Free up space, amp up the style, and reclaim your sanity with 21 clever ideas for making small closets big!
By Manasa Reddigari |
There is never enough storage space. Whether they live in a little cottage or a large estate, homeowners usually seem to moan about the closets—their disappointing scarcity and annoyingly small size. There’s no need to feel bad about it. But if you’re not ready to give up yet—if you still have a little fight left in you—don’t despair. Many individuals before you have faced closet conundrums and triumphed, sometimes via creative DIY hacks, sometimes through wise purchases, but always by making the most of every single square inch. Continue reading for the best small closet ideas from senior design gurus and the most space-savvy average Joes!
PUT IT ON YOUR TAB
Empty soda cans may take up space in the recycling bin, but in a cramped closet, they create more. How? By doubling the number of garments you can hang on one hanger. Simply pop the tab off the can and slip it around the hook of a hanger. You can then slip another hanger through the hole in the tab. Easy, effective and best of all, free.
OFF THE CHAIN
This homemade hanger hack may be the missing ‘link’ between you and a clutter-free closet. Here’s what to do: Spray-paint a foot-long plastic chain in any color you like, then attach the last link to a large S-hook. Fit the S-hook over the closet rod and finally—the coup de grace!—slip hangers hooks through each link in the chain. Smart, right?
STAND ALONE
Take your most frequently worn items out of the closet and store them out in the open, in a freestanding organizer like this one. Watching your spending? Don’t shop for one; make your own instead. There are options aplenty. You can even get creative. The clothes rack picture came together entirely with repurposed materials, including an old office cabinet.
SPLIT PERSONALITY
In a space-challenged closet, forgo a single, inefficient tension rod in favor of this double-duty DIY organizer. By reserving half the closet for a skinny shelf and the other half for two short rods, you’ll create ample room for garments that hang as well as space for shoes and folded clothing, while minimizing visual clutter.
STAGGERING GENIUS
It’s never too early to teach your little ones how to get organized. Easier said than done perhaps, but this simple idea certainly helps get the message across. What’s involved? Simply install a companion closet rod at a child-friendly height, both to let kids hang up their own clothes and also to give the closet a handy additional rung of hanging space.
SLIDE ON OVER
Escape clutter and invite rustic charm into your bedroom by eschewing a traditional out-swinging door in favor of one that slides back and forth. Barn doors are nothing new, of course, and there are many possible approaches, but one thing’s certain—there’s no better fix if your problem amounts to not being easily able to reach items toward the back or along the side of your closet.
FANCY FEET
For fashionable footwear display without the sticker shock, try this shoe rack on for size. It couldn’t be simpler: Just prop a sheet of sturdy wire mesh against the wall, then slip high heels in between the wires.
CUSTOM COMBO
Many homeowners who purchase a custom closet solution end up believing it was money well spent. Hiring professionals isn’t your only option, though. If you have the tools and experience, why not design and build your own? In fact, even for novice woodworkers, building out closet shelving and cubbies often makes for a satisfying project.
BEHIND BARS
Need a place to put bath linens? Try mounting multiple towel bars inside the door to the nearest closet. You can even add curtain rings to the towel rods if you need to store them, not towels and washcloths, but small, loose items like jewelry.
DIVIDE AND CONQUER
Successfully cramming more and more into a small closet isn’t the be all and end all. After all, to be truly satisfied with a closet, you need it to hold what you want, but you also need to be able to find what you need. Want to go the extra mile? Label shelves and cubbies to help make sure there’s a place for everything, and that everything stays in its place as time goes by.
ABOVE THE FOLD
Why is it so hard to keep clothes neatly folded on closet shelves? We may never know. But in the meantime, here’s a great way to reinstate order: set dividers at regular intervals along the full length of each shelf. That way, folded shirts, pants, and sweaters don’t revert to formless mounds of fabric that are a pain to sort and sift through.
MISTAKEN IDENTIFY
Bins and baskets are the go-to storage solutions for a small closet, but if they’re not properly marked, finding the item you want can be like looking for a needle in a haystack. Before stashing closed storage bins in a closet, be sure to attach plain or decorative labels to them for easy retrieval.
TIGHT CORNERS
For certain items, S-hooks are your best bet, and that’s especially true in closet corners too cramped to accommodate the fuller width of a traditional hanger. Here, S-hooks hang alongside wire hangers to keep purses, belts, and hats suspended within easy arm’s reach.
HANGING BY A THREAD
Are there homeless hats, scarves, and belts hanging over the backs of chairs throughout your house? Stop the madness! There’s a better way: Create an off-the-wall organizer to serve as the designated, permanent home for accessories. Your solution doesn’t need to be fancy. Look at this one: It’s nothing more than a hanger on a nail, embellished with homemade hooks.
TIES THAT BIND
A bare-bones wardrobe assistant like this one provides the perfect perch for neckties and similar items. Mount yours to a side wall in the closet, to the back of the closet door, or even in your bedroom dressing area. Making one involves nothing more than driving a series of nails into the surface of a painted-or-stained piece of scrap wood.
