Living with a small closet can be a frustrating experience. Picture the classic cartoon moment of opening the closet door and everything spilling out. Or worse yet, not even being able to close the closet door because it's too full! Even the most organized of us can find it difficult to keep an uncluttered closet. Sometimes all it takes is a little organization to make a closet work.
1. Cycle out your clothing. If you're closet is small and you have extra storage space elsewhere, move your off-season clothes out of your everyday closet. If you're blessed with a large closet, move your off-season fashions to the back.
2. Be willing to reconfigure. Closets are not one size fits all. When we moved into our condo the closet had just one shelf and one clothes hanging rack. I knew from the day we moved in that that configuration would never work for two of us and yet it took me almost two years to do anything about it. When I did finally reconfigure the closet, I was delighted and amazed by how much more fit in the closet than before.
3. Have a place for everything and put everything back in its place. The odds of keeping your closet clean and organized are much better if you know where everything belongs.
4. Leave some extra space. One mistake I always make when organizing my closet is not leaving room for new stuff. Try to leave an empty space on a shelf — or even better, leave an entire shelf empty! — for new purchases.
5. Implement a temporary zone. Having hooks inside the closet will give you a temporary space to stash things. But hooks are only handy if they're not always full of stuff. I use the hooks in my closet as a temporary stop before the items goes back to where it blongs. When I come in at the end of the day I'll hang my sweater or jacket on the hook but then later I'll hang those items where they really belong and free up that hook for the next time I need it.
6. Keep the hamper nearby. If there's enough room, keep a hamper in your closet (or at least nearby). Having a hamper in or near the closet will decrease the chances that your closet floor will end up covered with a pile of dirty clothes.
7. Don't over stuff the closet! Sure, hanging clothes can be so much easier than folding them but not if you have to squeeze those hangers into an already stuffed closet. Make room by moving some clothes into a dresser. It may mean a little extra ironing but it's worth it for an uncluttered closet.
Image: Jason Loper
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Comments (32)
@rick, that does seem a lot for a guy (as far as I'm concern) but certainly not even close for some of the women i know (myself included).
Erm, when did at.com become a haven for spammers? Hellllloooo moderation!
Good strategies.
@Rick -- depends on where you live. I'm from Toronto (and female) so: snow boots (for right now), fall boots (a waterproof, leather pair for early spring/fall), rubber boots (when it rains during spring/summer), flip flops for the beach, heels/dress shoes for work (if applicable), a good pair of walking shoes, sneakers for the gym, summer heels/dress shoes, and maybe a pair of fun ankle boots. :)
Stop the spam!!!
You think that's a lot of shoes? Don't look in my closets!
My favorite thing for closets? Those thin thin thin hangers coated in velvet. They sell them on QVC, but I just pick mine up for cheap at Marshalls or TJ Maxx. Replaced all my plastic hangers with them over time, and it saves a LOT of room.
Yes, spam is VERY off putting. Makes me not want to read comments and comment. While readers can click on the profile of the spammer and report them, it would be nice if there was some automatic program preventing someone from, e.g., using the word 'clothes' 5 times in one comment.
I know, the spam reporting method is a pain - we need to be able to report the spam with one click otherwise you just can't always be bothered.
That is quite a large shoe collection but what really bothers me is that it's in the bedroom. I try not to keep shoes in the bedroom because they are covered in stuff from the street! It's not meant to be very healthy. Right now I live in a flat that doesn't really have anywhere else for them to go, so there are some in my bedroom in their boxes. But when we get out of this place (hopefully v soon), the shoes will once again be banished from the bedroom and have to live in the hallway cupboard. You take them off when you come in and they never get any further than that.
And p.s., by British standards that's a very decent-sized wardrobe.
Rick, we have a rule at my house. You may admire the shoes. You may try the shoes on. You may mock me for the number of shoes I have. But you may not count the shoes.
if im not mistaken jason has a partner hes mentioned in his posts, so thats probably both their shoe collection.
my partner and I are different shoe sizes so our closet looks about the same when you factor in dress, casual, and various sports/active wear shoes it really starts to add up fast. And we really do wear them all too.
I think when he reorganized the wardrobe he said that its the wardrobe of two vain men, so its actually the shoes and clothes of two, not one man.
If you find it easier to hang clothes rather than fold them check out 'japanese t-shirt folding' on youtube. You'll never hang another sweater or t-shirt again! It takes a couple of goes to get the hang of it, but it makes folding clothes like a magic trick.
My closet is about the same size as the one pictured, and I love how the space is utilized so well. No space is wasted.
I really like the hook idea... sometimes when I get home the last thing I want to do is hang up my uniform. Hooks are a nice quick-fix until I feel like doing it after dinner.
Could we have a post on organization methods for those of us who dislike hanging clothes, and have very few clothes that really require being hung? Jeans, t-shirts, sweaters -- these things do best (or at least, do just fine) with drawers rather than hangers. I end up with piles of clothes in my bedroom and a half-empty closet, and I feel like I'm constantly looking for suggestions on how to organize in a way that suits me, but finding nothing. Maybe a way to turn half that closet into drawers?
I like how they put in short rods for the shirts on the left-hand side. The sides of closets are so often a zone of forgotten garments. I don't like the pant hangars, tho. They take up too much vertical space!
k02, I know exactly what you mean about not liking to hang things. How about:
- Placing a small dresser in the closet.
- Taking out the long closet rod going across and putting in a short rod(s) on one side, to keep the stuff you don;t wear often out of the way.
- Install shelves over the dresser. Fold your pants and stack them in short piles on the shelves. Maybe get baskets to throw your clothes into.
- Install hooks.
- Hang one of those "sweater hanger"-type closet organizers, with the cubbies. I've found it really useful for stuffing with things that I can get a few more wearings out of.
As I have moved around, I tend to get rid of a few things when I have to deal with a smaller closet - the worst that happens is if I move again and the closet is larger, there is extra space. I would rather not have to spend money fixing the closet by adding extra rods, shelves, etc since I am renting and then have to lose my security deposit because I put more holes in walls.
Follow the 1 in, 1 out rule. Plenty o' room in the closet.
Oh, the spammers are back...
@k02, I've been looking at Elfa Swedish storage systems (they were featured in an AT post recently I think), and they have a wire basket drawer system that could certainly turn half your closet into drawer space. Apparently the only proper DIY you have to do is to screw a track along the top of the wall.
I'm with Really - shoes in the bedroom, in a closet with clothes? Never!
k02, I used the hanging canvas "shelves" for my folded clothes in the closet. Better than a dresser as you can see in. They can be very inexpensive. I prefer the larger ones, not the shoe size ones.
First-every woman doesn't have an insane amount of shoes and every man doesn't own just three pair. Can we please stop speaking (writing?) in stereotypes?
It seems AT has forgotten the most important rule for having any space in your home be organized: PURGE. If you haven't worn it in six months, donate it. I once saw a woman on SSBS say she did got rid of an item of clothing for every new item of clothing she brought in. I started doing that and life-and my bank account-has been much better for it.
Can we stop making so many comments about spam? I agree that the spam is an issue, but now the spam is out of this post, but the comments about spam are all still here. It's not any different from spam when I have to wade through comments about spam in order to read the post!
(Yes, I'm making a spammy comment about comments about spam.)
@k02 I actually took a a few baskets to fit my shelves and lined them with fabric matching my bedroom. It's a great place to roll/fold items instead of trying to fit them in drawers, especially for items we contantly use. Easy to grap from, easy to restock.
The best organization systems are easy to use. You have to be careful not to over-organize. If a system is too complex to use, i.e. too many containers or many different types of containers, it may be too time-consuming to maintain. This closet looks over-organized to me and needs a little thining out.
The reason closets get unorganized is they are usually crammed with too much stuff.
very efficient, but after a while it can look like clutter
I'm with the "don't crowd it with too much stuff" team. I used to keep my fat/skinny jeans just in case. And my old worn-out shoes, just in case. And my old worn-out purses. You got it--just in case.
Purge! Purge! Purge!
Ha! You call that a lot of shoes? Visit me sometime.
I'm amazed that anyone can live with that FEW ties... :o)
I do the same with shoes; I keep the out of season ones in an under-bed rolling bin. As a woman with about 50 pairs, there's no way they'd all fit in my 5 foot wide closet.
Very true. I'm doing my first de-clutter session right now and I'm amazed at the amount of unnecessary stuff that's in this closet. I'm documenting the before and after, because it's really that bad. I'm reconfiguring, and everything looks so much better!
I think it looks great, even moreso because its for two people. Also, i kind of miss the old days here at AT when there were less lurkers and more really great advice.