19 Smart Ideas For Organizing Closet Chaos

Ideas For Organizing Closet Chaos

Are you looking for some simple ideas for organizing your closet? Few people are blessed with a large closet, much less a fancy walk-in one. Most of us have small closets in our homes, where we store our possessions.

It may seem like a small closet won’t have enough space for all your stuff — and it is often very challenging to keep it organized and clutter-free.

However, we can use organizational storage solutions to help keep our closet organized and maximize its true storage potential.

Follow along as we discuss some simple ideas for organising closet chaos and maximising every inch of space with these smart organization ideas.

1. Declutter

Take the time to declutter your wardrobe and remove items you no longer need or use.

While it’s easy to become attached to things we own, once you declutter, consider donating these items to your local thrift store, upcycle the clutter or sell them online to make some extra cash. Whichever you choose, removing items will free up space in the closet and provide you with a fresh start.

If you have a small wardrobe with limited space, keeping your closet free and clear of clutter is important. Decluttering helps you see what you have, assess it, and decide what to keep, purge and toss.

Small Closet Organization Ideas for a Clean and Clutter-Free Home - Declutter
Photo credit: Ron Lach.

2. Invest in Tiered Hangers

Tiered hangers will help your closet maximise its full space potential.

These space-saving items can help you to save hanging space in your closet. On a tiered hanger, you can combine multiple clothing of similar styles on a single hanger. This hanging storage works well for items such as skirts and blouses.

3. Install a Double Hanging Rail

Installing a double hanging rail in your wardrobe is one of the most straightforward ideas for organizing closet chaos. It’s an excellent way to maximize the space in a small closet. Double rods instantly add twice the space for hanging clothes and increase the closet’s storage.

Mount an extra rod a few feet from the existing rod and give your DIY closet enough room to hang shorter items like tops, folded pants, and skirts. This system works well in an adult’s and kid’s closet.

4. Matching Hangers

Coordinated hangers help to keep your wardrobe more streamlined and organized. They give the appearance of a much neater space and create a cohesive look in your wardrobe.

Whether it’s a velvet hanger, wooden hanger, or plastic hanger, having this type of coordination that allows clothing to be hung at the same height and width in the closet helps to boost the closet organization.

5. Use Wardrobe Storage Dividers

Wardrobe storage dividers can help you stay organized if your closet has shelves.

Instead of having your items jumbled together across the shelves, closet dividers help partition areas on the shelves to make room for specific categories of items.

You can now create smaller compartments on the shelves to store your folded blouses, t-shirts, and purses. If it’s a linen closet, then you now have room to separate your towels and linens in defined areas of the closet.

6. Utilise The Back of The Wardrobe Door

Take advantage of the underutilised space on the back of your wardrobe. doors and transform your closet with an over-the-door organizer.

You can use this smart storage for your accessories, medical supplies, and more. With this type of storage organizer, you can find what you are looking for right when needed, at an eye-view level.

7. Fold Your Items

Folding your clothes properly can eliminate creases and help to create a proper organisation system within the wardrobe.

Simply folding smaller items in your closet will give you easy access to your items and maximize space. Consider folding items such as tops, t-shirts, socks, bras, and underwear. Store and stack these items neatly on a shelf or drawer in the closet.

8. Maximise Vertical Space

One of the most underused ideas for organizing closet chaos is to use floating shelves. These are a great way to use the vertical space in your closet. Adding more shelves to a tiny wardrobe gives you more room to organize your folded items, shoes, or accessories.

9. Invest in Good Lighting

Proper lighting can make all the difference in how you see —and visualise— the items in your closet. From the colours to the style, invest in good lighting that will help you keep your closet mess-free and prevent you from rummaging through it because of inadequate lighting.

To add even more functionality to your wardrobe, illuminate the space with a new LED light fixture, puck lights, or a standing lamp.

10. Use Wall Mounted Hooks

Wall-mounted hooks on your bedroom —or closet —door can help keep items within reach and certain things off the floors. Wall-mounted hooks can give your hats, coats, scarves, and bags a place to live in the wardrobe.

You can add a wall-mounted rack with hooks or place a couple of hooks on the wall or door for easy access. No more wasted space on the walls in the closet. Time to get creative with optimizing your wall surfaces.

11. Categorise Clothing

Organise your clothing more effectively by using a category system. Group similar items together, such as sweaters with sweaters, shorts with shorts, dresses, jeans, and so on.

Segmenting clothing by category allows you to see what you have quickly and the best way to accommodate it.

12. Use Baskets and Bins to Organise Closet Chaos

Baskets and bins are so useful for helping to hide and reduce clutter. They provide a designated area for the undesignated items in your wardrobe.

Whether in a master bedroom or bathroom closet, you can add these storage containers on top of the closet shelves or the floor, giving you the perfect blend of functionality and style in your wardrobe.

IKEA, The Range, and B&M all have a vast selection of containers. Choose clear containers for smaller —or single— items for easy access.

Which brings me nicely on to…

13. Store Shoes in Clear Plastic Stackable Boxes

Opt for clear plastic stackable boxes to store your shoes. This way, you can see what shoes are in them without removing the items. A shoe organizer makes it easy to see and visualize your shoes while improving your shoe storage in a small space.

They have the added benefit of being able to stack them on top of each other to maximize space.

14. Organise Your Jewellery

Organise your jewellery by using a cabinet organiser or hanger. Some jewellery storage solutions fit seamlessly into a wardrobe, making space for your jewellery and other small accessories.

This closet organizer will take up wall space making room for untapped areas on the floor. You can keep your jewellery well organized, untangled, and easy to see.

Small Closet Organization Ideas for a Clean and Clutter-Free Home - Jewellery cabinet organiser
Photo Credit: The Listed Home.

15. Organise Your Drawers

Draw organisers, designed especially for smaller items, such as jewellery, socks, underwear, and other knick-knacks, create individual compartments in a drawer so that you can organize more efficiently.

This tool will arrange your beautiful mess cohesively, give everything a proper place and make everything much easier to see and find.

16. Create the Illusion of a Walk-in Wardrobe

Want a walk-in wardrobe but don’t have the space? You can create the illusion of one by adding a small dresser, chest, or cube storage unit to store your folded items and accessories.

Use a small dresser to add layers of drawer storage for things that need to be folded or tucked away.

Furniture in the closet works exceptionally well in a child’s bedroom, where their clothes may take up little space and are best folded.

Smart Ideas For Organizing Closet Chaos
Photo Credit: The Listed Home.

17. Seasonal Rotation

Seasonal rotation is one of the most useful ideas for organizing closet chaos. Packing bulky winter garments away in vacuum-compressed storage bags is an excellent way of doing this.

Place out-of-season items in bins or baskets and on the upper shelves. Equally, special occasion dresses can be hung on the farthest-to-reach area of the wardrobe. Or again, packed away in vacuum clothes bags.

Organize your closet based on the items that you frequently need or use. You want to be able to easily access the things in your closet without sifting through rarely used items.

Clothes frequently worn for work or school should be front and centre. Prioritizing items based on the frequency of use will improve the overall closet organization.

18. Label Your Items

This might sound obvious but labelling bags, boxes and bins helps maintain and sustain wardrobe organisation.

Label the items that are hard to reach on top shelves and items that are rarely used. This will significantly reduce your need to pull things down and forage through to find what you are looking for.

Although, for the hard-to-reach items, the next point will prove invaluable!

19. Keep a Step Ladder Close By

For those hard-to-reach areas in your wardrobe, have a step ladder handy to get to your items quickly.

Small step ladders are easy to tuck away or hang on a wall, so they only take up a little space. Plus it will allow you to reach those upper areas and higher shelves in the closet, without too much effort.

Smart Ideas For Organizing Closet Chaos

These organization tips and storage ideas are critical to a small, organized closet. Hopefully, you are now inspired to begin (or continue) your organizational journey.

While keeping your closet tidy will require ongoing effort, following these small wardrobe organisation ideas will help you increase closet efficiency and simplify your closet routine.

Smart Ideas For Organizing Closet Chaos
Image credit: Anastasia Shuraeva.
Tamara White
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Tamara White is the founder of The Thrifty Apartment, a home decor and DIY blog that focuses on affordable and budget-friendly home decorating ideas and projects. Tamara documents her home improvement journey, love of thrifting, tips for space optimization, and creating beautiful spaces.

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