Rubbermaid Configurations 4-to-8-Foot Deluxe Custom Closet Kit

I have used all three of these. I first bought the Elfa (Container Store) for one bedroom. It was extremely expensive. Spent 5 times more than the others for something very simple. Everything is cut for you once you have the measurements. It is very sturdy and very well made, of course. It is probably over kill for a closet organizer. They have a lot of nice accessories for it and can be dressed up to look nicer than the others. Biggest negative which really surprises me since Closetmaid and Rubbermaid doesn't have this problem is you can't slide a hanger all the way across.

My next project was using Rubbermaid. I liked the idea it was adjustable. It was very easy to install. I bought the delux 8 feet kit. One problem is you will sometimes have left over parts and in my case I also had to buy one extra part since the way I wanted it was a little different that what options you had with their kit. After installing it I found I just didn't need to change it, so the adjustability probaly was not a plus for me but some people may want to make changes after using it for awhile. Biggest negative which really isn't a negative is that it is flimsy compared to the Elfa which is like a tank. That is because it is adjustable but it is sturdy enough. I have no problems with that. Another possible negative is it only comes with 12 inch shelves for closets. If you really need something bigger you can go into their garage sections which has 16 inches shelves.

My last project was Closetmaid. I used Closetmaid for my wife's closet since she wanted 16 inch shelves and I didn't feel it needed to be adjustable. Now if you don't want to be doing your own cutting which can be a chore without the right tools then go with Rubbermaid. But I have the right tools so cutting was not a problem. I bought mine at Lowe's. If you have all your measurements you can do the cutting their. They have a bolt cutter that cuts right through it. I did all my cutting at home since I have bolt cutters and metal saws. I like Closetmaid since it was sturdier than Rubbermaid and I just buy what I need. It also has a nice selection of accessories from wire drawers to shoe organizers. What I really liked is their clothes hamper. It pulls out on a slide then pushes in after you throw your dirty clothes in.

Now the surprise is the vertical hangers for all three companies all have the same slot design. How the verticals hang on the wall is differnt but once you have the vertical hangers secured you can interchange most accessories. I can install shelf supports for any company on any one of the vertical hangers. So I used the Closetmaid clothes hamper in my Rubbermaid closet. Closetmaid shelf supports and shelves will fit on the Rubbermaid or Elfa vertical hangers and vice versa.

If money is not a concern then buy the Elfa, built like a tank will last forever and looks better than the others with the right accessories.

Rubbermaid is the least sturdy of the three but does the job. It is very easy to put up so if your not handy around the house then buy this one. You also can easily make changes to how you want the shelves organized much more so that the other two. If you want 16 inch shelves then look at their garage organizers, the system is the same.

I like Closetmaid but it does require more work to put up since you have to do all the cuttings. It is much sturdier than Rubbermaid since it is meant to be permanent once you put it in. Shelves snap in place which took some effort and would be difficult to remove. Rubbermaid has a simple slide to lock shelves in so you can makes changes easily but then again you give up some sturdiness.

Update 12/12/2011

After having used all three systems for almost three years I can say all of them hold up well. I haven't had any problems so my original feeling that Rubbermaid tend to be flimsy is still not a problem. I don't think you can go wrong with Rubbermaid and it is very easy to put up and being adjustable gives you room to customize the way you want it. Having parts left over is more of a mental problem because the cost of the kit is still probably cheaper than buying each part by itself even with the left over parts or you can try using all of it. Also as I said before you can use Closetmaid accessories with Rubbermaid and although I like my Closetmaid clothes hamper it did fall apart which was replaced by Lowe's at no cost.

I recently did my daughters closet using Rubbermaid but these were not adjustable. You buy what you need and cut to fit (Home Depot). These being not adjustable felt much sturdier. I did find putting in the shelves to be easier than Closetmaid. Closetmaid shelves snap in and are very tight. The Rubbermaid ones were just easier in that it has a slide that locks the shelves in place but Rubbermaid is more expensive than Closetmaid so you pay for this one feature.

I wanted to post a review that addresses why a lot of people look into Rubbermaid Configurations to get a cheaper, comparable version of Elfa shelving. Some on here claim that this is just like Elfa, minus Elfa's high price. That's how I found out about Configurations and compared the two.

The problem was, my fiancee and I had already looked at Elfa shelving with the Container Store closet designer and had that system on our minds when I started looking at Configurations. It's not quite apples to apples as some people claim.

To look at the system, I ripped open a box at Target. Three things I noticed that made this system different.

1. Some of the smaller pieces are plastic. Elfa is all metal/steel. Granted its not the pieces that "count" i.e. the tracks, shelving. But its not quite the same quality.

2. The shelves are a foot deep at most, and there are no other options. With Elfa you have the option of getting deeper shelves and yes, for some folded clothes those extra inches matter.

3. As some on here have noted, for full closet systems you may end up buying two sets of the Configurations systems in order to get all the pieces you need. But I priced what I would have needed at around $200, which was $100 less than the comparable Elfa system for my closet.

This system is fine for kitchen, garage, office, kids room organization for this, Elfa is probably overkill. But for a master clothes closet, the shelf depth was the killer. I ended up biting the bullet and buying Elfa.

If you think this might work for a clothes closet, my suggestion would be to visit Container Store and get a closet layout from a consultant there. Then take that list and see how many Configurations sets you need for the same layout. You'll probably come out ahead cost wise. If you wait until Elfa is 30% off around the holidays, though, the gap will narrow.

Also worth mentioning is that the Configurations platinum system (and of course white) look very similar to the untrained eye to Elfa. So another option is to use this as your shelving and invest your money in the Elfa stand up drawer units to complete the closet. These are where the real expense is. But a combination of the two will give you a pretty killer closet.

Buy Rubbermaid Configurations 4-to-8-Foot Deluxe Custom Closet Kit Now

My wife and I were looking for an open closet and got some quotes from MDF and wood closet makers. The ones that we cared for were above $800!

This system looks OK and is easy to install. We went for the Deluxe Kit, and we got some accessories too: two wire baskets and a trouser hanger. Everything was below $500.

It took me 12 hours (not one as other lucky reviewer), but that includes removing all the clothes from the other closet, removing the other closet, going to the hardware shop to buy a 3/8" drilling bit and anchors for masonry wall (ours is not drywall), drilling the masonry wall, installing the closet, trying different configurations, going to a Christmas Party in between, installing the accessories AND putting the clothes in the new closet.

Overall, one of the greatest gifts we bought for ourselves this christmas. I'm very happy with it. Yesterday I started rearranging it again to better optimize space.

Some words of advice:

1. The Deluxe kit we got comes with a LOT of shelves. But because we also got the accessories, we couldn't use all the shelves. I wonder if the Classic Kit + Accessories would have suited us better.

2. We got two shoe racks as accesories to this closet system, but returned them the next day (exchanged them for a wire basket). These take up too much space of the closet because you have to put them in the rails. It's simpler to purchase a longer shoe rack separately that you can put on the floor.

Read Best Reviews of Rubbermaid Configurations 4-to-8-Foot Deluxe Custom Closet Kit Here

Excellent closet kit. We ordered two 4-8' deluxe custom kits. My husband and I each have an 8' closet. Kits were very easy to install. By the time we got to the second closet we were pretty fast. Took about 1 hour to install the second closet system. The closet design is great in that there is no cutting with the exception of the last rail cover. Love that the hangers slide easily, our previous closet "system" only allowed a couple of inches either way. The flexibility of the closet is amazing. We also ordered for my husband the shoe shelves, tie and belt organizer, and two sliding pants racks. For me I ordered three sets of shoe rods, two pants racks, and one sliding basket. We also ordered 3 upright extension rods for each closet due to the number of accessories we ordered. I had so much fun playing around with the expandable hanging rods, the shelves, and all the accessories. I now have my closet organized and I cannot believe how much room I have for everything. I even have "room to grow". I highly recommend this closet system.

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We started our closet "improvement" by first going to the Closet Maid site & using their "free" online design tool. Being free, it was totally confusing & kluggy to use. So I then used their $5.00 premium online design service, which gave me (2) designs along with a parts list. This is the part that drove me crazy...the parts list was complete, but it directed me to retailers like Home Depot but the disclaimer states that "a particular store might not carry all the parts for your design"!!?? I then asked the CM site if we could order all the parts directly from Closet Maid, only to get an email back stating that their partnership agreement(s) requires them to direct us to Home Depot!! I could not bear the insanity of driving to half a dz. or more Home Depots looking to fill the Closet Maid parts list. Enough said, they eliminated themselves from consideration.

I then came across the Rubbermaid systems on Amazon and after reading the many positive reviews I took the plunge & ordered (2) 4-8 ft. & (2) 3-6 ft. Deluxe Custom Closet Kits to improve our small MB walk-in & my 12yr.'s 6ft. closet.

It took longer than 1 hr., but much less than 12 hrs (you will spent a great deal time measuring, climbing up & down the ladder, switching drill bits for screw tips, etc...), unlike several of the earlier reviews I had read. It took about 6hrs. total this past Friday to install (2) of the 3-6 ft. & (1) 4-8 ft. kits in our approx. 6' x 6' walk-in. The 1st kit took the longest. Once I understood how the first kit worked, I really cranked after that. A few crucial points:

1) Make sure you have a level (I found a 2ft. one worked great!), a good cordless drill with 2 fully charged batteries (if your screws hit studs, which is what you want, it will take a lot of juice)with good phillips screw tips and a sturdy 6' step ladder.

2) Get a 3/8" drill bit....most households typically won't have one larger

than 1/4"...this is the hole size for the sheet rock anchors. I didn't have one either so I had to go get one after opening the box! this is the only thing I had to buy, aside from the extra 25" vertical ext. bars & extra shelves. Rubbermaid also provided more sheet rock anchors than I needed (that's a first!). So unless you have a cinderblock or stainless steel wall in your closet, all the req. parts come in the kits.

3) MAKE SURE THE HORIZONTAL MOUNTING BARS ARE MOUNTED STRAIGHT & LEVEL (first thing that goes up)OR YOU WILL LIVE TO REGRET IT! USE THE LEVEL CONSTANTLY ON ALL THE HORIZONTAL & VERTICAL BARS!. After that, the brackets, shelves & hanging rods just pop in based on your configuration.

4) Buy extra 25" ext. bars, each kit only comes with (2) per kit. You will need the extras if you want to max. use on the kits.

All in all we rate this an excellent product. Quality was excellent (all the parts fit!). Instructions & assembly was clear & easy to follow and was actually fun once you got the hang of it. The Amazon pricing & free delivery made it a clear choice above competitors like Closet Maid & Elfa (The Container Store). And most of all it looks great (metallic/pewter coated finish) & works well. We figured it will take us an hour or so to install the last kit in my daughter's closet. We will definitely use their kits again.

Thanx Rubbermaid & Amazon for "PIMPIN OUR CLOSET"!!

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