When storing your clothes long-term, first consider the container's breathability. While plastic bags, cardboard boxes, or vacuum sealing may be great options for short-term storage, they won’t help your clothes hold up in the long term. Breathable plastic boxes and fabric bags help with airflow, prevent mold or mildew from building up, and allow proper airflow.

Closet design services include help designing and laying out your closet for maximum utility, visual appeal, and return on investment. Many closet designers can also include the carpentry required to construct your custom closet. You should speak with your designer beforehand to determine what services are included in the estimate, and prepare to lay out additional funds for materials or labor as needed.

If you’re on a tight budget, the least expensive material you can buy for DIY closet shelves is chipboard, a.k.a. particle board. This inexpensive material is made from a pulp of sawdust, resin, and glue that’s pressed together under high temperature and pressure. As you can imagine, it’s not very sturdy and might buckle under your blue jean collection, so you should only use it if you’re storing very light items. 

Different types of closets are defined mostly by size. A few different types of closets include:

• A reach-in closet is a smaller closet that you can stand in front of and reach everything inside it. Aside from the size, the doors and the level of drywall finish are typically the largest price factors.  

• A walk-in closet can be anything from a small 5-by-5 feet closet that has a narrow walkway with shelves on both sides to a 100 square foot bedroom-sized closet with shelving along the walls and plenty of room to move around in.

• A built-in wardrobe often does not have a door and leaves the clothes and other contents open to the room, whereas a closet usually has a door to separate it from the rest of the room.