Solutions for Closets With High Ceilings

A high ceiling usually adds grace and a sense of spaciousness to a room. A closet with a high ceiling, on the other hand, serves as a reminder that storage space is being wasted. Several strategies can help you access this unused space effectively, without spending a fortune.

Hanging a second clothes pole close to your high closet ceiling can address two problems at once. Doubling your hanging space may let you keep your out-of-season wardrobe within reach. Adding a shelf above the lower clothes pole may let you store sweaters and jackets without sending them to the cleaners in the off-season. If your wardrobe tends to be a single all-season one, use the higher clothes pole to hang ski gear, evening wear -- anything that's worn only occasionally -- along with anything else that can go over a hanger (extra sheets and your set of company towels).

While closet-system stores offer all sorts of racks and bins to organize your closet, the price tag can increase very fast. Translate their custom-fitting concept to a more affordable version. Find one or more inexpensive containers that fit your closet space width-wise (singly or in a row). Make or buy inexpensive shelving that can be mounted to "fit" both containers and shelves, so that you don't waste space. Comparison-shop for the best deals -- sometimes the closet-store will have an unbeatable sale, and sometimes wire shelving from a department store bath shop plus plastiic milk boxes from the dollar store will be a better deal. (Carrying your measurements on a slip of paper in your wallet lets you think about this project flexibly and accurately.)

One way stores keep a wide variety of merchandise in front of your eyes is to use the store's height. Whether they use pegboard from the lumber yard or another kind of grid attached to the wall, custom-fit hooks and racks let them display a wider range of goods than floor-space allows.

However you choose to fit out the wasted storage space in your high-ceilinged closet, two pieces of equipment are essential to making your storage work. Your first need is some kind of light inside the closet. This can be a lighting unit already wired into the space or a battery-operated light you can fasten to the door jamb or wall. No storage system works when you're working in the dark. It's also important to provide yourself with a sturdy and secure step-stool or short ladder. What goes up must come down, but, with a safe place to stand, what comes down won't be you.