A Closet Makeover Marathon

Welcome to the 291st Metamorphosis Monday!

A couple of years ago, I opened up a big ole fat can of worms. Have you ever purchased something because it was a great price or maybe it was on sale, then before you knew it, it ended up costing you a lot more than you had planned? I’m not sure if the project I’m sharing today is one you would want to undertake or if it’s more of a cautionary tale. 😉 I am happy with how it turned out, though. Finally!

My story begins in the Atlanta IKEA two years ago.

IKEA in Atlanta GA a

 

On my second ever visit to IKEA, I ran across these nice, heavy, wood hangers. I had always wanted to change out all my wire and plastic hangers so after giving it a little thought and doing some rough math, I took the plunge and decided to gradually replace all my hangers with white Bumerang wood hangers.

Bumerang White Wood Hangers From IKEA

 

I took some photos of my closets showing how they looked with plastic and wire hangers but I couldn’t find them today while creating this post. I think they got lost in the great computer apocalypse I experienced a few weeks back.

For the before, just picture a closet full of the type wire hangers cleaners use and the cheapie plastic hangers stores often include when you purchase an article of clothing.

Dressing Area off Master Bedroom

 

On that day two years ago in IKEA, I had finally reached my limit with the hangers I’ve been using forever. I was tired of fighting the wire ones that were constantly getting entangled in my closet and I was way past dealing with plastic skirt hangers that broke or locked down so tightly I couldn’t open them. Mr. Bumerang lured me in, who could resist 8 heavy, solid-built hangers for just $5.

When I purchased that first batch of hangers, I decided each time I visited the Atlanta IKEA, I would pick up exactly $40 worth of hangers which was eight packages of 8, or 64 hangers. That seemed like an amount I could afford to spend each time and a somewhat painless way to gradually change out the hangers in all my closets. I figured after a few visits I would have enough hangers for all my clothes, both summer and winter.

 

Bumerang White Wood Hangers From IKEA

 

You caught a little glimpse of my hanger-replacement-quest when I shared how I repaired a large hole in the wall of one of my closets in this previous post: How To Repair A Large Hole In Sheetrock Or Drywall

How To Repair A Large Hole In Sheetrock

 

By the way, let me save you one frustration right now. I learned the hard way that Bumerang hangers in the white paint finish vanish from IKEA stores come winter time, at least they do from the Atlanta store. Last winter I went bopping into IKEA with intentions to purchase another $40 worth of white hangers and all they had in stock were the natural wood ones.

I may have a panicked just a little. You know that feeling when you’re midstream collecting something and suddenly it’s discontinued? I asked one of the store clerks if they were going to get them back in and she didn’t know. I can’t remember now if they had them online during the winter, although I’m sure I checked. I would not have wanted to purchase them online anyway because shipping was $15 which will buy 24 hangers in the store.

IKEA did get them back in the store come springtime, thank goodness! Apparently, IKEA considers white hangers to be a seasonal thing. Huh?! So this past spring I counted what clothes I still had hanging on wire hangers and broke my $40 rule and finished buying what I needed, just in case the white ones up and vanished for good.

Closet Upgrade With Wood Hangers

 

After buying the Bumerang hangers on several trips to IKEA over the past couple of years, I realized at one point I had a little problem. I wear a lot of skirts. In fact, light-weight, cotton skirts are what I pretty much live in all summer long. They are so comfortable and way cooler than pants or even shorts. I love them!

Over the years I’ve accumulated a good many and the plastic store hangers I had been using to hold them (see photo below) were continually breaking. After several trips to IKEA over the last couple of years (and a lot of searching of their website online) it slowly sunk in that they did not, and probably never would, carry white, wood skirt hangers that would match the white Bumerang hangers I had been buying on my trips to the Atlanta store.

Closet Makeover With New IKEA Bumerang Hangers

 

I finally gave up on ever finding them in IKEA and good old Amazon came through–but not without a few hitches. I ordered one set of 25 white, wood, skirt hangers from Amazon knowing that would be plenty.

White Wood Skirt HangersThey arrived quickly and here’s how this closet looked after the white-hanger treatment. I finally had white wood hangers for all my summer shirts, pants and skirts.  Looking good! The organization freak inside me was smiling!

The Bumerang hangers from IKEA also work great for pants since they have a bar across the bottom for hanging.  They are the least expensive of all the options I found. Too bad they don’t make white, wood skirt hangers, as well. Are you listening, IKEA?

In the photo below, shirts are across the top, pants are on the left and skirts are on the right.

Organiizing Closet with Wood Hangers

 

This white, wood hanger odyssey was not over, yet. I had shirt hangers, I had skirt hangers and I had pants hangers, but what I didn’t have were hangers for my skirt/jacket suits. Over the years I’ve purchased around 8-10 skirt/jacket suits. I didn’t want to fold the skirts to hang them over the bar of the Bumerang hangers because they would get creases and would most likely fall off anyway.

I searched high and low on Amazon and eventually found white suit hangers. Yipee! They were exactly what I needed! There was just one problem. After placing the order, I got an email from the seller apologizing and saying they were actually out of stock. He had no idea if or when they would be back in stock.

Another Amazon seller was advertising them, too, but their ad said, “No Longer Available.” I was beginning to feel like I had a little Hanger-of-Doom cloud following me around. 😉

White Wood Suit Hangers

After mulling the problem over, I came up with another idea. I ordered another set of the skirt hangers shown below.

White Wood Skirt HangersA few days passed and I got an email from the seller saying they no longer had them in stock. Drat! Over the next few weeks I kept checking and eventually they did get them back in. I ordered one more set.

I was so happy when the second set of skirt hangers arrived. I got right to work using them to hang my suit skirts. When finished I stepped back and took a look at my new closet. Yuck! Not what I had in mind at all.

The skirt hangers looked ridiculous hanging alongside the jackets. I had about 8 or 9 skirt/jacket combinations and below you can see how 5 of them looked in this Bumerang hanger/skirt-hanger pairing. Hmmm, this was not the look I was going for and I was too deep into this closet makeover project to give up and settle.

Organizing A Closet_wm

 

So, I headed back to Amazon and began searching again. The company that had been showing the suit hangers as being out of stock, had them back in, or at least that’s what their ad indicated. Having been fooled a couple of times in the past, I tried not to get my hopes up and placed the order. I couldn’t believe it when I actually got a shipping confirmation email a few days later!

White Wood Suit Hangers

So here’s how my dress/suit closet looks now. The dresses on the right are hanging from IKEA Bumerang hangers and the skirt/jacket suits are hanging from the suit hangers on the left. The organization freak in me is happy and has just booked a vacation to Hawaii! HA! Don’t I wish! 🙂

Wood Suit Hangers For Hanging Skirt Suits

 

Here’s how the suit hangers work for jackets and skirts. You could probably use them for pant-suits too by hanging them from the waist with the clips.

White Wood Suit Hangers For Jackets and Skirts

 

It took two years, several reorders of three different styles of white, wood hangers and more $ than I really meant to spend, but this project is finally completed! Well, almost. I still need to paint all the closets, but that’s a project for another day. Maybe this winter. After Christmas.

By the way, during the time I was trying to find suit hangers online, I did find them for sale at a custom-closet store, but they were very expensive. From what I was able to find, it appears IKEA and Amazon have the best prices for wood hangers.

Now if you’re looking for natural wood hangers and not white ones, they are a lot easier to find. I saw some today in a popular bed and bath store, but I did notice they were more expensive than what I found on Amazon. The natural wood ones seem to be easier to find online, too.

Below you’ll find links to the hangers I ended up using for my closet makeover. The two Amazon links below are affiliate links which means Amazon will pay me a small fee if you use those links when purchasing hangers. Doesn’t add anything to the cost, just rewards me a teensy bit for sharing the link.

Bumerang Hanger-Ikea (top left in photo below) I used these for my shirts, dresses and slacks.

Wooden Combo Hangers w/Clips White Box of 25 (top right in photo below) They are currently showing not available at Amazon. They’ll probably get them back in again. I noticed they do currently have them in black and bamboo. I used the combo hangers to hang my jacket/skirt suits.

Wooden Bottoms Hangers w/Clips White Box of 25 (bottom center in photo below) These are currently showing in stock at Amazon. I used these for my summer skirts. They could work easily for slacks/pants if you prefer to hang your pants at the waist, instead of folding them over a bar for hanging.

Bumerang Hangers From IKEA

 

One thing I have noticed, I haven’t had any problems with the wood hangers getting all tangled up like the wire hangers used to do. That drove me nuts! And I’m definitely not missing those awful plastic skirt hangers that were always breaking or jamming up.

This was a small, seemingly insignificant makeover that’s made my daily life a lot more pleasant. Not only do my closets look a lot better each day when I open back the doors, they function a whole lot better, too. Isn’t it funny how little things can sometimes have such a big impact and feel so satisfying when completed!

Looking forward to seeing what you’ve been working on!

 

Met Monday

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Comments

  1. Your closet is a thing of white hanger-beauty Susan, despite the hanger fiasco! I have closet envy, I wish I was that organized 🙂

  2. Linda Page says

    The closet looks really good. I need to do that to mine. Also, seeing your closet doors reminded me that I need to look for new doors like yours and replace my sliding doors. I don’t like only seeing half of the closet at a time. Good job, Susan. I’m sure your inner organization freak is doing the happy dance. Maybe once you get the inside of the closet painted she will take you to Hawaii!!!!

  3. Sounds like you had quite the ordeal organizing your closet but it looks great and I’m sure that you will enjoy it. As always, thanks so much for hosting and I hope you have a great week.

  4. I do the same with my closet. Isn’t it funny how much us women put into just the look of our closet, while our hubby could care less. Thanks for hosting.

    Shannon ~ bohemianjunktion.com

  5. Your closet looks very neat, Susan! I also try to use the same kind throughout and had cleaned out so much at one point that I once had to buy some wire ones at GW for a project! lol Thanks for hosting! Have a great week!…hugs…Debbie

  6. your story sounds like something that might happen to me….start off with good intentions that sometimes get blown up! but your persistence paid off…i love how your closet turned out.

    i use those huggable hangers and have for about 10 years now. my 10 year old granddaughter is now getting interested in clothes and last time i looked in her closet the hangers were all mis-matched so i will probably start picking up some of those for her soon.

    next up….hubby’s closet….a minefield of plastic hangers!

    • It’s fun doing it gradually, if they just don’t stop making the hangers! 🙂 I know your granddaughter will really appreciate it, Judy. I loved the idea a couple of folks mentioned of using white hangers for their closet and black ones for their husband’s closet.

  7. Wow! Beautiful!!!! I know exactly what you went thru! I decided to redo my closet w/Vera Bradley padded pink & black elephant hangers! I had everyone I know stalking ebay & all of those kind of places hunting for those hangers once they were discontinued! I will confess it does limit my shopping…I have to stop & think if I have a VB hanger for that item before I purchase it!
    Stunning closet! Congrats!!!!

  8. Your closet looks great, Susan! I’ve been thinking about replacing the hangers in our closet too. I have the white plastic hangers now. (With the clips that break.) Thanks for hosting!

  9. I so get this! I did the same but with dark wood. I checking in advance that I could get all the types I needed in the same combo – I wanted dark wood with brass, not silver, but since I also did the project over time, they were not always available when I was ready. Fortunately I was able to finish eventually. The only problem is the wood hangers take up a lot more space in the closet than the yucky wire ones, so it feels more cramped. Another thing to consider for your skirts – you can always get the clips separately and put them on the wire bar of a regular top hanger. Bed and Bath has this for their slim line hangers, but I bet they would fit on a wood bar as well.

    • Lory, that’s the most annoying part is when you are ready to buy some more and they are out of stock. Glad you were able to get them all eventually. These wood ones probably take up a bit more space but I think it helps keep the clothes from getting scrunched so much. It made me cull down a little too, although I probably still need to cull down a bit more. Thanks for the tip about the clips…that’s good to know!

  10. Peggy Thal says

    Susan your closet looks fantastic! Right now my closet and I are not friends. I am trying to reorganize and get rid of things. It is so difficult for some reason. I can do everyone else’s in a day but mine is so stressful. I use the velvet ones because you can get more clothes in the closet. No wire hangers! Not for this house. I have the wood ones for coats. I like to color code all the closets too. The battle continues. Your closet is perfection.

  11. wow Susan, now we are all green, or should I say white 😉 with envy! I love the HGTV shows where they show closet redos with about 6 hanging things, I appreciate you showing a real closet, with lots of clothes organized. I’m sure there will be a lot of closet organizing going on this week! Thanks for the party~

  12. Thanks so much for the party!!

    Hugs,
    Deb

  13. Susan, I am SO sorry! Linky did it again. Am I the only one that this happens to? I guess I get in a hurry. I really did type in a title in lower case, but when I looked at the link, it had the uppercase entire title that is in my url. I promise I’ll take my time in the future. I wish they gave me the option of going back in and deleting the link, so that I could re-do it. Wow! Your closet looks great! There is no way I could share a photo of my closet! laurie

    • Oh, I must have not checked the box that lets you delete your own link…I’ll try to remember to do that from now on. Don’t worry, I can fix the title…no biggie. 🙂 Thanks, Laurie!

  14. O my gosh..so funny!

  15. Belladonna says

    at least you didn’t do what i did . i ordered hangers online and was excited as I had just revamped my wardrobe. They came I spent ages placing things on them and went to close the door Oh OH . Won’t close , I tried taking out the jackets so I could angle the hangers , that was just silly and I couldn’t get to anything. Drat it I do love my antique wardrobes but clothes were not so wide and they had fewer back then. Back to the drawing board . Actually I might try Ikea as we are going too the city on Wednesday. Your closets look amazing by the way.

  16. Your closet looks amazing! We have those stupid wire shelves…and one is about to come out of the wall because they did not use the proper anchor! I would love to do this,thanks for the inspiration!And thank you for hosting!

    • I’m not a big fan of the wire shelves either, Anne. You know, I’ve heard a lot of folks say they don’t like those…wonder why builders keep using them. Maybe they are more adjustable or something. That would be annoying to have one coming out of the wall. Thanks, Anne!

  17. Thanks for hosting, Susan! Hope you had a great weekend.
    Blessings,
    Nici

  18. Wow that was quite an epic event! Who knew hangers could cause all that trouble! LOL Your closet looks fabulous. I’ve seen people hang tablecloths from hangers with the clips- maybe you can find a use for the ones you didn’t like. I’ve been investing in some chunkier plastic ones for my closet. I got rid of wire hangers long ago and went to plastic, but as the years went by I found there were ok ones and good ones so I’ve been upgrading to all white for me and all black for Dan. Closets are no fun to paint, but I think painting projects like that are best done in the winter when we’re indoors so much more. I want to paint my kitchen and bedroom.

    • lol I was beginning to wonder if I was going to see it through to the end, Liz. Maybe I’m the only person in the world wanting white suit hangers. 🙂 I do have a fair amount of skirt hangers left over now…thanks for that suggestion! I just may do that. I don’t know why I put off painting these closets, I guess because they are hidden much of the time. More fun to work on stuff we see more. 🙂

  19. You have a very pretty and extremely organized closet!…On to Amazon to get those skirt hangers…I have been using the ones that the stores give you when I beg!…Thanks for hosting Susan…have a great week!

    • Shirley, I used to do the same thing and was so happy when they let me keep them. But so many of them haven’t held up. I think the ones I have now will last a long time. I may be passing them down to my dil one day. lol Can you will hangers to someone? 😉

  20. That is so great to hear that those hangers don’t get tangled. I am not liking that mine do whenever I am putting something away or taking it out either! I bought a closet organizer system at a big box store years ago and got it installed and am loving the different racks I got for my purses, pants and shoes. Now I am thinking I need to add new hangers to really save space as well. Thanks for the tips!

  21. Susan, with all those cute summer clothes hanging in your closet, you do need to book a trip to Hawaii to keep wearing them a little longer!!! You would just die if you saw our clothes closet. We only have one in our little house, but you’ve inspired me to make it function better!

    • Jane, I have a feeling when I move one day, I’ll be downsizing and I’ll either give away or donate a lot of the clothes I have since I don’t work in away from home now. Most of those clothes I’ve had for many years…they just last a long time when you wash everything by hand or in the hand wash basket on my machine. It’s funny how no matter how many clothes we have, we tend to wear the same clothes a lot…do you do that, too? I know I do.

  22. Your closet looks like a boutique 🙂
    Thanks for hosting the party this week!

  23. Have you ever purchased something because it was a great price or maybe it was on sale, then before you knew it, it ended up costing you a lot more than you had planned? –
    Yes ! This fixer upper house we bought !!! LOL
    John only uses wood hangers – I’m up to about half of them – oh what I would give to have my closet half as organized as yours !
    Thanks so much for the party !
    Hugs,
    Suzan

  24. Just perfect like you! You are just too funny and too cute! I started changing out my hangers (but not all at once). It does feel so much better and I color-code my hangers white and my husbands black, it’s easier when doing the wash. Thanks for all you great ideas!\

    • Trust me, Pat…I am not perfect! 🙂 Pat, that is so neat because Liz mentioned she does that too in her comment, too. That is so cool that you guys are both doing the color coding. She uses black for her husband’s closet, too. Did y’all coordinate that?! 🙂

  25. Gorgeous!! Susan, you must have the patience of a saint. I know I would have given up or changed courses way early in the game. 😉

    Best wishes for an extraordinary week!

  26. I have closet envy! We also planned to paint closets this year, but my TKR got in the way. Maybe later this fall…

  27. Oh Susan, the OCD in me absolutely LOVES what you’ve done to your closet! If I ever finish my basement, I may go back to the closets and have a redo. Meanwhile, I’ve been to Alexandria and brought back more ‘stuff’, lol! Whoever said purge/binge had anything to do with eating???? Have a great week.
    Rita

  28. I replaced all my hangers with white wood hangers a couple of years ago too, and LOVE it!!! It really does make such a difference, and I think it’s better for your clothes as well.
    I think I ordered mine from hangersdirect.com, and it was expensive. But worth it!

    • Erika, I do too…I should have done this years ago. You know, I think you’re right about it being better for the clothes. I noticed a couple of the sweaters I took off the wire hangers had mishapened shoulders from hanging on those skinny wire hangers. I really like the width of the wood hangers. I think it’s worth it, too because once you have them, you have them. And they aren’t going to break, I think they’ll last my lifetime and beyond. I really love little tweaks like this that add a lot of improvement and function. 🙂 Thanks, Erika!

  29. I love your closet with the white hangers! It looks fantastic! Inspiration for a future project for sure.
    Thanks for hosting.
    KC

  30. I love a closet that looks nice and uniform and organized. So much easier to get dressed in the morning! 🙂
    xox, Crystelle
    CrystelleBoutique

  31. Wow! Susan did your mother look like Joan Crawford?! No More Wire Hangers! Now get on the floor and scrub it until it’s clean. I buy you two hundred dollar dresses and you hang them on a wire hanger. You feel the same about these dresses and you feel about me.

    Just had to have a little fun with you on this one!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUkE9qaVgmo

    • lol I’ve never seen that movie but I remember hearing about it and thought about the “No More Wire Hangers” quote more than a few times over the last few months. I thought maybe I had begun to channel, Joan. 😉

  32. SharonFromMichigan says

    Aahh, my OCD side is envious! What a beautiful closet. I really do believe that clothing that is taken care of lasts longer and looks prettier. I don’t know if I would have been as patient as you. I would have ordered the natural wood hangers and painted them – lol! This weekend I dismantled and sanded an old china hutch to get it ready for painting. Now if the weather outside would just cooperate and let the high humidity move on, I could begin painting.

  33. Susan, your closet looks great. I mostly use wooden or those huggable hangers. I think you are suffering from a disease far greater than OCD….it is OAIUL….Organisation At Its Utmost Level. 🙂

  34. rattlebridge farm says

    Loved this quest story. Hanger-of-Doom is so funny!

  35. I stood in front of my closet after reading this post and felt, slightly embarrassed! I’m envious! Thanks for the practical yet needful post- so refreshing!

  36. Wow, Susan! Looks fantastic. You were patient and it paid off. Love your closet rods too. I have the lovely plastic ones and they are not satisfactory.

    I have been trying the plastic hangers and have all sorts of sizes trying to get one I like. Maybe I should go your route and try the wooden ones. I’ve never seen the white and I love them. Thanks for the inspiration.b

  37. I love this idea! I really love it!!! Thanks for sharing and thanks for the party. Ikea better stock up ~ they will be filling so many orders!

    Big Texas Hugs,
    Susan and Bentley

    • I was just wondering when I posted that, if they’ve started clearing the white ones out for fall, yet. They had them 3-4 weeks ago when I was last in there. Thanks, Susan! XO

  38. Juanita in OH says

    Wow, Susan! Kudos to you. You have certainly inspired me with a project that I would LOVE to do…I think I will wait a little bit and see if I still feel the same way in a few days, lol. I went to their web site, http://www.hangers.com and the prices are for large quantities, I will continue to check Ikea because
    their prices are the best. TFS.

    • Thanks, Juanita! I was just noticing, the company I ordered from on Amazon says that the hangers are sold “by The Great American Hanger Company” but then further down below is says “Ships from and sold by Closet Hanger Store.” So I’m not sure if that’s the same company and they just have a different store-front name on Amazon than they do at maybe their online site. I wish IKEA carried the white/wood skirt hangers and suit hangers because their hangers were by far, the better price. And they were heavier/better quality feeling to me, too.

  39. Great party. Thanks so much for hosting. I love an organized closet. Have a great week.

  40. Your persistence and resourcefulness is amazing. Inspirational. So happy you satisfied your OCD. And just as happy I am not hanger-obsessed 😉 Although I do not use wire either, but multi-style ones OK with me. Although now that you’ve put the idea in my head…

  41. Susan,
    Love those “pant hangers”, dear friend!!!
    Thanks for the ‘great tips’ on closet organization. . .
    once I retired, I began editing my wardrobe.
    Lately, I’m filling in the blank s p o t s.
    Now would be perfect timing to upgrade my hangers!!!
    Always filled with inspiration,
    thanks for hosting Metamorphosis Monday each week!
    Fondly,
    Pat

  42. Hi Susan,
    Thanks so much for the lovely party. Have an awesome week.

  43. You really have started something! I too wear a lot of light weight summer skirts – summer, spring…well, all year round – these hangers do look wonderful. I’ll have to check these out, thanks for sharing! I do appreciate you hosting,
    Kathy

  44. Pretty neat and nice closet! I need to do something with my small walk in, although it’ll be just a revamp cause it’s not much I can do. I am a pretty neat person, so I have it like so, but, it’s packed, lol!
    Thanks for hosting lovely lady.
    Have a great week.
    FABBY

  45. WOW, love the closet, but I am more envious that you wear size 8!!! Love your clothes, so colorful and pretty!

    I still have the plastic hangers but when I retired I did a huge closet clean out and set everything up by color. I even took the smaller side of the walk in closet so my husband who teaches has more space for his clothing. I don’t need the space that I used to need now that I am home. Getting my closet organized was a great feeling.

    Your closet is more than awesome!

  46. This just tickles me…I’m so glad I “hang” around your blog!!! Currently, after moving a month ago…I’m doing this same project! Installed a chrome rod so “all my matching hangers” slide easily. Every trip involves a stop at BB&B to get…more hangers (tee hee.) And, because of “space constraints” installed a small rod on hooks in the back to hang jewelry. It’s a process…your closet looks colossal!! franki

  47. Your closet looks amazing! Thanks for hosting!

  48. Oh my goodness! Susan, I thought I was being so good to get the black velvet(?) covered hangers Costco has had for several months. I could not stand those laundry white wire hangers a second longer. It felt great to be rid of them.
    Thanks for the fun again and again,
    Helen

  49. Your closet is terrific, I like the consistency and wonder if Container Store has the wooden hangers, I will check when I have a few extra minutes. You have inspired me to take a look at my closet yet again and honestly get rid of those items that I have not wore in a year, organize with proper hangers and color. Thank you. Melissa

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