50 Foolproof Closet Organization Ideas for Any Wardrobe

What’s scarier than a closet bogeyman? A closet clutterbug, of course! If your bedroom wardrobe is feeling extra spooky these days, look to these foolproof closet organization ideas and tips to create a clean, stylish, and functional haven for your clothes and accessories. For everything you need to know about how to organize a closet and get started on your own, keep reading.

But first, we know what you’re wondering: What is the best way to organize my closet? The answer is whatever works best for you. Successful closet organization typically goes like this: Get rid of clutter, build or install your chosen compartments or shelving, and create a specific space for each type of clothing and accessory. Like any organization project, the goal is to create a personalized but repeatable system that you can maintain over time.

Before we dive into our list, here are 10 clever closet organization tips from vlogger Shea Whitney to inspire you:

Top 50 Closet Organization Ideas

Now that you’re feeling inspired, here are our top 50 Closet Organization Ideas.

Any good list of closet organization ideas starts with a solid closet declutter — split your wardrobe into four piles: keep, donate, sell, and toss.

How to Declutter — the Best Way to Organize a Closet

Before you set out buying extra hangers, know that all the best ways to organize clothes in a closet start with decluttering. Once you’ve narrowed things down, you can take some of the bulk out of your closet by donating or selling certain items, storing them elsewhere in your home, or using a portable storage container. 

Declutter Your Clothing

The key to any home organization project is to downsize and declutter first. Think of it like pre-organizing for your organizing. A good decluttering cuts down on the number of items you have to find spots for, frees up new space for more important items, and helps you to put yourself in a new Zen-like state of mind for moving forward.

Here are a few ways to gain closet space and reduce clutter:

• Tackle big real-estate items first. If you have better space elsewhere, move things like vacuums, camping gear, and large suitcases to a guest bedroom, basement, hallway closet, or garage.
• Make four piles labeled “Keep,” “Donate,” “Sell,” and “Toss” to sort your existing closet items.
• Donate clothes, jewelry, and other accessories you haven’t worn in the last six months, and toss damaged or unusable items.
• For “Keep” items, divide further by seasonality. Unless you’re in the thick of fall festivities, Halloween costumes and winter gear should be stored elsewhere, for example.

Use Other Spaces in Your Home

It’s easy to assume a bedroom closet is your only option for storing clothes and shoes — and to forget how convenient it might be to utilize an office or guest room as a walk-in closet. Take a look at all available space and shelving in your home to assess your closet potential. Are you actually using your whole office for work, or could one of its corners be repurposed as a wardrobe? Would your bedroom feel more clean and relaxing if you took out your dresser and clothes rack? Something as simple as switching from a low bed frame to one 14 inches off the ground can create an additional 30+ square feet of underbed storage.

If you’ve implemented all of the closet organization ideas at your disposal and still don’t have enough space, consider storing some of your items with PODS.

Use On-Site Storage

Tackling a big declutter or organization project? You might need to upgrade your storage arsenal. Treat yourself to a portable storage container to help sort items without cluttering the rest of your house. It’s like having a magic closet catch-all right in your driveway! Storage containers can be delivered and picked up on your schedule, so you don’t have to be in any rush to make decisions. 

And the best part? Once you’ve figured out what stays and what goes, simply leave the things you want to store in your container, and PODS will pick it up and keep it at a local Storage Center for as long as you want.

Take Stock of Your Clothing

How do you design a closet layout? Well, the perfect closet layout depends on the wardrobe it’s trying to accommodate, so first you need to take stock of what you have. A giant shoe collection? Try floating shelves or an over-the-door organizer. A million sweaters? Use baskets and cloth storage cubes on the shelf above your closet rod or on the floor below. A bevy of handbags? Suspend them from some “S” hooks or display them on an étagère (read: open-back bookcase) out in your bedroom. Whatever you do, don’t try to make a closet system fit your wardrobe — design the layout around your wardrobe.

Know What to Fold and What to Hang

What clothes should go on shelves? Any clothing can go on a shelf, but not all pieces are best suited for folding. Pants are easy to fold and place on a shelf — especially denim jeans and spandex leggings — while your linen dresses and wrinkle-prone work shirts are best hung up instead. It may not matter much if your cotton gym T-shirts get some wrinkles, so you can fold those into a neat stack rather than allow them to take up precious hanger real estate. Besides that, your best bet is to fold wrinkle-free fabrics, like polyester, wool, spandex, denim, rayon, and cashmere, to name a few.

Put a Dresser Below Your Hanging Items

An extra clothing rack is one of the best ways to organize your closet — it’s a great place to keep your most-worn pieces, plan out an outfit, or just prevent your closet from getting too overstuffed.

Get an Extra Clothes Rack

If you’re working with a super small space or no closet at all, consider investing in a freestanding clothes rack. A tall closet system can be placed neatly in the corner of your bedroom or studio, while a shorter design can be placed under your closet rod to double up your existing closet space. If having a clothing rack in your bedroom makes the space feel too cluttered, consider getting a stylish folding room divider to block it from view.

Use Closet Dividers to Create Zones

Whether yours is an itty-bitty bedroom closet or a Mariah Carey-style walk-in, look to closet dividers as a cheap and versatile way to organize your clothes and accessories. If you’re wondering what order you should hang clothes in a closet, there’s no one right way. However, there should be some logic to how you hang them. Grouping your clothes in a way that makes sense to you is the best way to maintain your closet’s organization.

As you purchase or collect containers, rack tags, and shelf dividers, consider these closet organization ideas for your clothes:

Separate Your Clothes by Category 

Make getting dressed in the morning so much easier by putting your clothes into zones based on type of article: Group all your short-sleeve tops, long-sleeve blouses, dresses, and pants in their own sections, for example.

Organize Clothing by Length and Bulk

If you live in a place where you experience all four seasons, chances are your wardrobe includes items of every length and material thickness. Try arranging your clothes based on those traits: Tops go on lower racks or shorter shelves, pants go on hook racks or mid-level shelves, and long dresses and bulky coats go on higher racks and spacious shelves.

Organize Clothes by Color

If you’re a visual organizer, subdivide items by color (in rainbow order, of course, if you’re anything like The Home Edit ladies). Remember ROY G. BIV — red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet. You can even color code within a subsection of shirts or pants. 

Put Your Most-Worn Items at the Front

Keep high-use items easy to access by bringing all your favorite shoes and sneakers to the front. This closet organization idea will save you so much time digging through the depths of your closet for the only pair of pants you actually wear or your go-to dress for the weekends. 

Tuck Low-Use Items Out of the Way

Just as you’ll help your future self by putting the articles you love to wear within easy reach, it’s wise to keep the lesser-used items toward the back of the closet, where it’s okay if you don’t always see them. In other words, slide those raincoats to the back (unless you live in Seattle).

Maximize Rod Space With Better Hanging Methods

Once you’ve sectioned off different areas of your closet, it’s time to try all your new hanging techniques. Try some of these tips to make the contents of your closet feel elegant and functional:

• Use special hangers to consolidate scarves, ties, and belts.
• Store smaller bags inside bigger bags.
• Hang pants on a hook organizer, keeping them wrinkle-free and out of your rack and shelf real estate

Maximize Shelf Space With Better Folding Methods

You have valuable space in all those drawers, shelves, and bins; now it’s time to make it shine! Here are some tricks to being a better folder: 

• Nest bras inside of each other to save drawer space.
• Use stacking methods for clothes on dividers and shelves, but not in drawers.
• For drawers, use the vertical or file folding method. (Thanks, Marie Kondo!)

Dive into this super satisfying video featuring tons of folding hacks below:

Store Accessories on Hangers

Hang accessories on walls and hangers, or place them on their own shelves. You can dedicate a single hanger to a dozen scarves, stack hats to save space, and roll belts up on a shelf to make them easy to find. Be wary of too many accessories, though. If you find you rarely use something, chuck it.

One of the best ways to organize your closet is by adding some simple drawers, shelves, and hanging closet systems to maximize space by folding and hanging different items. 

Install Drawers and Shelving

Another great way to organize a closet is by creating a system of hanging items, drawers, and shelves. New drawers and closet shelving are a fab upgrade to your closet space — and may be easier to install than you think. Visit your hardware store to shop lumber, pegboards, slide-out bins, and hardware for DIY projects, or purchase a prefab shelving system for all-in-one installation.

Looking for a simpler way to get shelves in your closet? Ikea has shelving units in multiple sizes that you can mix and match to create your perfect closet. Assembly is required, but it’s easy-peasy.

Small Closet Organization Ideas

Okay, but how can I organize my small closet? Let’s zoom in a little more on some closet organization ideas that will fit in even the teeniest of closets — and maximize the space inside. Because really, a tiny closet only needs a few upgrades (and they don’t need to cost much at all) to feel a thousand times more functional. Here are a few small closet organization ideas your clothes will thank you for. 

Take Your Doors Off the Hinges 

Is your closet door restricting your ability to organize? Maybe the closet is so small, your clothes are bunching up against the door and hangers are getting stuck, or maybe leaving a path for the door to open and close means you can’t fit that extra wardrobe or clothing rack in your room. If a door is cramping your style, simply take it off the hinges and put it in storage (either in a facility like a secure PODS Storage Center or somewhere else in your home). Then leave the doorway open and show off your pristinely organized closet.

Use the Space Above Your Closet Rod

What your closet may lack in horizontal space, it just might make up for in vertical space. If you have a shelf high above the rod where your clothes hang, make use of it by placing boxes of vacuum-sealed clothing, out-of-season shoes, or carefully stacked hats in plastic bins or cloth storage cubes. 

Add Hanging Shelf Organizers

Is it possible to organize your closet without shelving? Absolutely! Simply invest in hanging shelf organizers. These vertical canvas “shelves” simply hook onto the closet rod, providing instant cubby-like storage that’s perfect for anything from shoes and purses to sweaters and T-shirts. Some even come with cute canvas drawers. 

Use Lots of Bins and Baskets

Beyond using cloth storage cubes to stash vacuum-packed clothing on the shelf above your closet rod, you can also place bins and baskets on the floor below your clothes. In lieu of an entire dresser, which you may not have room for, you can use baskets to store bulky sweaters or rolled-up jeans that may otherwise take up too much closet rod real estate.

Don’t Forget About “S” Hooks

This small, curvy, metal tool is tried-and-true. Using “S” hooks in your closet is a simple way to create new hangers in seconds. Use them for purses, string them through the belt loops of your pants, tote bags, or whatever else in your closet needs a little hook to stay off the floor!

Add a Mirror to the Door

Over-the-door mirrors are fairly easy to come by and can really be as affordable or expensive as you’d like (pro tip: Shop for one around college move-in season if you want to score a cheap mirror at dorm prices). Not only are they a handy way to squeeze a mirror into a small living space, but they’re conveniently placed to check your outfit after getting dressed. And best of all, mirrors help spaces look larger, so even if you have a small walk-in closet, an over-the-door mirror will maximize the look of it. 

Invest in Matching Hangers

I, for one, have been known to keep hangers that clothes are sold on, like the plastic ones from my local Target or T.J. Maxx. The result is a diverse mix of flimsy plastic, sturdy plastic, and wooden hangers of all different colors hanging in my closet. While reusing those hangers might feel economical, it’s best to leave them at the store. Invest in uniform hangers to help your closet not only look organized, but to ensure everything hangs neatly and nothing gets lost in the fray on a thin plastic hanger. 

You can get hangers in a variety of colors to create a color-coding closet system.
(Source: PaulinaH via Pixabay)

Color-Code Your Hangers 

Though having uniform hangers will help your clothes hang together better (and ultimately save some space), you can get hangers in a variety of colors to create a color-coding closet system. For example, maybe all your dresses hang on black hangers and skirts hang on white ones, or your office attire hangs on blue hangers while your weekend wear hangs on pink. You can also get tags to slide onto your existing hangers, rather than buying them in different colors. Having a color coding system can help you easily put together the type of outfit you’re looking for. 

Add Some Lights

What good is a perfectly organized closet if you can’t see anything? Bringing some lighting into your closet will help you keep things more organized, see your clothing better, and appreciate any color coding systems you have in place. These stick-on lights from IKEA are $3.99 each, making for a budget-friendly way to add in as much light as you need — simply slip in some batteries and stick them to the bottom of the shelf above your closet rod, or on any other surfaces where the closet is a little dim. 

Hang a Second Closet Rod

Another great way to make sure you’re using the full capacity of your closet’s vertical space? Install a double-rod system. You may have to raise the height of the existing one to make room for a second rod about halfway down. But when you do, bang! You now have twice the space to hang blouses and pants — plus, you can even group tops near the bottoms you tend to wear with them. 

Use a “Decluttering Hanger”

Place a distinct (i.e., brightly colored) hanger at the front of each section of your closet. Every time you wear something and wash it, hang it up in front of that hanger. After a few months, it’ll be pretty easy to see what got worn and what didn’t. For a quick and simple purge, take everything behind the brightly colored hangers and sell or donate it. Not only will this help to free up space, but it’ll make finding your daily fit a breeze, since your closet will only house things you actually wear.

Bins and baskets are Swiss army knives when it comes to closet organization ideas — use them to collect items you want to donate, hold your folded jeans, and more. 

Add a Trash Can and Donation Bin

Once everything is placed in your newly organized closet, put a small trash can and bin labeled “Donate” in the space. If you have the room, these will help remind you to stay organized and keep things tidy for months to come!

Use the “One In, One Out” Rule

Once you’ve gone to the trouble of getting your closet fully organized, you’ll want to keep it that way, right? A clever trick is to get rid of something old any time you bring something new into your closet. New sweater? Great! Now, let’s find something old that you haven’t worn in a while and donate it.

Ideas for DIY Closet Systems (For When You Run Out of Room Inside Your Closet)

It may seem counterintuitive, but one of the best ways to organize a closet is to actually move some things outside of the closet. Particularly if you have a small closet, stuffing everything inside won’t do anything but create an endlessly messy closet and ensure it takes forever to find what you’re looking for. Create some breathing space in your closet by trying these methods for adding storage in other areas of your bedroom or home.

Put Up Some Bedroom Shelves

If you’ve absolutely maxed out the space inside your closet, consider installing some floating shelves or a chic étagère outside of your closet. There, you can display any bags, shoes, hats, or other accessories that are actually pretty enough to double as decor. Bonus: You’ll never forget to wear them, since they’re out in the open.

Expand Your Closet With a Wardrobe

If you just don’t have enough space for all of your outfits and accessories, that’s fine. It’s not you, it’s your closet. Still, you can expand your closet space with a freestanding (and classic) wardrobe. Place it beside your existing closet or elsewhere in your room to add an additional 50 percent or more hanging space. Just try not to break up clothing categories between the wardrobe and your closet — you don't want to have to walk back and forth trying to find something to wear, after all. Instead, consider putting all of your jackets or all of your evening dresses in the wardrobe, and keeping the “everyday” items in your closet.

Use Wall Space to Hold Smaller Items

Once you’ve maximized all your dividers, shelves, racks, and drawers, look to your walls to store jewelry and accessories. Here are some ways to make this space more functional:

Install a Towel Rack

Adding a small towel rack with hooks to your wall is a practical way to organize all of your jewelry — and make a new storage space out of thin air!

Add Spice Racks

Use Wire Bins

Secure wire bins to your wall with damage-free hooks to hold accessories and small clothing items (think: silk scarves, baseball caps, sunglasses).

Make a Jewelry Holder Out of Ribbon

Make a clothing rack of sorts — but for jewelry — by hanging a tight length (or several lengths) of string or ribbon between two nails on your wall. Use it as a place to hang dangly earrings or necklaces right where you can see them. Just make sure the line is tight enough to keep the earrings from slipping toward the middle. 

Beyond how to organize clothes, how do you organize shoes? Try adding a standing shoe rack, stacking shoe bins, or an over-the-door rack to your closet to keep your shoes organized and off the ground. 

Organize Your Shoes

Footwear takes up a lot of closet space, but there are plenty of ways to reconfigure things so you have more space. Here are just a few of our favorite ideas for organizing your shoes:

Use a Shoe Rack.

Having a tangle of shoes scattered around your closet floor is an easy way to make it look 10 times messier and lose your shoes. Instead, try raising them off the ground with a shoe rack, riser, or shelf for a tidier look. Pro tip: Display them on shelves by color, type, or occasion to keep them even more organized.

Use Stacking Shoe Bins.

Using stacking shoe bins is one of the best ways to organize a closet when it comes to shoes. It’s an easy DIY purchase that doesn’t involve construction and fits nicely below your hanging items.

Use Over-the-Door Shoe Racks.

Hang an over-the-door shoe rack on the back of your closet door to create easy to access, vertical shoe storage. Keep in mind that not all shoes will fit in the pockets, so your knee high boots will probably need to go elsewhere. Pro tip: Fill boots with socks to help them keep their shape when not being worn.

Use a Chain to Display Purses

If you have a surplus of bags and have run out of shelf and hanger space, try this brilliant hack. Hang a chain from your bedroom ceiling and use S-hooks to link the handles of your bags to the chain links. And voila! A cool way to store a ton of bags without taking up any closet space at all.  

Add an Over-the-Door Hat Rack

Too many hats to count? Hats are one of the articles of clothing that can be so tricky to store and organize. An over-the-door hat rack is a convenient way to accomplish both storage and organization at the same time, while also saving precious closet space and putting all of your favorite ball caps within easy reach. 

Hang Over-the-Door Hooks

For all of those extra odd and ends you just can’t figure out where to hang in your closet, try adding some hooks with an easy over-the-door hanger. This one from West Elm is simple and elegant, perfect for hanging your cozy house robe, that denim jacket you always reach for, or your farmers market tote bag.

Try DIY Vacuum Sealing

Label Everything 

Putting labels on everything is a great way to make your sorting efforts stick (get it?). DIY tags make it so much easier to see what goes where and keep your closet organized — and at virtually no cost to your organizing budget. The best part? You can make the labels say whatever you want them to say. Want to keep your concert T-shirts together? Have a box of socks without mates? A collection of love notes from your boyfriend in first grade? Put a label on them! No judgment here!

One of the best ways to organize your closet is by limiting the amount of clothes you have in there at any given time. Use an extra suitcase to store your off-season clothes, then slide it under the bed until you need them. 

Store Clothes in a Suitcase

I always have a big suitcase stashed away somewhere in my apartment, which serves no purpose when I’m not taking a big trip. Instead of wasting that valuable space, use your bulky suitcase to store clothing you don’t wear or need to access very often, like bulky winter sweaters during the summer or that outfit you only wear for interviews. 

Use Underbed Storage

We touched on using other places in your home to store clothing, but it must be emphasized: The square footage under your bed is your best friend. Get some long, low plastic bins on rollers and fill them with shoes, rolled-up pants, bulky sweaters, or whatever else is taking up too much space in your closet. When you need something, just roll the bin out and voila!

Closet Organization Ideas — FAQs

Let’s review some of the most important closet organization ideas.

Q: What is the most efficient way to organize a closet?
A: The most efficient way to organize a closet is to pull everything out; sort items into specific categories; get rid of what you don’t use, need, or want; and then put everything back in a way that allows you to find what you’re looking for quickly and easily. Adding canvas storage boxes, hanging shelves, and even low-lying shoe racks can be helpful, depending on what you have in your closet. 

When it comes to organizing the items themselves, there are several ways to go about it. You could hang articles of clothing up based on length (shortest to longest), arrange items with other like items and color-coordinate within each section, or you could even hang entire outfits up together (blouse, slacks, and matching necklace) for a quick morning routine. Play around with it and find what works best for you.

Q: What can I use for a closet organizer?
A: Chances are you already have things lying around your home that you can use to create your own closet systems. For instance, bins and baskets are powerhouses for storing folded clothing, and they easily fit on shelves above your closet rod or on the ground below. Hangers are also great for organizing so much more than blouses — you can use them for certain accessories, like bags and scarves, too.

Q: How do I organize my closet with too much stuff?
A: The #1 best way to organize an over cluttered closet is by doing a purge: Go through everything and divide it into keep, donate, toss, and sell piles. After you’ve narrowed down your wardrobe, pare it down further by only putting back in the items you’re wearing for this season. Then, carefully roll or fold up the rest of your wardrobe and store it elsewhere for the time being — in suitcases under the bed, in bins in another part of your bedroom, or in a portable storage container. When the season for those clothes rolls around, you can rotate your wardrobe — without ever cluttering your closet.

Take These Closet Organization Ideas and Make Them Your Own!

Ready to tackle your closet clutter? Whether you’re reorganizing on a budget or building a new walk-in wardrobe, let these closet organization ideas help optimize every square inch you have available. Who knows? You may end up wanting to tackle the rest of your house. And lucky for you, from organizing the garage to decluttering the kitchen, the PODS Blog has all kinds of tips and tricks to help. Happy stacking!
 
Sofia Rivera is a Brooklyn-based lifestyle editor and frequent contributor to the PODS Blog. Her work has appeared in Boston magazine, Apartment Therapy, and more. You can most often find her redecorating her apartment, trying out a new recipe, or trekking all over the city.