The bed is made, the kitchen is clean, the bathroom sparkles, and yet the space you have to see every morning and night is overflowing. Your closet is that hidden nook of your home where all your favorite wardrobe pieces and memories are stored. From that dress you wore when you met your partner for the first time, to your favorite jeans that saw you all through your 20s. Clothes hold memories, but it’s hard to appreciate them when everything is heaped on top of each other with no rhyme or reason. Which is why we’ve pulled together the best tips for optimizing your closet for those of us on a budget.
Benefits of Optimizing Closet Space
- Find that missing black tee. It’s no wonder your go-tos always go missing when your clothes are crammed together. When you optimize your closet space, you’re also organizing it.
- Fit more in, with less. When you get organized, you’ll also be able to fold, hang, and place more items in your closet. Meaning that you can finally lose the using-the-oven-as-storage tactic that so many of us city dwellers have come to embrace.
- Create boundaries with your partner. Many closets are made with one person in mind, which is why when you’re sharing with your partner, it could seem especially stressful trying to find your own items in a small, overstuffed space.
- Feel relaxed. When you’re able to wake up in the morning and find exactly what you’re looking for, you’d be surprised how calm your morning can be– and to think, all that potential lies in the clothes you already have.
Step 1: Pack Away Off-Season Clothes.
It’s rather unlikely that you’re going to wear that heavy-knitted sweater on hot days or that romper in the winter. The first step in optimizing closet space is hiding away all of the things you don’t need.
Step 2: Work with what you have.
Now, consider the clothing that you have, the categories, and what organizational pattern would spark joy. Our suggestion is to break your items into two categories: things to hang and things to fold.
Things to hang:
- Garments that crease easily or risk destruction via snagging. This includes all those lovely slips, mesh, and lace.
- Garments that will lose their structure. This includes anything pleated or with gentle folds.
- Garments too long to fold. Much like a fitted sheet, some items are just too difficult to fold. In this category, we have maxi dresses and jumpsuits.
- Garment sets you want to be able to wear again and again. This includes those pant/top combos you find yourself revolving towards each and every morning– because it makes you feel and look good.
When working with things to hang (i.e. the second step of optimizing your space), we highly suggest elevating your routine with our functional hanger for long dresses. This allows you to hang all your favorite things while taking up a third of the space.
FAQ about the Cove Long Garment Hanger
Can I use the Hanger for anything or only a long garment?
Of course! We suggest hanging heavily-loved sets together that you wear again and again. This is an especially good tactic if you love a good capsule wardrobe. Consider hanging your perfectly-comfortable jeans and ultra-soft sweater together for an easy go-to outfit.
Will this make my closet bulky?
No! That’s the great part, our hanger for long dresses won’t take up much more space than any traditional hanger, and the space it does take saves on the bottom part of your closet, so you never lose any space.
Is it unisex?
It’s a hanger! Of course, it’s unisex. It can and should be used by any gender for any purpose they see fit– if you feel the need to hang your sweatpants, so be it! We’ve already heard from some super fans that it is a total game changer for men’s kurtas!!
Things to Fold:
Now that you’ve figured out what seasonal items you’re packing away, and what you’re hanging, you can fold the rest of it. We suggest folding your sweaters, jeans, t-shirts, and gym clothes. Here are our best budget-friendly items to optimize your closet.
- Buy wire baskets. Use these baskets as an aesthetic and organized way to separate your sweaters, bags, and accessories while storing them all on the top shelf.
- Consider undershelf baskets (or this one). Undershelf organization units allow you to occupy the space forgotten between the top shelf and your hanging garments. We suggest using this space for accessories– bags, belts, and more.
- Don’t forget these hanging canvas shelves. We love these shelves because not only are they non-permanent (just hang it from the rod!) but they allow for six separate sections for easy organization.
Step 3: Remember Forgotten Space
Use the door.
- Find a place for your bags. This behind-the-door organizational rack allows you to hang all your favorite bags without having them take up any limited closet space. The best part? It is extremely versatile and can be used for more than just bags (thinks totes, ties, jewelry, etc.).
- Hang metal baskets. This product is ideal for your socks (keep them all together for once) or for accessories like ties, tights, belts, and more.
- Buy a shoe hanger to keep all your flats, heels, and sneakers right in eyesight.
Use the floor.
- Consider shoe cases. Nothing is worse than rifling through all of your opaque shoe boxes, or only being able to find one shoe. Keep it all organized (and out of sight) with this stacked shoe case that lets you see everything without tripping over any of it.
Step 4: Take it OUTSIDE of the closet
Sometimes there is only so much you can do with your closet space– especially in small city apartments that barely have enough room for your bed, let alone a decently sized closet. Here are our favorite products for taking things outside of the closet.
- Buy a Rack– Embody those studio apartment vibes by bringing a rack into your bedroom. Our favorite is this one or this one. The benefit of these is they allow you to keep your eye on everything and push you to stay organized. The downside is you can keep an eye on everything and some of us don’t want to be staring at our clothes all day long.
- Buy an Armoire– If Bridgerton can make Victorian England have its comeback, then armoires deserve their moment too. Unlike the rack, an armoire allows you to store all of your garments outside of your closet, without having to actually look at them. You could also use the top as a makeshift vanity for all your makeup and jewelry. The downside is that these work primarily for folded clothing.
- Look Under the Bed– This is a fabulous option for your seasonal clothing. Invest in some boxes (to avoid all that dust accumulation), and neatly pack away your sweaters and snow pants, or rompers and bikinis until the time for them comes again. The downside? You may forget about all your favorite things.
Summary
- Benefits of optimizing your closet space include: finding all your things, keeping it organized, fitting in more items, creating boundaries with your partner, and feeling more relaxed.
- The first step is to get rid of all the clothing you don’t wear– either by donating it or packing away seasonal items.
- The second step is to hang all of your favorite items, then fold up anything remaining.
- Remember to use the floor, the top shelf, and the door when re-organizing your closet and considering the big picture.
- Finally, take anything left and create a nook of space outside of your closet for all your favorite things.
