The Best Ways to Organize a Small Closet
There are plenty of tips on how to downsize and declutter your wardrobe , but what do you do when it’s all over? You still need to organize and store all your clothes—here are the best ways to choose the right layout for your space and stay organized in the future.
Choose a Closet Layout (and Stick to It)
I have my clothes arranged in a rainbow arrangement in my closet simply because I like the way they look and it makes it easy to find exactly what I’m looking for. This is a popular way to do it, but it doesn’t solve some of the more complex problems. For example, you can hang your clothes so that the items you reach for most often, such as jeans or basic T-shirts, are in the front, and special occasion items are in the back.
You can categorize by season, by occasion, from casual to business, or whatever pattern makes the most sense for you and the way you dress, but the real key is to determine the best order for your hangers and stick to it. . When I take a red outfit out of my rainbow-coded closet, I know exactly where to hang it when I put it back, which means I know where it is when I want to wear it again. Here’s why color coding is a great option for beginners: When you hold a freshly laundered linen shirt in your hands, it can be difficult to remember whether you considered it “business casual” or just “casual” when you designed your shirt. organizational chart, so you may find it difficult to return it to the right place where it will be easier to find when you need it again. Whatever categorization method you come up with, make sure it fits your lifestyle so that six months from now you don’t find yourself in another mess because it became too hard to keep track of.
Get the right organizational tools
My closet is simple and small, but the same can’t be said for my closet, so I’ve found a few ways to double the space and make organization easier. First, I took a few of these cube shelves ($49.99 for a 160-cube unit) and placed them against the back wall, allowing dresses and longer items to hang over them. This gives me a ton of extra space and specialized compartments that I can make as niched as I want: I have one cube for hoodies, another for crew necks, one for leggings, another for shorts, and so on and so forth. I’m a big proponent of using the organizational triangle to keep everything in order. This means I follow his rule of keeping similar items together and dedicating a specific space to each category, and the cubes really help.
Additionally, consider hanging shelving, such as the Hanging Shoe Rack ($9.97), which will also help separate your categories. Multi-tier hangers , which hold multiple items of clothing vertically, save space and fit perfectly into whatever organizational chart you choose: one multi-tier hanger could be for jeans, another for work pants, etc. (I have red/orange hangers , yellow/green, blue/purple, black/white and silver/gold).
Finally, think outside the closet: Items you use seasonally or don’t touch often, like heavy jackets or fancy bags, can be stored somewhere else. As long as you have all the items in that category together somewhere, you’re not really breaking the rules of the Organization Triangle, but even if you were, it’s worth saving some space in there and keeping your closet cluttered. To do this, I recommend storing things under the bed so things are close to the closet but out of sight. You can purchase three under bed trash cans for $13.58.