variety of materials in their organizing technology. The most popular are fairly heavy weight white or almond melamine surfaces, but they can match a number of wood surfaced particle board as well, making the look uniform with the room's furniture.

Kids' closets: You can get colorful and creative here. Kids closets tend to need more shelves than hanging space, and lots of pull-out baskets work well. If two kids share a room, hangers, shelving and drawer edges can be color-coded for each child, to help them stay organized and give them a sense of ownership. Low-lying racks and shelving make it kid-friendly as well, with alterations made later for height adjustment.

Garages: Garage cabinets have always been in vogue. The more you can hide your garage storage items, the better it looks when the door is open, and the more secure those items will become. There are literally hundreds of combinations of garage cabinets depending on the space, garage usage, and homeowner need. Snowboards and skis can have specially designed slots, keeping them safely tucked away, workbenches can have ample drawers for tool storage, and bikes can be mounted on walls or hanging from ceilings.

Kitchens: The most popular option is pull-out shelving, which can be made for literally any kitchen cabinet in melamine or wire shelving, if the cabinet manufacturer did not include them. Kitchen organizers are available for just about any space these days, from spice racks to pot lid slotting to utensil racks hung on the insides of cabinet doors. Kitchens tend to be the most organized room in the house out of sheer frequency of use and the need to find things quickly.

Home Offices/Dens: This "spare" room has been the biggest topic of discussion in recent years, since home offices have become commonplace. Instead of sacrificing the "guest room", however, Hartbower acknowledges the trend for wall beds for these rooms, giving a dual purpose to the area. "Not many people want to dedicate an entire room to an occasional guest, " he explains, "so the wall bed has taken off once again." Hartbower says there is a lot more variety out there in wall beds than the simple "Murphy" bed of days past. The new wall beds have standard coil mattresses for more comfort than a sofa bed, take up less room, and even incorporate some storage when in their upright positions.

If organizing an entire office, Closet Creations Plus also relocates and arranges for the installation of electrical outlets, since Hartbower holds a general contractor's license as well as a specialized license for closet and room organizing.

What major piece of advice can experts like Hartbower and Tonkin offer to new homeowners to be before they start on organizing projects? "Look at the work people do before investing in the installation. Visit a showroom, examine their photos, and do some research first."

Tonkin helps homeowners realize that "there is a place for everything" in performing her organizing consultations. Professional organizers such as Tonkin are in great demand these days, and her work is never dull. "The before and after pictures say it all," says Tonkin. "Organization tends to bring a sense of peace and balance to a household, and it's my pleasure to be able to help people achieve that."

For more information on organizing consultants, services and installations, surf the Web's various search engines, or your browse through local Yellow Pages listings under "Organizing Services, Household and Business".

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Published: December 9, 1999

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A veteran of the real estate and homebuilding industries since 1986, Dena Kouremetis first joined Realty Times as a new homes writer in 1998. Since then, she has authored four books, written consumer columns on new homes issues for websites and newspapers all across the country, contributed to builder trade magazines, appeared as a guest expert on several radio shows and even created a ten-chapter podcast for LendingTree.com’s homebuilder website, iNest.com, now available on iTunes, entitled Uncharted Waters; Navigating the Purchase of a New Production Home. Kouremetis recently joined her local Folsom, CA Coldwell Banker office as a broker associate while continuing to write for the real estate industry. For the past three years, she has been training real estate agents for both the resale and new homes industries, putting her experience, research expertise and gift of expression to work to help others entering the business.