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A clean and organised closet is one of the best feelings but keeping it that way can be a hassle. 

No one wants to spend time every week cleaning or reorganising, so how do you maintain order when you are constantly pulling clothes in and out?

We have created this guide with 18 (simple) steps on how to organise your closet with ease. 

If organising your closet seems like a difficult or daunting task, then this guide is for you. 

Step #1: Declutter Your Clothes

Deciding how to organise your wardrobe can seem like an intimidating task. 

However, it’s important to routinely go through your closet to make room for new styles and discard things that are taking up space. 

Reference our previous article on how to downsize your wardrobe for some tips on clearing out your closet. 

You will want to make sure to do the following:

  • Store seasonal clothing 
  • Get rid of clothes that don’t fit or you don’t wear 
  • Sell clothes or give them away to charity 
  • Get rid of clothes that don’t add value to your life   

Dedicate one day to pull everything out of your closet to get a clearer picture of what you have. Sort your items into 3 different piles: keep, give away, maybe. 

Limit the amount of clothes you put in your maybe pile as these will be the first clothes you look to get rid of the next time you declutter your wardrobe. 

Once you can minimise the amount of items in your closet, it will make it easier to organise everything else.

Step #2: Use Space Saving Hangers

Take advantage of space saving hangers to maximise the space in your closet. Instead of hanging one shirt or garment on a hanger, you can hang up to six with this unit. 

Doing this will free up ample amount of space in your closet. 

This is a great small closet idea if you don’t have much room to hang your clothes. 

You can also use the space saving hangers for ties, pants, and dresses to clear out room in your drawers or on shelves. 

Author’s Tip: Buy a couple different hangers to help you organise your closet. Use certain hangers for different clothing to create a visual separation of your different items.  

It will then help you find things more quickly and become easier when deciding what to wear.

Category: Closet Organiser

Ideal for: Closets With Limited Hanging Space

Price: £10.99

Website: H&S Alliance UK Ltd at Amazon

Step #3: Organise With Shelf Dividers 

Sometimes your closet becomes a storage unit for random belongings, especially if you have shelves and no other storing options in your home. 

Upgrade your closet storage system and have a place that all your different items belong.

Separate the bulkier clothing you might have like shoes or winter coats, so they don’t take up unnecessary hanging space. 

This would also work for storing seasonal clothing that you don’t use for months out of the year. 

Shelf Dividers.

Photo by Vladimir Mokry on Unsplash

There are a variety of different options you have when choosing a shelf divider. 

You can have baskets, added shelves, or this divider (above) that helps distribute your belongings in a simple manner. 

It’s easy to visually see where things are and helps organise your clothes on shelves. 

Category: Closet Shelf Organiser

Ideal for: Closet with Shelves 

Price: £13.40

Website:  Amazon.co.uk

Step #4: Store Shoes Behind the Door

Organise shoes in your closet by utilising the back of your door for storage space. 

Most shoe racks hang conveniently over the back of your door and can save space on your shelves and closet floor. 

We recommend using this hanging shoe organiser for your space saving needs as well as helping with your closet organisation. 

The shoe pocket organiser can also be used as storage for your other accessories like jewelry, cosmetics, and hair tools. 

Get creative and use the multiple pockets to your benefit. 

However, before you start organising we recommend you downsize your shoe collection. 

Throw out old pairs, donate the ones you don’t use, and keep the ones you constantly wear. 

You will have less to store so they will take up less space.

Category: Shoe Organiser

Ideal for: Any Closet

Price: £29.99

Website: Wayfair.co.uk

Step #5: Use Baskets For Storage

When you think about how to organise your small closet, baskets are probably one of the first things to come to mind. 

Fill in empty space with baskets to increase your storage and make it look clean. 

Baskets are generally affordable, come in many sizes, and don’t take up too much room. 

  • Use larger baskets for your bulkier items like coats, shoes, and boots. 
  • Use smaller baskets for jewelry, belts, socks, and bathing suits. 
Baskets for storage.

Photo by Clem Onojeghuo on Unsplash

Use these baskets to help put some order in your closet and have a spot for all your different items. 

Place labels on the outside of the baskets to save time by not having to sort through several baskets each time something is needed.  

Category: Closet Organiser

Ideal for: Small Closets with Limited Space

Price: £22.50

Website: TheHoldingCompany.co.uk

Step #6: Hang Your Rod Higher 

Figuring out how to organise clothes just got easier by simply raising your closet rod.

Make use of your floor space for your next small closet organisation ideas. 

When you hang your rod higher, it gives you more room to store things underneath your clothes.

Hang Closet Rod High.

Photo by chuttersnap on Unsplash

Store your laundry basket, storage baskets, or add shelves to arrange your belongings below your hanging clothes. 

This tip also allows your long dresses and coats to be able to fully hang without touching the floor.  

Step #7: Stack T-Shirts Upright 

Place your clothes as shown below rather than stacking them on top of each other to organise your closet drawers and help you save space. 

Instead of creasing shirts to be flat and stacking them on top of each other, stack them in a way that they are able to stand vertically. 

Once you have them folded this way they can stand in rows from the back to the front of the drawers. 

Now you don’t have to dig through your drawers to find what you are looking for. 

You can look inside the drawer and see all your options at once. 

This was made popular most recently by Marie Kondo for the time and space-saving strategy it provides.  

All your belongings should have their designated spot and folding them vertically gives you this opportunity.

This strategy can also be beneficial for your other items like pants and sweaters to help save as much space as possible. 

Step #8: Utilise Empty Wall Space for Jewelry and Accessories 

Another great closet organisation idea is to make use of the empty wall space you might have in your closet. 

It’s easy to install and will make a lasting impact with your closet design. You can choose to install hooks on your own or purchase wall hanging units to spice up your blank wall. 

You can get creative with this part and use this as an opportunity to add a design element to your closet. 

We recommend buying this wall mounted jewellery holder to hang your accessories and as a bonus, it even comes with a small mounted mirror.  

Hang your jewelry conveniently in front of you so you can grab and go instead of digging through your jewelry box to find the one you are looking for.

Category: Closet Organiser

Ideal for: Closets With An Empty Wall

Price: £28.99

Website: Wayfair.co.uk

Step #9: Organise Clothes By Colour

Organise shirts, pants, skirts and other clothing items by colour to help you find items quickly. 

This helps when you are trying to coordinate your outfits, to be able to find certain clothes right away. 

It could also be a benefit to see your clothes grouped this way to see which items you have a lot of that could be given away/sold. 

When you set up your closet like this, you can see clearly what items you have in each colour. 

Not only is it visually appealing but it also prevents you from buying more items in a certain colour that you already have a lot of.

Step #10: Hanging Closet Organiser

Sometimes you might not have the space to hang all your clothes in your closet. 

This hanging closet organiser can alleviate that worry by creating vertical storage for your wardrobe, within your closet. 

Hanging Closet Organizer.

Photo by Jamesthethomas5 on Unsplash

This practical hanging storage can be used for a variety of different things such as your shirts, pants, belts, hats purses, shoes, and accessories. 

If you don’t have the space to hang all your belongings, this is the next best option. 

The benefit of having six compartments is you can use each one to store a different type of wardrobe item. 

This will help you visually see what you have, without taking up so much hanging space within your closet. 

You can also find a hanging unit with a basket on one shelf or place a small basket inside to discreetly put away some items.

Category: Closet Organiser

Ideal for: Any Closet

Price: £18.99

Website: Wayfair.co.uk

Step #11: Hang a Curtain

If your bedroom does not have a closet, you can create one by simply adding a curtain. 

This allows you the freedom to take up as much or as little of the room, with closet space, as you would like.

Curtain for Bedroom.

Photo by DJ Paine on Unsplash

If your bedroom does not have a closet, you can create one by simply adding a curtain. 

This allows you the freedom to take up as much or as little of the room, with closet space, as you would like.

Celebrities pay a lot of money for custom closets but you can create your own version without breaking the bank. 

If you choose to splurge on a nicer curtain and some furniture to accessorise the space, you can create the ultimate walk in closet on a budget. 

If you have an open space closet in your room already, adding a curtain can help separate the room and create privacy if you don’t want guests seeing the contents inside (or the mess if you haven’t organised yet.)

Category: DIY Closet

Ideal for: Room Without A Closet

Price: £24.46

Website: 247 Curtains

Step #12: Add a Bar

Typically closets have one bar per wall, maybe with a shelf above them but you don’t need to limit your closet storage with a lack of creativity. 

Spacious Man's Closet With Bar.

Photo by Roberto Nickson on Unsplash

Simply adding a bar can double your storage space.

If you are able to move the first bar upwards, that is ideal but even if you can’t move the original bar, adding a bar toward the bottom is a great closet organiser. 

As the season’s change and your clothing needs vary you can rotate which clothes are on the top and bottom bars.

Store the clothes you are wearing most often for that time of year on whichever bar is easier for you to access each day. 

This allows you to have storage and visibility for your other clothes without them being in the way.

Category: Closet Organiser

Ideal for: Closets With Limited Hanging Space

Price: £21.99

Website: Wayfair

Step #13: Decorate Your Closet

Adding a small piece of art or a medium-sized mirror can help bring your closet to life. 

The addition of a mirror is an old trick for how to make a small closet bigger.

Young Man's Closet.

Photo by Alexandru Acea on Unsplash

The mirror will open up the space, giving you the illusion of more room. 

It is also a great addition to your morning routine, giving you another option of where to get ready.

Decorating the area with art, bright colours or wallpaper is another way to make the room feel more welcoming and alive. 

Avoid bulky or fluffy items that will take up precious space and collect dust, leaving your clothes feeling musty.

Category: Closet Accessory

Ideal for: Small Closet Space

Price: £19

Website: Ikea

Step #14: “One In, One Out” Rule

Another closet organisation tip that you can use for your own closet is the “one in, one out” rule. 

This will be very beneficial in keeping your closet space as organised as possible. 

Organise Clothing By Managing Intake.

Photo by Charles ?? on Unsplash

The rules are simple, if you buy a new pair of boots for the winter season then you get rid of an old pair of boots/shoes so you can replace the items in the closet. 

If you buy a new shirt, you either donate or sell one of your older shirts that you don’t wear as often. 

This helps you keep a balance within your closet. 

Once you have all your belongings in their designated spot, it makes it easier to stay in order. 

Step #15: Closet Shelving

If you don’t already have shelves installed in your closet, they can be a great investment to help you stay organised. 

Shelves can help you sort your belongings to eliminate clutter within your closet. 

Try different folding or rolling techniques with your clothes to see which way allows the most storage, while still being able to see the items you are selecting. 

We mentioned this a little more in Step #7.

Shelves may not be the most groundbreaking of closet ideas but they have advanced like everything else we use. 

There are removable, foldable and rolling shelves, plus any other customization you can think of.

Category: Closet Organiser

Ideal for: Small Closets

Price: £104.99

Website: Wayfair

Step #16: Pull Out Trouser Rack

A pull out trouser rack might be a bit unconventional way of thinking about how to organise your clothes but it can be a great idea to save space and organise pants in the closet. 

Free up some hangers and hanging room by adding a pull-out rack to your closet.

A trouser rack allows you plenty of space to store your clothing and the ability to pull it out makes everything easily accessible when you are looking for an outfit. 

Don’t limit yourself to only jeans here, store bulky sweaters, linens and other hangable items as well.

Category: Closet Organiser

Ideal for: Small Closets

Price: £25

Website: Ikea

Step #17: Use Space Saving Bags

Have you sorted and bagged your clothing only to struggle with how to organise the bags in your closet? 

If so, space-saving bags are a great organisational product. 

These bags allow you to place items inside and then roll or vacuum out the extra air. 

You will be surprised how small the bags can compress just by taking the air out, especially if you are storing clothing in them. 

Blankets or thick coats will still be somewhat bulky but space-saving bags help reduce the amount of room they will take up in a closet or other storage area.

Once the air is out you can stack them to store laying down or hang them back in your closet! Instead of puffy coats taking up half of your closet space, turn these space-saving bags into a hanging closet organiser.

Another great thing about these bags is that they are reusable so when you are ready to switch up your wardrobe, you can open up one of these bags, replace the clothing inside and then suck the air back out again. 

Some are even waterproof if you are storing them in an area that might be susceptible to damage.

Category: Closet Organiser

Ideal for: Small Closets

Price: £14.04 – 16.62

Website: AliExpress

Step #18: Find a Storage Company

Removal man holding a storage box and is ready to enter the house.

If you have gone through all of our closet organisation tips but still find that you have more items than you can store in your closet, look for a trusted storage company to keep the rest of your things.

There is long and short term storage available but if these are the items you have already gone through and have no intention of getting rid of, long term storage is most likely your best option. 

There are several benefits to long term storage if you find the right company.

At STORED, we offer both types of storage and can help you decide which is the right option for you. 

For additional help, we have created this guide for long term storage in London.

Storage costs, safety, insurance and more. You’ll find it ALL here. If you do have items to store, estimate the cost with our storage calculator.

Before You Go!

Don’t be overwhelmed by all of these closet organisation ideas.  

Start with one that stands out to you and see if it is successful or not.

If not, move on to another tip until you find the right one!

I hope that this guide helps you organise your closet and rediscover a small room in your home. 

Now it’s your turn:

Which one of these steps do you find to be most helpful? Do you have any other organising tips that didn’t make our list?

Either way, let me know by leaving a comment below!

Some additional resources you might find useful:

  1. 20 (Easy) Ways To Make Your Small Room Look Bigger
  2. How To Declutter Your Home: 21 Tips For Pro Organisers
  3. 26 Space Saving Furniture Ideas For Your (Small) House
  4. How to Organise Your Desk: 22 Tricks & Ideas (for 2022)

Stored is a new kind of storage company — Making storage as simple as it gets and making our customer’s lives easier is what we’re all about.

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