This is not a very exciting post, but I thought I’d share this with you, since I just cleaned out my closet for the 2nd or 3rd time since I’ve lived here. I moved in my house 4 years ago this month (time flies!!) and have had to declutter and clear out clothes time and time again. I’m finally learning to get rid of things that I don’t wear regularly and it feels good to donate things and get them out of my house.
My closet is not big, so it’s a constant effort to keep it organized and somewhat tidy.
My sister had mentioned that she had so much more room in her closet by switching to those metal and velvet hangers. You know the ones? I had bought white plastic hangers for my closet, so decided to take her lead and order some of these and discard the white plastic ones. They really do take up much less room and by getting rid of older clothes, my closet feels better than ever.
I searched online and found what I thought was a good price for packs of these hangers and ordered a total of 200. I used all but about 30 of them, so have extras now. I donated my old hangers to Goodwill. Here’s the ones I ordered in case you’re interested, this is an affiliate link:
This is not a big WOW closet makeover, because my closet is just not that kind of closet. It’s small and compact and barely a walk-in, but I’m happy to have the space.
This is an unedited view of what my closest had come to. I have to reorganize at least once a year, because I just can’t seem to keep it straight all the time, but I got all the hangers switched out and it feels really good again. When I moved in, there was one long bar across the top and two lower bars on each side, so I did some reconfiguring to give me room for shoe storage and scarves.
Clothes were hanging everywhere and it was time to get it straight again.
And here is the after, again it’s not a huge wow, but more decluttered now. I got rid of shoes, clothes, and changed out all the hangers to the new ones and they really do take up less space. I can’t do much else with my scarves, so they are layered on these hooks. That’s my makeup tackle box there which keeps it all in one place.
I hang all my sweaters together.
Added a basket for my bras to keep them better organized. My dirty clothes hamper is a fold up one in the corner. I grab it out and take it downstairs to wash clothes. Short sleeve tops are on the bottom. Sweaters and pants on the top row. I kept pants hangers for the pants and didn’t change them out.
I try to keep things color coordinated and hang jackets together on the top, with longer tunic tops. Long sleeve tops are on the bottom. I have lots of shoes and they won’t all fit in the shoe cubby, so some are stacked in boxes in the bottom of the closet.
Here’s a shot of the jewelry organizer I got from Wayfair a couple of years ago and it’s been such a workhorse to keep my jewelry organized, which I have way too much of. I really need to go through this again and discard some that I don’t wear often.
This one looks just like the one I have, that I love!
Wall Mount Jewelry armoire from Wayfair (affiliate link)
Not a really exciting post, but thought I’d share about changing out the hangers in case you need a little more room in your closet too. Is a closet ever big enough? I’ve seen some bloggers with huge enviable closets and I’m sure there are plenty out there that are super large and organized (I’ve seen them online!), but I’ve never had a really huge closet in my houses, so have to make due with what I have and keeping it decluttered and mostly organized really helps the process. Happy organizing! Are you doing any closet cleaning out these days?
- Rhoda
I bought the child’s size of the same hangers for my pants – they don’t slip off or stick out from the bar so far.
Great idea, Tara! I’m glad I finally made the change with these velvet hangers. I know it’s going to help my small closet.
Hi Rhoda….not an exciting post, but very interest. Where did you get your shoe organizer? Do you like it. I need one desperately and have been looking with no luck. Thank you!
HI, Maureen, you can find those at most home stores, like Home Depot or Lowes or Target has them too. I’m sure a search online would turn them up. They hold 25 pair and yes, I love having a shoe organizer. It helps a lot!
Those hangers are game changers. They create a ton more space, but also keep things from slipping off the hangers.
Hi Rhoda, for what it’s worth, you really should NOT hang your sweaters, as putting them on hangars stretches them out over time and causes them to become droopy in the shoulder area. Knits of any kind should be folded and laid flat. I have lots of sweaters, so in addition to putting some in my dresser, I also find the hanging sweater bins helpful. They hang vertically, so they don’t take up much space. I too have a small closet, so I appreciate space optimization. Just a thought!
I was thinking that too. I fold mine and pile them on the top (vinyl-coasted wire) shelf of my closet. Have to look into the hanging sweater bins.
*vinyl-coated
HI, Victoria, I have had a sweater bin before, but gave them up long ago. I don’t really have room in this closet for a long hanging sweater bin and I really don’t have a big problem with hangers making them stretch out. I’ve got a chest of drawers and a big armoire, but I keep my jeans folded in the armoire.
I was working on my closet today too! I have had Joy Mangano’s Huggable Hangers for years now and love them – you can put a wet, white shirt on a black hanger and the color won’t bleed. I have a large walk-in closet with a chest of drawers in it that holds underwear, socks, and pajamas. Shoes are sorted by summer and winter and live in baskets from Target – not sure if that will be a permanent solution. We just moved in in July. (Our home was finally re-built after the previous one was destroyed by fire – I know all about starting over from zero). Scarves are organized on a butterfly-shaped hanger, also by Joy and necklaces and bracelets hang from another Joy organizer. Earrings live in the shallow top drawer of my chest of drawers. Fall has hit here in New England so Summer clothes are now in a large bin in the far corner of my closet along with a box of Christmas presents to be wrapped. I am trying the Peter Walsh method of purging clothes – “do I love it, do I wear it, do I like how it looks on me?” Still a work-in-progress.
I have been doing the same in my sweater closet! I ordered the Luxury Living No Bump hangers from BED BATH & BEYOND for all my sweaters. The down side is they take up a little more space. These hangers got great reviews for NOT leaving those awful shoulder bumps, so I am hoping that holds true for mine! I am also in the process of purging the many sweaters I don’t wear , don’t fit well or are older & just hang in the back of the closet. It really is a wonderful feeling to clean out, pare down & reorganize.
I have also transferred all my other clothes to the thin velvet hangers and they were the best investment ever!
Do you have a dresser or chest with drawers somewhere you could put your sweaters? Sweaters take up a ton of room in a closet and hangers leave marks in sweaters. Also have you seen the “hangers” for scarves that have several different openings (holes) you put the scarf through? I have a ton of scarves, and all but a few (which are folded in a drawer) are kept on the scarf hangers. I have some of the drwers similar to yours in the back of our closet (4) and below that a unit that has shelves with doors. I like putting out of season shoes on those shelves so they don’t get dusty. We have shoe racks that were built in with our closet shelving also.
I’ll have to check out the hangers for scarves and get those better organized. I really don’t have a good place to fold up my sweaters, so I keep hanging them. I haven’t had a big problem with them stretching out in the shoulders.
Ikea has the scarf thingy that has multiple holes for scarves…and is very affordable.
Thank you for the post. I am always looking for organization ideas. Your closet looks great and I really enjoy your blog. You inspire me!
Thank you, Marie, I end up blogging what is going on in my life at the moment, so I am happy that it is of interest to my readers. I figure everyone deals with organization of small spaces!
I love the variations of your posts.
I keep meaning to ask if anyone else has had trouble the several weeks (months?) with the way blog is laid out now?
For me, everything is way over to the left with a huge white space in the middle and it makes it very difficult to read, and see the photographs.
I would love to see your closet, I know you have it looking great!
Hi, Tammy, are you running an ad blocker? That’s what is happening for those running an ad blocker on certain browsers. I think if you disable it, things should go back to normal.
I can recommend the scarf holders that have a number of holes in them to hang multiple scarfs. I got two “velvet” covered ones from Target last year and they keep my scarves nice and neat. I think each hanger has five holes; you could easily double up in each one if you needed to. You got good results Rhoda, I know how hard it is to re-org a closet.
THanks, Jan, I will be looking for those scarf hangers.
I am a scientist by training but an organizer in my heart. My friends think I should become a personal organizer! Anything you write, Rhoda, that involves organization gets my attention. The velvet hangers are da bomb! You can find big packs at TJMaxx, Ross, etc. I hang my sweaters too and have never had stretching problems…I’m tall and long waisted, so if they did stretch, all the better! Everything in my closet is sorted by color, then sleeve length. One space saving trick I found is to roll my dozens of scarves, then sort by color in a bin. I promise they do not wrinkle! And it saves a ton of room.
Hey, Roxanne, love the idea of rolling the scarves. I’ll have to work on that area of my closet.
Hi, I appreciate this post. Real life, a real closet. I am tired of seeing huge spaces, I just want real spaces, ideas for real life. thank you!!
Hi Rhoda, I am a constant closet organizer. My method is to hang items items by color and sleeve length and all items face the same direction. For instance black tshirts, first would be long sleeved turtle necks, then long sleeved scoop necks, next medium sleeves with collar, then scoop, next short sleeves by collar then scoop, finally sleeveless by collar then scoop. On to red, brown, etc. I then do the same with blouses. I have all slacks arranged on hangers with zippers facing in to the wall, then a rack for dresses, and another area for blazers and lightweight coats. Most of my sweaters are lightweight and they hang together in their own little area. Shoes are on a hanging wall rack and out of season shoes are in see thru boxes on shelves. It is important to hang clothes properly and possibly button the top button on blouses to keep them hanging properly. An organized closet makes for an easy begging of the day and I know you must be enjoying your new hangers.
Hi Jean, you and I have a lot in common when it comes to sleeve length, color etc. I must tell you that I even have the hangers in my laundry room hung by colors. I also like to put a yellow garment on a yellow hanger. Janet
Oh my goodness, now I will need to purchase colored hangers. Just adding to my OCD.
Great idea, Jean
Hi, Jean, you’re better organized than I am. I do separate by color and sleeve length, but keep them on opposite sides of the closet. Short sleeves on one side and long sleeves on the other. Kudos on a well organized closet!
Hi Rhoda,
Thanks for showing us the skeletons in your closet – how appropriate for Halloween! 🙂 I was wondering if you could replace the bi-fold doors with a regular door or maybe even two that open in the middle. That would give you room on the inside of the door to add an over the door hanger for your scarves and even longer jewelry that wouldn’t fit in your mirror/jewelry cabinet. BTW, love the jewelry cabinet – been wanting one for years.
Hi, Tanya, well I sort of like my old-school bi-fold doors and it’s such a small door space that it would feel sort of claustrophobic to try to put something on the door even if it was different. I am going to think on my scarves a bit more and come up with some ideas on getting them more organized.
You also need to keep in mind the space a regular door takes up in your room when it’s open. If you have a small room, the door might bump into a bed or other furniture. The bi-fold doors may be old school, but are very practical in small bedrooms.
I’m getting ready to move and I hope my closet in the master bedroom is big enough for one of those jewelry organizers. They are so nice. I feel like I don’t wear half of my jewelry because its too much trouble to pick through the jewelry box.
Love your blog style! A simple, real, down to earth, normal blog! Makes us all feel “normal” :). Can you handle another suggestion ? What about under the bed storage for your shoes(although,maybe it’s already full?). And, I can see those pretty scarves all rolled up in a pretty basket in your room, like a bouquet:)
HI, Mary, thank you so much, I do try to just stay normal with this blog, because that is who I am too. I have a sleigh bed, so no under bed storage there. I may be able to clean out those drawers in the closet and roll up my scarves there. That might work!
Loved this blog entry! Go, Rhoda!! I love to read anything about organization, because I’m weak in that area. Please do more of these!
I love seeing a real life closet. Thank you for this post! Just what I need to inspire me to do some “fall cleaning/organizing” of my own closet!
We just had the inside of our house painted. Looks great but things are still a mess. We have been straightening closets in other rooms before doing the season change for clothes. It has been amazing to find all the stuff I have stuffed in those closets. I am interested in those hangers. I wonder if your shoes stay in shape in those squares. Those are also an interest. I enjoy reading your blog since you seem to be a friend as well. Not that you would know me if you saw me!
Margaret, thank you, I feel like you all are friends too, even though I haven’t met most of you. I’m glad these sorts of topics are of interest, since they are everyday things.
I smiled when I read this post because I came home from work the other day and decided I needed to do this I hate this project. Thanks for the hangar idea.
Hi Everyone- I love scarves too. I like them so much I made a conscious decision to dedicate precious closet wall space to a double row of double hooks (like coat hooks but maybe not as a heavy duty). The door opens flat against the wall and there isn’t enough length (or depth) to put a shelf and hang clothes so a row of hooks on top and a second row halfway underneath did well there! And I can see all my scarves and keep them relatively neat and out of the way by hanging them in a row. Also, about boots- I love boots too but I hate the way they lean and flop over each other!!!! Well, homegoods sells boot “inserts”(I’m not sure what you call them) but they are plastic molded in the shape of the leg that insert into the calf length and keeps the boots standing tall while in storage!!
Thanks for sharing your tips! I use paper towel rolls inside my boots, that works pretty well too.
I saw a tip on Pinterest to use Pool Noodles to keep your boots upright – they work great, and you can cut the to size.
Great post and exciting to me as I love to see how you organize your closet!
You inspired me to go through my closet yesterday and find a set of eight bulky hangers that take up too much space. I washed them and tied them neatly together … and off to the Goodwill they went. This alone has added some well needed space to my coat closet.
And thank you for reminding us to donate our plastic and wood hangers to charity shops. Some shops don’t take them; I ask ahead and usually get the ok from Goodwill who sells them … and it is wonderful to keep items out of landfills and provide nice hangers to someone who needs them.
Yay, Lindy, I’m so glad you got inspired!!
Thank you for being “real” with us! Very refreshing! The hanger idea makes so much sense. I ,too, have a smaller closet and can’t wait to try you organizing tips! God bless! Jenny
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