The “Ingenious” $28 Find That Finally Got My Overflowing Bag Collection in Order (Such a Space Saver!)

The state of my bag collection is much like my shoe situation: I have way more than I need, but I can’t make myself part with any of them. Granted, I rotate between them all fairly regularly, but my purses, totes, and handbags have started to take over my apartment’s narrow entryway from where they hang on the back of my closet and bathroom doors. (My closet, unfortunately, is totally full, so I can’t stow them away in there.) 

Every time I walk through the front door and down the hallway, I have to dodge my bags, which jut out from where they’re all resting on hooks. Over-the-door hooks have become my best friend ever since I started renting tiny apartments; doors offer a ton of useful storage opportunities without sacrificing any floor space. Still, the basic hooks I had before weren’t the most practical, so Yamazaki’s ingenious Chain Link Bag Holder has been a much better fit.

I’m willing to bet you haven’t seen an over-the-door hook as clever as this one. I sure hadn’t! But leave it to Yamazaki to come up with a solution I never knew I needed, but can now never go without. My AT teammates have sworn by the Japanese organizing brand for years, and I recently added its towel holder to my bathroom, too. So, it comes as no surprise to me that this bag holder completely transformed my space.

Like its other products, the Chain Link Bag Holder is simple and minimalist. It consists of six steel hooks that cascade vertically, measuring about 30 inches long in total. You can drape it against the back of a door like I did, mount it on the wall with the included hardware, or even hang it on your closet rod. Each hook can withstand up to 2.2 pounds, so you can add multiple bags to each one. Plus, each link is easily removable, so you can remove or add extra ones whenever the need arises. You can even take one off of the chain and install it on the wall!

I think the before-and-after speaks for itself, but I have so many good things to say about this $28 organizer. It’s much longer than any other door hook I’ve ever seen — even the other vertical one I bought a few years ago — so not one bit of space goes unused. Further, the bigger individual hooks are also able to hold much bulkier items, which allows me to effortlessly store at least two bags on each one. That brings me to the best part: Even when it’s fully packed, the organizer keeps my bags almost completely flush against the door. My purses don’t block and overwhelm my entryway nearly as much as they used to. And the structure doesn’t swing whenever I open and close my closet door.

Another welcome change? I can spot all of my bags instantly, which makes it much easier to survey all of my options when I’m getting ready for the day. None of them are hidden from view behind any others. It’s also much less of a hassle to grab a bag and go, as they don’t all overlap with each other on a single hook. Finally, I don’t have to remove a ton of others just to get to the bag I want. With all of those pros in mind, I’m tempted to grab another set to add onto my current chain link, so I can accommodate the few stragglers I still have scattered around my apartment. Plus, it works for my baseball hats!

Buy: Yamazaki Chain Link Bag Holder, $28