By Kevin and Terri Kartak, AAA KARTAK Glass & Closet

Q: My bedroom closet is a deep, dark abyss and I'm afraid to venture inside for fear of what I might find. Help!

A: The first thing to do is to go through your belongings and make the hard decisions on what exactly should be in your closet. Let's be honest here: most of us are not motivated to spend an hour or so on this. It's a value proposition, and we just don't see spending our limited time there, right?

But what if spending a couple of hours now would save you a day's work every month going forward?

Have you heard of the Pareto principle? Most people know this as the 80/20 rule. With clothing, for instance, the average person wears 20 percent of their clothing 80 percent of the time. It's an important concept as we look at saving time.

Is saving time important to you? Studies have shown that the average American spends up to 45 minutes a day just looking for their stuff. What if you could save 20 of those 45 minutes per day? Twenty minutes a day adds up to 10 hours a month. That's like saving a whole day's work every month, just by being more organized. Now that's motivating!

Keeping these things in mind, take a look at what's in your closet. We recommend isolating the 20 percent of things you wear day in and day out. Get those things together and then look at the rest. Ask yourself, "Which do I want more—this or 10 extra hours a month?" With that kind of motivation, you will soon find yourself removing items.

Try to get rid of 25–50 percent of those items. For the remainder that you do keep, ask yourself if it belongs in this closet. Perhaps another location will do: a drawer, a box or another less-used closet. The more things you get out of the way, the more of those 45 daily minutes you will be saving.

Once you've sorted your clothing, it's time to look at what's left, as well as the design of your closet. How many feet of short-hanging clothes do you have? How many feet of long- and medium-length clothing? You can get an attractive closet designed that works around your life, saves you tons of time, and looks fantastic. Saving time and making your home beautiful are always good investments.

Q: I have a large closet in the main bedroom, but it’s always a disorganized mess and I can’t find what I’m looking for half the time. How do I tame the closet and get space back?

A: A disorganized closet makes poor use of space and can cost you time; it can even influence how you feel about yourself. If you find your bedroom closet bursting at the seams or becoming a dysfunctional mess, it’s likely because the space was never laid out well in the first place. It’s difficult to maintain order in an impractical space.

No matter the size of your closet, the key to making more space is figuring out the best way to organize the space’s contents. Here’s some practical advice to help you tame your wild closet.

Add drawer units

Folded clothes in drawers take up less space than clothes on hangers. Adding drawer units to the lower part of your closet and folding jeans and T-shirts into them can double your closet space. Hangers can prolong the life of your clothes, but you should only hang delicate items like dresses, skirts, jackets and blouses.

Use containers

While folding clothes is a great way to save space, stacking them is not. Have you noticed how you only use the top few items on the pile? It’s difficult to take something from the bottom, and the pieces you’ve stored there can end up mashed up and wrinkled.

The solution? Get containers for your shelves, and dividers for drawers. Containers keep related items together and your shelves neat. Instead of stacking your clothes in a vertical pile, you file them horizontally in a row — like paperwork. This way, you can see every item at a glance, and you can slide items in or out as you need them. You’ll be amazed at how much space you can save.

Hang shelves

When you look at your space with fresh eyes, you’ll find plenty of areas where an extra shelf can be fit in: between the upper shelf and ceiling, above the door of a walk-in closet or in the recessed corners of a standard closet. Even when they’re a bit harder to reach, shelves are great for storing infrequently used or seasonal items.

Remove seasonal clothes

Make space and reduce the visual weight of your closet by packing away bulky winter clothes, extra blankets and offseason sports gear when spring arrives. Vacuum seal or fold away your offseason items in under-bed boxes or upper-shelf containers until the weather changes again. This also gives you the opportunity to do a quick seasonal edit of what you may want to cull.

Edit and reduce regularly

We get attached to our clothes, but most of us wear only about 20% of the clothes we own. Most of the space in our closet is consumed by things we don’t ever put on. It’s costing us precious real estate and can lead to wasted time. It’s not easy to sort and let go of things, but ask yourself if you have too little space — or too much stuff.

Tackle one section of your closet at a time. Remove all garments and consider every one before you return it to its hanger or storage nook. Ask yourself these three questions: Do I love it? Do I wear it? Do I need it? If the answer is not a resounding “yes” to all three, consider how happy that item could make someone else who may need it more than you do.

Mia Hannom is the owner of In Form Design, a member of the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties (MBAKS). If you have a home improvement, remodeling or residential homebuilding question you’d like answered by one of the MBAKS’s more than 2,600 members, write to homework@mbaks.com.

Q: My 1990s beige bathroom is giving me the blahs every time I use it. What’s the best way to chase away the bland?

A: The easiest and most direct way is by adding color. Color can have a powerful effect on human emotion, and the right combinations can inspire joy, soothe the soul and improve your mood.

That’s why we’re seeing brighter, bolder colors in today’s interiors — especially in the bathroom — as designers and homeowners move away from neutrals toward a more vibrant palette. Since the bath is where we typically begin and end our days, it’s the perfect place to go bold with color.

From old to bold

Neutral finishes have traditionally dominated when it comes to bath cabinetry, but that’s begun to change. Rich hues such as sapphire blue, seafoam green or perfect periwinkle are inspiring choices that add personality and a sense of drama to a humdrum space. If you’re wondering how to go about creating a more colorful look, why not start with the vanity itself? A colorful vanity, typically the focal point of the bath, can be a real scene-stealer.

Manufacturers have noticed the burgeoning trend toward brighter colors, and they are increasingly offering finishes that go beyond classic oak, cherry and espresso.

Woodinville-based vanity specialist Strasser has introduced its own pair of colorful finishes for handcrafted, solid-wood vanities: NW Green and Lapis Night Blue. Strasser’s president, Judy Hedreen, says that the company created the new colors in response to growing customer interest in greens and blues.

“These colors are among those that designers and homeowners are turning to for brightening up the bath,” Hedreen says.

Other companies have also started introducing their own variations to meet growing demand.

Greens and blues

Green is having a major moment right now. Paint companies such as Sherwin-Williams and Benjamin Moore have named shades of green as their top trending colors for 2022. Many designers are reporting that green is starting to edge out blue as the most popular color for interiors. Customers are embracing nature’s most enchanting color.

Strasser introduced its NW Green vanity because, as Hedreen explains, “Green is a restorative, rejuvenating color, a hue that can truly enhance a spalike bath environment. It exudes the calming influence of the natural world, so it works beautifully in the bath.”

But don’t count blue out. Hedreen says blue is one of today’s hottest colors for interiors, and it’s no wonder. It’s refreshing, energizing and surprisingly versatile. Dressed up or down, blue can be soft or regal, luxurious or simple and, depending on the shade you use, playful or calming. It helps to naturally draw light and color out in smaller spaces, making it ideal for the bathroom.

Hedreen praises the power of deep blue.

“Comparable to the blue Van Gogh used in his masterpiece ‘Starry Night,’ it’s a dramatic yet approachable color that works with both contemporary and transitional styles,” she says.

Not quite prepared for a large-scale master bath refresh? Consider starting small in a powder room. A compact 24-inch vanity will save money while still making a big impact.

A splash of paint is a great way to test out bold color in the bath before you commit to a full vanity. Pantone’s 2022 Color of the Year, Very Peri, is a fun color to dip your toes, or bathroom, in.

Holly Berecz of Duehr & Associates writes for Strasser, a member of the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties (MBAKS). If you have a home improvement, remodeling or residential homebuilding question you’d like answered by one of MBAKS’s more than 2,600 members, write to homework@mbaks.com.