How To Organize One Small Closet

How To Organize One Small Closet – Make One Small Closet Work

Do you have any ideas for organizing clothes when the closet is too small in an apartment, but one cannot afford a larger apartment?

-Virginia

Virginia, I am in the same boat as you. One of my houses was a 750 square foot log cabin that came with no closets at all and it was tough to get the closet organized. The house I live in now has two small closets, both of which are 18 inches deep and four feet wide and I have no chest of drawers for clothes. That’s it. I have no linen closet for sheets, blankets, towels and only a small medicine cabinet in my bathroom.

Here are some things I do or have done to organize a small closet and make it work better:

• To organize the closet most efficiently, get rid of as much as you can and, after you do that, get rid of some more. I once read where someone had written that a good way to decide whether you should get rid of or keep something is to ask yourself, Would you like your boyfriend to see you in it? For some of us, that goes way too far back but, essentially, do you feel really good or beautiful when your wear it?
• I have a shoe bag I hang on the back of my bedroom door and I only allow myself to keep as many shoes as will fit in it.
• Keep seasonal clothes under the bed in narrow boxes. All my winter clothes go under the bed in the summer and vise versa.
• Measure the amount of space you really need in the closet for your hanging clothes. I found that I only need eight inches for my long dresses and pants, which I hang by their cuffs on small wooden hangers.
• I fitted a small open back shelf underneath where my tops hang. It has 4 shelves so I can get quite a few things on it. I store my t-shirts, pajamas, shorts and sweaters on it.

• I have a long shelf going across the top of the closet. On it, I keep a small basket of belts, a hat box to hold all of my purses, my one set of extra sheets and then a couple of large totes at the end.
• Don’t forget to use the inside of your closet door to hang things. I have a divider bag hanging on the inside of my closet door, which has my scarves and some jewelry on it. You can also put your underwear in one of these bags.
• In one small closet I had, there were hooks across the back wall behind the clothes. I was able to hang things that I didn’t use often on those large hooks including some things on clothes hangers.
• Find other places in the room to store things. For example, blankets can be stored under a bed or in between the mattress and box springs of a bed in the summer when they’re not being used. I have a tall skinny coat/hat rack I can put in one corner of my room to store my cuter purses scarves or necklaces.
• Towel rods are great for organizing. Use them in the closet to hang scarfs, belts or put S-hooks on them to hang purses.
• Go up. If you have room, buy a tall cabinet with doors to place in your room for storage instead of a chest of drawers. Because it is taller, it will hold so much more and I find the things easier to get to, too.
• Keep it neat and organized. You really can get twice as much into any space if you fold and stack things neatly instead of smashing and stuffing.

These are just a few of the things you can do to organize your small closet, but I hope this helps to get you started.

-Jill

[dining]