When you have more clothing than closet space, you can either get radical and pare down what you own, or get creative and find alternative ways to stay organised. Most people prefer the second option as parting with beloved items of clothing is tough.
Here are some clever storage ideas to get more out of your available space.
Maximise Space with Portable Storage
Gaps in the closet (such as beneath shorter hanging clothes) can house portable storage units such as widely available transparent drawer sets. It’s easy to make space for these by hanging short items together rather than mixing clothing of different length up along the rail.
Shoe racks are another useful item in the bottom of closets, not only keeping shoes neatly in pairs, but getting them up off the floor too which makes the whole bedroom look more spacious. If you don’t have room for a shoe rack at the bottom of the wardrobe, consider a hanging rack you can hook over the closet door.
The Seasonal Closet
Few of us find it easy to part with clothes we love just because the closet is overflowing. Instead of making tough decisions to pare down your clothes collection, take the seasonal approach and only keep in the closet the items you’re currently wearing.
Store out of season clothing somewhere else, such as:
- Invest in a few fashionable vintage suitcases that you can stack up and use either as a purely decorative feature or as a practical bedside table. Inside, place all the clothing you won’t be wearing again until the appropriate season rolls round. You could also include bedding and linens if you change these seasonally and find it challenging to store them so they’re not in the way.
- Rent a small self storage unit where you can have plenty of space to properly store out of season items without fear of permanent creasing or other damage. Placing winter coats inside garment covers and hanging them up is far better, for instance, than folding them into a drawer.
Use Closet Walls and Doors
Use wall and door space inside closets. If your closet is deep, use the back wall, and if it’s not, put at least one of the walls to better use by hanging up hooks or baskets to hold smaller accessories or clothing items such as undies or scarves. You may have to move things along the rail slightly, but you’ll gain more space than you’ll lose.
If you have more short clothing items than long ones, consider installing a second hanging rail beneath the first to double the available hanging space. If you don’t want to drill holes in your closet, hang a length of dowelling or a sawn-down broom handle from the top rail where it’s secured with ribbon or rope. You could also put a short rail on the inside of the door to hold scarves, ties or belts.
DIY Space Savers
If you like the idea of repurposing or recycling items instead of throwing them away, here are some neat space saving hacks:
- Use the ring pulls off drinks cans to double hanging space. Just loop one end of the ring pull over the hook of a hanger, then insert the hook of a second hanger through the other hole in the ring pull.
- Hang a length of chain from an S hook over the hanging rail. You can slot hangers into the chain links all down the length to maximise the hanging space in the closet.
- Slot shower curtain rings onto a hanger and use these to organise scarves, beads, ties or belts.
- Use tension rods (that you normally hang lightweight or net curtains from) to create shoe racks in the closet. Use two for each rack, inserted levelly for flat shoes and staggered for high heels.
Finding ways to fit more into a limited space not only helps keep clothing in good condition, it makes selecting outfits easier too when things are neatly organised. If you like choosing your outfit the night before you need it, a final tip is to hang a hook inside the closet door as somewhere to set aside chosen garments.
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