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“Life can get messy, but your closet doesn’t have to be,” says Shira Gill, professional organizer and author of Minimalista. Small closet ideas can greatly impact storage solutions—especially if you’re looking for a budget-friendly option.
Think of your small closet design as a makeover that takes something standard and transforms it into a custom closet. Interior designer Ghislaine Viñas likes to add lovely details to these oft forgotten spaces. “Painting the interior of a closet a fresh color adds an extra flair and happiness to a room,” she says. “If there’s no wallpaper in a room, you can wallpaper inside a closet to create a fun effect.”
DIY expert Emily Rayna echoes this sentiment, encouraging people to use peel-and-stick wallpaper in a closet space that lacks personality. “The whole point of home decor is to build confidence,” says Rayna, who just released a new mood-boosting collection with RoomMates.
Here, experts offer actionable tactics and hacks for finding order, decluttering, and other small closet ideas, even in the most space-challenged nooks.
Editing your small closet is the name of the game here. “Your space should dictate your inventory,” says Pamela Meluskey, cofounder of home organizing company Settled, along with Larisa Bright. “Aim to keep your space 80% full.”
Paring down the volume of what you own is the easiest way to create more shelf space in your closet instantly. To save space, reduce the clothing volume so you have less to maintain. “Every time a new item enters your closet, a similar item should be donated,” Gill says. “Keep a basket or tote bag in your closet for storing donations as they arise.”
Other small closet organization ideas? take into account what kind of clothes you want to store. “If you wear dresses and long skirts, you definitely want as much hanging room as possible,” Viñas suggests. However, shirts and pants only need enough space so they can be folded—typically around 16 inches, so 18-inch-wide shelves in the middle of the small closet will suffice. Adding adjustable rods on either side should give you hanging space for both long and short items in your wardrobe. If possible, make the width of the closet doors the same size as the actual closet. Skip the cubbies on the left or right side of the closet. “They are awkward and not practical,” Viñas adds.
Set aside some time—perhaps a whole day—and start with a clean slate to make the most of the budget for your small closet.
Step 1: Take everything out—clear every top shelf too. “Any organizing project needs to start with editing,” says The Container Store brand ambassador Amanda Hendrix of Love & Renovations. “It’s a tedious process, but it’s the best method. Not only that, it can save you some room in the budget as you won’t be shopping for containers to organize things you don’t need.”
Step 2: Measure the empty closet space and identify the right layout for your items once you decluttered. “Working with your existing closet system and shelves,” Hendrix says. “I love these hanger connectors to help save space in a coat closet.”
Step 3: “Clear containers are often the most affordable,” Rayna adds. “Reduce visual clutter by covering these with peel-and-stick wallpaper to hide the product inside and make a small closet appear more uniform and organized.”
You can also look for a designated closet system or make your own DIY closet design. Brackets and wood planks can transform into shoe shelves. Other storage solutions can be found around your house. You can even use Amazon boxes to create your own closet storage. (If you don’t like the brown boxes, spray paint them or also apply peel-and-stick wallpaper to the exterior.)
Meluskey and Bright advocate for products that stack or freestanding drawer units that can be placed in the closet. Gill also stresses the benefits of vertical space: “Extra shelves can be used to store folded sweaters, jeans, structured handbags, or rows of shoes. You can DIY it by adding additional rods or shelves or by contracting with a specialized service such as The Container Store’s Elfa System or California Closets.”
Then stock up on the extra details that make all the difference. “My go-to products for any closet makeover are uniform wooden hangers, sturdy hooks, shelf dividers, and labeled stylish bins or baskets for storing seasonal items and accessories,” Gill says. “Keep it simple and focus on quality over quantity.” Here, a few more hacks to help you remodel:
“Adding shelves above hanging rods in a small closet will make you feel like you hit the storage jackpot,” says Ann Arbor, Michigan—based Krista Nye Nicholas, principal designer and partner at Cloth & Kind. “The additional surface [over the closet rod] can easily accommodate anything from folded clothes to small baskets to shoes.”
To further up the ante and bring your small closet ideas to life, create peek-a-boo moments for unexpected pops of pattern and color. “Wallpapering a child’s closet is an ideal space to do this,” says Nye Nicholas, nothing that it’s something that a kid won’t necessarily grow out of and an easy swap in a small space.
You can organize a small closet with custom cubbies and a vibrant pop of color on the inside. Viñas introduced a bedroom closet where there was none. The built-in added extra storage in a secret way since it was hidden in the architectural details. “The room feels seamless and is not interrupted by closet doors,” Viñas says. “The trim is carried throughout the bottom of the space with the wallpaper above it. It’s a sneaky way of hiding the closet and providing uniformity to a small room.”
Utilize closet shelving in a way that designates a special spot for your accessories. Your small closet is a perfect spot for teeny bins that hold hair accouterments. Hilary Matt Interiors takes a bedroom closet and transforms it into a hair styling enclave with dividers that keep it all decluttered.
Meluskey and Bright take a strategic approach to effectively making the most of teeny spaces. The duo believes that categories are the backbone of closet organization. “Audit your inventory and be thoughtful and thorough as you jot down the categories that make sense for you,” Meluskey says. “Let your inventory dictate the categories.” Bright also stresses that an entire category (swimwear and coverups or athletic wear) should stay in one spot. “Plan your closet layout around where the entire category can fit,” Bright adds.
According to Gill, laying out the closet according to how often you use items makes it easier to get dressed each day. “Set up everyday essentials front and center for easy access, and put formal, seasonal, and occasional items in the very back, up on a top shelf, or relocate to another storage area in your home,” she says. “You may also choose to organize and arrange hanging items by type, style, and color.” Storage bins are particularly handy here.
Organizing a closet can feel daunting, but the key is tackling the process in an orderly fashion. Gill believes in a five-step process: clarify, edit, organize, elevate, and maintain. “Before you dive into the hands-on work of organizing your space,” she says, “it helps to ask yourself a few clarifying questions: How do I want my space to look, feel, and function? Which items do I need frequent and easy access to?” Once you narrow it down, think of storage ideas that elevate your small closet. Open Spaces storage bins have the option of wooden lids, so you can stack these together to make the most of your vertical space, for instance.
“No wire hangers…ever” is not just a chilling line from an iconic scene in Mommie Dearest, but it’s also an essential rule for an organized closet, according to our experts. “You can instantly improve the look and feel of your closet just by swapping out your mismatched hangers with a nice matching set,” Gill says. “Slimline hangers are a small closet’s best friend because they maximize space and prevent slipping. Group your hanging items by both type and usage so you can easily find what you need at a glance.” For a more modern look that holds strappy clothing and heavy jackets, the neon-hued translucent hangers by Staff will add extra pep to your small closet design—especially one filled with drab seasonal items like black coats.
Bright says, “You’d be shocked at the visual and functional impact streamlined hangers make. It helps create a clean slate to let your clothing really pop.”
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