My wife and I live in a 1911 Craftsman bungalow in Seattle, so I know exactly what you're dealing with. After 3 years struggling with "Jenga" closets and annoying disarray, we just reorganized our whole house. The answer: racks, racks, racks, racks, hooks, hooks, hooks, hooks, hooks!!

We bought about numerous (about 8) 3, 4 and 6 shelf wire racks from Fred Meyer (for about $50 each). They look like this. They're fully adjustable and open, so you can make them it whatever you have (a high rack for boots, then several short ones for flats -- my wife did this). Also, over the door hanging hooks work really well. We have them on every door in our house. Literally.

Lastly, if you own your house, and you have a basement, a trend here in Seattle is to convert the basement into a master suite with larger bathroom and closets, and leave the smaller bedrooms, tiny closets and small bedrooms upstairs as offices and guest rooms. Good luck.

On my narrow closets (~2' x 4.5' doors on the 2' side) I took out the built in shelf and clothes bar and added a rolling garment rack (mine are metro and have a bottom and top shelf for more storage) that I can pull out into the room. I also added narrow shelves at the back for plastic shoe boxes. By the pictures it appears this has already been done. The final addition was several rows of Bygel wall rods from Ikea with hooks and a few baskets for purse and accessory storage. Now that I can pull the garment rack out of the closet, the wall storage and rear shoe storage is easily accessible.

One more point is that during our recent reorganization, we really worked on our efficiency -- I can barely see anything at all in your photo, but I can already see you have a lot of wasted space on those shelves and floor. Consider folding more of your clothes and keeping them stacked rather than hung. I do like your use of the plastic bins though!

The shortage of storage space has also upped our donations to GoodWill. As much as you don't want to... you should probably consider it.

... get a wardrobe and only store out-of-season clothes (and shoes, maybe) in the closet?

@rsbelcher
a trend here in Seattle is to convert the basement into a master suite with larger bathroom and closets

Are many seattle houses constructed so that the rooms are all tiny, which makes doing this with the basement particularly logical?

... or is it that seattle-ites don't mind living in rooms which get no sunlight because it's always raining anyway?

I think a_a_svensson is right on. Shove a portable rack in there and pull it out when you need access to your stuff. This will also give you some more storage space up against the wall underneath the area where the rack is hanging now. Use it for shoes and storage boxes.

Just because you are renting doesnt mean you cant redo it a bit. Get your landlords approval first. Just looking at the photo you could remove the shelves. Hang a closet rod where the shelves are now. You could put the shelves where the clothes are hanging now. With some re-arranging, some elbow grease and a few bucks it could be a great functional space. You will leave it behind when you move, but it will be worth it while you are there!

Our 1920's rental has two, small "walk-in" closets--one per bedroom (and the bedrooms are small in houses this old). The landlord installed Rubbermaid wire shelving system (cheaper version of Closetmaid), but we wanted more shelves and ended up finding a full set at a garage sale from someone redoing their closets. $10 to outfit a full closet (we only used a portion of it). So look for deals on craigslist or yard sales.

a_a_svensson's idea is brilliant!

Just blow off the closet for your everyday clothes and use it as long term storage. You can build a freestanding, non-permanent, false wall with some sheetrock and 2x4s and put a clothes rack behind it and in front use it as your headboard. Check out some of the old Christopher Lowell books-although his style of decorating isn't very "today" he does the fake wall thing very well. Yes, it will make the bedroom smaller but will be super practical and with some thought can look good.

Do you have the room or option of hanging some of your clothes elsewhere? Elfa (container store) makes some floor standing units, CB2 has some nice looking wardrobes. Wardrobe armoires also seem to be something I always see at thift consignment too. Or maybe simply a rolling rack in the bedroom to free up space in the closet (probably the less you have in there, the easier it will be to see). You could put your nicest items on the rack so it will look intentional, maybe your most inspiring pieces. Then you could put some shelving in this closet (stand alone if your landlord won't let you install) and use primarily for shoes and accessories. You could also fold whatever items you can & store in the closet. I actually keep all my jeans/chinos/sweaters folded and on shelves.

Another thought is you plan your wardrobe once a week for the upcoming week, hang your complete outfits toward the front each Sunday. That way you aren't dealing with the closet every day. Kind of like doing your own "pull" for yourself.

Think outside the box... do you have a coat closet somewhere else that you could use for clothing? Room in your living room for a nice wardrobe (if the bedroom is too small). I have had clothes on a rolling rack in a living room (living room was huge, 4 girls, 2 small closets/bedrooms and there was a weird dividing wall between living room and window, so me & one roommate just stuck rolling racks behind that wall & woila walk in closet). I currently have my dresser in my living area (got one that looks very midcentury credenza) and that is, seriously, the most complimented piece of furniture in the house.

"Are many seattle houses constructed so that the rooms are all tiny, which makes doing this with the basement particularly logical?"

Many houses in Seattle are older - and typical older homes just weren't built with the features we take for granted nowadays such as spacious reach-in closets, well-designed kitchens w/ lots of continuous counterspace & plentiful storage, roomy/multiple bathrooms with fixtures all lined up along the same wall, air conditioning, etc.

To get an idea of what the typical house was like in the 1920's, 30's and 40's - have a look at some of these houseplans here:
http://www.antiquehome.org/House-Plans/
...They're an eye-opener!

I recommend also protecting your clothes from the sunlight. Sun will very, very quickly fade your clothes, even if you don't get that much sun. Install a room darkening shade & keep it down except for when you are looking for things & need the bright light.

Ok, see that back area, the one at the end where you have shelves? Remove them & hang a set of double clothing rods. You can move the shelves below and above the rods if there is room. There should be room on top for at least one shelf which you can use for out of season or little used items.

On the side (where the clothes hand now), you could do some shallow shelves - you might have to place your shoe boxes side ways, but maybe not; some may fit under the hanging clothes...

You could also do shelves up high on multiple walls in the closet (down each side, on one side and on the ends, including above the door, etc). Or, maybe put shelves on the window wall, under the window and possibly some on both sides or just one side, above the window, etc. And / or use hooks on the wall for items such as jewelry, accessories, hats, coats, belts, bags, umbrellas, scarves, daily coats, stuff like that.

By moving your hanging clothes to the far end, you will protect them from sun damage; as would storing items on the window wall or above the window (on any of the walls). If you use 2 clothing rods, you will effectively double the hanging space available at the end of the closet. To get even more room at the back of the closet, you may even be able to hang 2 sets of clothing rods depthwise, or use a deep hook (the IKEA Bjarnum hook comes to mind - it is about $5, has 2 prongs vertically, and is about 6" deep). You can hang rarely worn / out of season items behind the main clothes rods - of course, this will depend on the actual depth of the space to the rear of the window.

I might also add some sort of window covering. I used a matchstick blind in a closet area where I needed to cut glare, or you may want to do something more light blocking. You can always hang fabric from clips and cup hooks or a tension rod for inexpensive & space saving options, as they can be set into the recessed area of the window frame (as could the matchstick blinds or levoulor blinds) - all of which can be adjusted, allowing you to have some light and ventilation should you so desire.

Good luck and have fun with re-organizing your closet. It is Not as unhopefull a mess as it might seem.

How about using wall mounted clothing display arms, like the ones you see in stores? There are different lengths, so you can get ones that don't protrude as far from the wall.

http://www.buystorefixtures.com/slatwallaccessories/

Babyfishmouth! Now why didn't I think of that as MY name!!
One of my favorite lines of WHMH! Even named my cats Harry and Sally.

Lots of good suggestions here. We have a bedroom with a closet too shallow for hanging clothes the usual way, we added a few of these Ikea Komplement pull-out clothes hangers.

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/70141153

I should add that the Komplement hangers require a shelf or something above them to connect to, but it doesn't have to be an Ikea wardrobe.

Hi, there! My closet is also quite small - it's under the stairs to the second floor - and I'm still working on solutions for it.
Your closet has a nice shape, it's only the width that makes it look really tight. Here's what I'd do:
- where you currently have the shelves, I'd put one of those closet systems. Rubbermaid has very good ones, in white finish, that are pretty sturdy and can hold a lot. Shelves only on the top of the closet system (if any).
- where you currently hang your clothes, I'd try to do something like this, to reduce the area the clothes take from your walkway: http://www.marthastewart.com/266731/walk-by-closet?czone=home%2Fbed-bath-design-cnt%2Fbedrooms-design

Other ideas:

What about an armoire in your room?

Or one of the ikea pax wardrobe systems?

That pull-out rail some one mentioned is only one of the interior fittings they have - double clothes rails, shelves/drawer units, and shoe racks are just some of the interior fitiings they have available. then you could store shoes or what ever other items in the closet, maybe add more shelves in there....

either high clothes rod so you have room below to move, not a good idea, but it might work in some situations, or low rod with a self above it so it doesn't seem so constricting. and the shelf can work to help you store accessories.

You could seriously pair down, not in your profession though right, and hang clothes flat against the wall.

I think the best bet is a hanging rack in your bedroom, if there is room. It would look OK with your profession and all.

Maybe it's not so much storage as how you approach assembling an outfit in the morning? For instance, consider taking polaroids of your clothes and accessories and use those to help select your outfits (because it can be done anywhere there's better lighting and more room!). A friend does this, it helps her avoid 'closet overwhelm' in the mornings, and she tosses the polaroids into a basket when she's done so when she's flipping through the pictures she's only looking at what she hasn't yet worn for the week (in her case, month, she has a ton of clothes). In my case, because my closet is so very small, I assemble entire outfits on a hanger and leave the one I need for the next morning on a hook outside my closet. I literally have everything I need from top to bottom, ready to go, and it speeds up my mornings (now I have time for morning yoga when before I used to waste time putting together an outfit). You could assemble say, on the weekend, a few outfits for the coming week and leave those hanging nearest the doorway so you can grab and go.

One IMPORTANT thing to mention, since there is a window in your closet, hang a curtain. Preferably a blackout curtain. It may not be as nice without natural light, but the sun will bleach your clothes.

If you look closely, the shelves are mounted using battens. Yes, the BATTENS for the shelves are 'built in', but the shelves are most likely Loose, & laying atop the battens - I have the same thing in my closets and they are eaily removed. Thus, hanging clothes rods in the back of the loset/at the end Will work just fine.

definitely do something to cover the window; I had a closet with a small window high up by the ceiling, and even so I had a black dress bleached to purple on the shoulder. It was a formal dress so it only got hauled out once a year, and apparently it was hanging just in the right place to always get hit by the sunlight.

One simple thing that would help is to shift your bulky clothes down to the end farthest from the door, leaving the area up near the door for slim items like shirts and blouses. It's surprising how much extra width a heavy coat has over a business shirt.

Plastic bins are easy to resort to but buying a closet organizer would be worth your while. Believe me, it saved my life. The clutter in my closet was gone and I used the space I had to the fullest. I bought a closet organizer online from www.greatusefulstuff.com. Great quality and I got out the maxium amount of space out of my closet.