40 Best Closet Organization Ideas to Maximize Your Space
Say goodbye to clutter with these expert closet organization tips for small and walk-in closets alike.
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If there’s one place in the home that’s going to be put to good use, it’s the closet. Whether spacious or on the small side, you want to utilize and maximize every inch of closet storage. That’s why it can be difficult to keep closets organized and clutter-free. While it may be challenging, it’s not impossible — and we’re here to help.
We spoke with several experts and rounded up the best closet organization ideas and clever tips to keep your closet neat and tidy all year-round. Clearing out your closet doesn’t have to be reserved for spring when many people set aside time to deep clean and organize their homes. It can be an ongoing effort, and these organization tips and clever organizing products will help keep you on task. But first, you must do the dirty work. And by that we mean rolling up your sleeves and assessing the situation.
“The best way to organize a closet: Pull it all out — organize, categorize, and minimize,” says Jane Abrahams, founder and owner of Jane’s Addiction Organization. “A simple rolling rack can help with the process.” While this is a good approach, what works for some may not work for all.
Lisa Lawmaster Hess, author of Know Thyself: The Imperfectionist’s Guide to Sorting Your Stuff, stresses the importance of embracing your own unique organizational style. “The most important tip for organizing anything is to make sure that the tools we're using work for us,” she says. “So often, we adopt things that work for other people and then become frustrated — and a little poorer — when those things don’t work for us.”
Ready to find the closet organization strategy that works for you? Read on for ways to make the most out of your wardrobe space.
Don't Wait for Spring
Who said spring was the only time to declutter? Clearing out your closet can take place during any season.
"Anytime you feel overwhelmed picking out clothes is the right time to start," says Stephanie Greenberg, creative director at Jane’s Addiction Organization. "However, seasonal organization is key."
Seasonal organization is a great place to start because it typically requires putting away items that aren't used due to the changing seasons.
Declutter Before You Do Anything Else
Don’t just jump into adding organization tools and containers. It won’t do you any good if you are bursting at the seams.
So what’s the best criteria to use for what to keep and what to toss? “Only keep the things that make you feel great when you wear them. Sometimes we've gotten stuck in a rut of wearing stuff we don't really love, and we don't think to incorporate some of our favorite pieces into our regular wardrobe,” says Lucy Milligan Wahl, owner of professional organizing company LMW Edits in San Francisco. “If you get rid of anything that makes you feel less than amazing, you'll be left with a closet full of pieces that inspire you to express yourself through your clothes!”
Use a heavy-duty, oversized storage bag to contain what you don’t need so you can easily donate to an organization you care about.
Host a Clothing Party
Before you toss unwanted items, see if some of your besties might want dibs on your soon-to-be donated duds.
"Invite friends over for a clean up/dress-up party," Greenberg suggests. "Declutter and organize your closet while donating some of the pieces that you are getting rid of to your besties. Have some fun an even help them style their new looks. Best girls night in!"
For a fun "shopping" experience, put your items on display with a rolling clothing rack.
Hang a Hamper
If you keep your hamper in a closet, this space-saving basket will be a godsend. Get laundry off the floor and make room for more essential items.
This hamper also doubles as storage for clothes that aren't in season. It's perfect for stacking sweaters and other winter items during the summer months.
Color Coordinate Your Clothes
No matter your organizational style, Abrahams offers a tip that will suit just about anyone.
"A categorized closet is a simple and functional system," she suggests. "Start by coordinating by color."
Organizing your clothing by color is a great way to add a glamorous showroom touch to your closet. Plus, it makes it easier to find certain items.
"Implementing systems and streamlining is key to keeping your space well organized," Abraham adds.
Hang Your Hats
You'll want to tip your hat to this nifty hanger.
Say goodbye to baseball caps and other headgear cluttering closet shelves with this five-bracket metal hanger. Plus, the curved shape helps prevent bends and crushed toppers. The best part? No tools required. Simply hang and organize your caps in this easy-to-use display. What's more, you'll be able to find your favorite caps in a cinch, which cuts down on frantic searches.
"Being organized creates a stress-free environment to get ready day or night," says Greenberg.
Create a System
According to Wahl, it’s a good idea to keep your clothing neat, accessible, and visible. “I like to use shelf dividers to keep folded stacks of clothing tidy, as opposed to fabric bins which hide the clothes from view,” she explains. “I also believe in the power of matching hangers. When all your hangers match, they visually recede into the background and place your focus on the clothes.”
If your closet doesn’t have sections and compartments, consider adding a closet system with easily visible areas to give you something to work with.
Insert Clothing Divider Tags
While closet dividers are pretty much par for the course for parents, given how easy they make it to categorize baby clothes by age, the closet accessories can be beneficial for adults, too. This set of 16 includes seasonal tags, days of the week, and types of clothing.
Make Hangers Work for You
Barbara Brock, founder and CEO of Beauty & The Box and former president of the New York Chapter of the National Association of Productivity & Organizing Professionals, says that color-coding your hangers can be a helpful closet organization hack. By using different colors for different clothing categories, you'll be able to easily hone in on the garments you're searching for.
This multi-color set on Amazon is a great option — it comes with 30 hangers in five different colors, which feature various nooks and hooks to ensure garments won't slip off the hangers.
Take Advantage of Your Top Shelf
To keep your shelves organized, consider adding dividers for your belongings to nestle between. In doing so, you'll create set boundaries for categories, which will keep your top shelves (and any others you might have) from becoming cluttered messes.
Clear dividers work best, as they keep things separated and organized while still allowing you to see everything you have.
Hang Your Pants
It’s typical to fold pants and pile them into a drawer, but Wahl suggests storing jeans on hangers because it takes up less room.
“The most space-saving method for hanging jeans is to clip them by the waistband like a skirt. This does require a taller space, like a long hang area where most people would store dresses and coats,” she says. “I also like to fold jeans and file them vertically in drawers or stack them on shelves using simple shelf dividers to keep the piles neat."
Leverage Clever Hangers
If you're working with limited space in your closet, vertical hangers can be a godsend. This set comes with eight — each of which accommodates five regular hangers. The beauty of this design is that it can be hung traditionally or suspended from a single hanger, saving ample space in the process.
Pro tip: These hangers are also fabulous for travel. After hanging up everything you hope to pack, unhook the vertical hanger to lay your clothes flat into your luggage, tuck in the ends, and you're good to go. When you arrive at your destination, you can pull the pre-assembled hanger out of your bag and transfer it directly to the closet.
Add Some Drawers
While most closets are outfitted with rods to hang clothes, sometimes the open area underneath goes underutilized. Consider adding drawers to have contained spaces for the odds and ends that don’t quite fit in your dresser drawers.
Before you make a selection, take inventory of what those odds and ends are so you know the drawer sizes suitable for those items.
Organize Your Undergarments
On the topic of drawers, don't forget to organize your unmentionables.
Drawer storage boxes are perfect for containing bras, underwear, tights, camisoles, and more. Made of nylon mesh, they’re soft, flexible, and lightweight. You can also wash them in a washing machine when dusty. This set comes with a six-compartment box, a seven-compartment box, and an 11-compartment box.
Light Things Up
One thing that’s sometimes ignored when creating a tidy closet is lighting. “Be sure to have daylight light bulbs in your closet,” says Colleen Lunsford, a closet organization expert and image consultant with House of Colour. “This will help to see the true color of items of clothing, and determine if the style and color match other pieces in your wardrobe.”
These automatic, motion sensor lights are great for closets, as they are wireless and rechargeable.
Don't Forget About Your Accessories
Another category you don't want to overlook while organizing your closet? Your hair accessories. Instead of tossing all your headbands into a bin and forgetting they exist, opt for one of these wildly popular acrylic headband holders from The Home Edit's collection at Walmart.
Put Purses Where You Can See Them
This acrylic handbag organizer will display and hold your smaller clutches and bags neatly in your closet. Each comes with four sections, so buy as many as you need to showcase your favorites. Only ideal for clutches, wallets, and small shoulder bags, you will want to consider hooks or bins for your larger handbags and backpacks.
Hang Your Handbags
These simple S hooks are the solution to storing your prized purse possessions. Made of chrome metal, its twisted design utilizes the top part of the hook to hang on a rod, while the bottom part will hold your precious bags.
Utilize Hangers With Tiers
Hangers with tiers easily stack your clothing items while hanging on your rod. “One of my favorite closet organizing hacks is using tiered hangers for hanging pants,” explains Andre Kazimierski, CEO of home service business Improovy. “Instead of individually hanging each pair of pants on a separate hanger, you save room by hanging them in the space of one. It’s a great design for cramped and spacious closets alike.”
Don't Underestimate Hooks
Let's be honest, some items are worn more frequently than others. Whether it's a robe, jacket, ball cap, or purse, over-the-door waterfall hooks can keep your favorite daily items vertically organized for easy access so you don't have to go digging through your closet to find them. Plus, they also make good use of otherwise unused door space.
Rebecca Ravee Norris is a freelance writer with a decade's worth of lifestyle media experience. Based out of the Washington metropolitan area, she covers everything from beauty and wellness to style and celebrity news. She is a graduate of George Mason University and has a B.A. in Media: Production, Consumption, and Critique, along with a minor in Electronic Journalism. When she's not writing, she can be found with her beloved Jack-Chi, Cash, working through reps at the gym, dreaming up her next home decor project, testing a new recipe, getting lost in the pages of a book, or catching up on her favorite shows.
Karla Pope is a longtime writer, editor and blogger with nearly two decades of editorial experience. She’s written for a variety of outlets including Good Housekeeping, Woman’s Day, People, Parade, BET.com. WebMD and more. Her coverage includes entertainment, beauty, lifestyle, parenting and fashion content. If she's not exploring New York City with her two young children, you can find her curled up on the couch watching a documentary and eating gummy bears.
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