How to Organize a Small Closet

Co-authored by Julie Naylon

Last Updated: May 4, 2023 Approved

If your closet is notoriously small, you might find yourself wondering how to pack clothes and other items into that tiny space without turning the whole thing into a cluttered mess waiting to spill out as soon as the door opens. Organizing any closet starts by weeding through your belongings – but for small closets, you'll also want to make use of creative storage options to maximize the amount of usable space.

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Clearing Out Your Closet

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Julie Naylon
Professional Organizer

Expert Interview. 18 December 2019.} In order to get a good idea of just how much space your tiny closet has to offer, you need to remove anything and everything already stuffed inside. Doing so will also make it easier to sort through the items in your closet.
2
Sort through the contents. Sort through all your clothes, shoes, accessories, and anything else you may have been hiding in your closet.^{[2]
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Julie Naylon
Professional Organizer

Expert Interview. 18 December 2019.} Form three separate piles: things you need to keep, things you might need to keep, and things you can get rid of.
- Lay everything out on the floor or on your bed. This helps you better picture what you have so you can more easily identify what needs to go, as well as how you'll need to organize what's staying.
- Get rid of clothing that is damaged or clothes that no longer fit you. You should also get rid of clothes you no longer wear, even if they are in good shape.
- If you are not sure about whether or not you should keep an item, flag the item with a ribbon or marker. When you use the item, remove the flag. If that flag is still there the next time you organize your closet, however, get rid of the item. You can also turn the hanger backwards, then turn it back the right way once you wear it.
- Donate or discard items you do not need. Letting go of clothing and other items you no longer have a need for will free up more space in your small closet, thereby making the rest of your items easier to organize. Items that are in good shape should be donated, while items that are damaged should be discarded.
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Temporarily take seasonal items out of your closet. If you have a place for long-term storage, like an attic or trunk, remove most of your seasonal clothes and other seasonal items from your closet once they fall out of season.^{[3]
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Julie Naylon
Professional Organizer

Expert Interview. 18 December 2019.}
- For example, don't keep your Christmas items in your closet year-round. Instead, store them somewhere else so that you can use that valuable space for other items you'll use right now.^{[5]
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  Julie Naylon
  Professional Organizer
  
  Expert Interview. 18 December 2019.}
- If you have a garage, basement, or attic, you can store your seasonal items there.
- Make sure that your items are kept in plastic boxes with airtight lids to prevent damage from moisture or insects.
- If you do not have extra storage space outside of your closet, at least consider keeping seasonal items up high or in an area you will not be utilizing for items you need ready access to.
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Map out your space.^{[6]
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Expert Source

Julie Naylon
Professional Organizer

Expert Interview. 18 December 2019.} Before you begin putting everything back into your closet, measure the space. Taking precise measurements with a measuring tape can make it easier for you to determine how to best fit everything into the area.
- When picking out storage containers to use in your closet, measure them, as well. Doing so will help you calculate how many you can fit into the small space.
- It's also a good idea to think about what makes sense for your closet. If it's a small closet, it's unlikely you'll be able to store large items like skis or sports equipment. Similarly, you'll need to take careful measurements when trying to incorporate hanging storage, shoe racks, or similar organizational items, as they may not fit.
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Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Organizing the Contents

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Add adjustable shelves. Adding shelf space to your closet allows you to stack items more effectively, thereby letting you make use of the vertical space in your closet, as well as the horizontal space.
- You can use fixed shelves if you so desire, but adjustable shelves offer the added benefit of being easily altered if and when your needs change.
- If you'd like to store some items that won't fit on shelves, consider adding the shelves just on 1 side, only on the top, or solely on the bottom.
2
Use wicker baskets and small plastic bins or drawers. You can store smaller items in small containers like these and rest them on the shelves in your closest. Doing this makes it easier to access your items as you need them while also getting the most out of the space.
- If using wicker, opt for a linen or canvas lined basket, especially if storing items made from cloth. The lining should prevent your items from getting snagged or ripped.
- Clear bins are especially helpful because they allow you to see your items, making it easier to recall what is contained in each bin.
- If you end up using bins or storage containers that do not have see-through sides, you should label those containers so that you can remember what each one holds.
- Choose colored bins for added style or as part of your organizational strategy. For example, you could assign each family member a color so they can easily find their items.
3
Put a shoe rack in your closet. If you keep your shoes in your closet, keep them organized with a shoe rack that either sits on the floor or hangs from the closet rod. This will make better use of your space and help you keep your shoes more organized.^{[7]
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- You can use an actual shoe caddy, or you can buy stackable plastic shoe boxes. No matter what you use, the idea is to organize your shoes into pairs while minimizing the amount of space you use to do this.
- As with everything else, rotate your shoes according to the season. Bring boots toward the front during winter and sandals toward the front during summer.
If you have empty space inside the closet, just above the door, you can install hooks or pegs there and use the area to store suitcases or other hangable items you use infrequently.
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Place additional storage on the door itself. As long as there is space for it on the inside of the door, you can add hooks or bins to the inside of the door for extra storage space. You can use this space to hang small, flat objects like scarves, hats, or gloves.^{[8]
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- You can find pocketed hanging panels that hook onto the back of your closet door, which provide lots of extra storage for small items. They're great for items that you use often. Sometimes these are sold as shoe caddies, but they can be used with any small item.
- "Catch all" baskets also work well when attached to the inside door. You can place small items like handbags or scarves inside these baskets.
- When all else fails, you can at least add a hook to the back of the door. This hook can be used to store your everyday purse, your pajamas, your robe, or your outfit for the following day.
Installing a second rod halfway in between the floor and the original rod in your closet can allow you to make use of any empty space not taken up by a storage bin or other hanging clothes.
^{[9]
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Research source} A pegboard can be used to hang jewelry, sunglasses, or other accessories. Since these items are all fairly flat, you can store them on one of the side walls in your closet without taking up too much valuable or usable space.
8
Hang bags up. If you do not have much space for bins or other stackable storage containers, you could hang bags up and use those for storage purposes instead.
- Keep the contents of each bag unique and separate from the other bags. For instance, keep your underwear in one bag, your socks in another, hair accessories in another, and so on.
9
Use waterfall hangers to decrease the bulk. You can hang your shirts, scarves, and bags on waterfall hangers rather than regular hangers. These hangers layer the items downward so that they create less horizontal bulk. However, you'll still be able to see the items and easily access them for wear.
- You can find waterfall hangers at some home stores and online.
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Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Arranging Items Compactly

1
Use space bags. Space bags (also known as vacuum bags) allow you to organize clothes for long-term storage while minimizing the amount of empty air space those clothes take up. Place the folded clothes inside the space bag and use a vacuum hose to suck all the air out of the bag, leaving it as flat as possible.^{[10]
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- Most of these bags work with your own home vacuum cleaner, so there is no need to go out and buy a special machine.
- Another advantage offered by space bags is that they protect your clothes from mold, mildew, and insect infestations.
- This option is especially good for seasonal clothing, winter coats, blankets, and pillows.
- When you remove the items from storage, they should "fluff up" to their original thickness.
2
Replace your old hangers with tiered ones. Tiered hangers are essentially hangers with multiple hanging rods on them. They allow you to store more than one shirt or pair of pants on each hanger. As a result, you can use more empty vertical space in your closet.
- You can also use these hangers for items like scarves, belts, or bags.
- For added convenience, use hangers with grips or a cloth lining to prevent your clothing from sliding off.
- Create DIY tiered hangers, if necessary. You can place soda can tabs over the hanger hook and attach additional hooks through the second slot on the tab.^{[11]
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  Research source} Alternatively, you could also hang a heavy chain from the closet rod and insert the hook of each hanger through a link in the chain.^{[12]
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3
Choose a sorting system. For the sake of easy retrieval, you should organize your clothing by color and type. Organize the rest of the items in your closet by whatever sorting system seems the most reasonable. ^{[13]
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- Divide your clothes into as many different types as possible. Separate sweaters from sweatshirts, pants from skirts, and casual shirts from dressy shirts.
- Further divide your organization into color or material.^{[14]
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4
Keep items you use frequently at eye level.^{[15]
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Expert Source

Julie Naylon
Professional Organizer

Expert Interview. 18 December 2019.} Clothes and other items you plan to use most often should be front and center in your closet, while items you have less use for can be placed up high or on the floor. Consider which items you use frequently, then put those items within reach.
- For example, if you live in a rainy climate, you'd want to keep your umbrella in the front of the closet, not tucked in the back.
- Rotate these items as necessary. If, for instance, you store both long-sleeve and short-sleeve shirts in your closet, place the short-sleeve shirts up front during the warmer months but hide them away up high during the cooler months, when your long-sleeve shirts should shine.
- Take a step up. Do not forget about the space you have above your head. Even if you cannot readily access this space, you should grab a stepladder or stool and stack items you do not frequently use in that spot.
5
Hang scarves and ties flat against the wall. If you still have an empty side wall available for use, place a hook on the wall and hang up a tie hanger or other hanging device that can be used to hang ties, scarfs and other fairly flat accessories.^{[16]
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- You can create your own make-shift scarf or tie hanger by lining shower curtain rings along the bottom bar of a standard clothes hanger. Feed your scarves or ties through these rings, arranging them side by side along the bottom bar of the hanger, and hang the entire thing up on a hook on the side wall.
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Question

How do you organize a small room?

Katherine Tlapa
Interior Designer
Katherine Tlapa is an interior designer, currently working as a Design Specialist for Modsy, a design service based in San Francisco. She also runs her own DIY Home Design blog, My Eclectic Grace. She received her BFA in Interior Architecture from Ohio University in 2016.

Katherine Tlapa

Interior Designer

Expert Answer

Keeping the room clean and clutter-free is the first step. Having organizational tools is great - like bins, baskets, or a drawer for each item. Put things away where they belong and if there isn't a spot for something, ask yourself if you really need it.

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How do you organize shoes in a small closet?

Katherine Tlapa
Interior Designer
Katherine Tlapa is an interior designer, currently working as a Design Specialist for Modsy, a design service based in San Francisco. She also runs her own DIY Home Design blog, My Eclectic Grace. She received her BFA in Interior Architecture from Ohio University in 2016.

Katherine Tlapa

Interior Designer

Expert Answer

You can get a shelf system that utilizes the walls or depth of your closet. Stacking shoes vertically will give you the most space and you will still be able to see them clearly.

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How do I organize my clothes closet?

Katherine Tlapa
Interior Designer
Katherine Tlapa is an interior designer, currently working as a Design Specialist for Modsy, a design service based in San Francisco. She also runs her own DIY Home Design blog, My Eclectic Grace. She received her BFA in Interior Architecture from Ohio University in 2016.

Katherine Tlapa

Interior Designer

Expert Answer

Make sure everything has a place - neatly fold your clothes and categorize them by type or color. Be sure put things away when you're not using them. Put items that you don't use every day or that are out of season in a box or bin so that your current items can be front and center.

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Tips

You can hang a reusable bag around a hanger to place items such as hats, mittens, scarves, and other small items.

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Clean out your closet after every season. Get rid of items you don't need, then switch out your wardrobe to match the next season. Place items that are out-of-season in storage.

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