When it comes to home decor, organizing bedroom closets are often an afterthought. But they’re just as important as any other room in the house. A closet is more than a place for extra storage. It’s where you keep wardrobe items like clothes, shoes, hats and bags — the items that deliver external expressions of your personality and identity. Don’t you want the space where you determine how to present yourself to the world to reflect how you are on the inside? Also, don’t you want to actually be able to find all these items easily instead of digging through drawers or messy piles?
Studies and data have also shown that living in tidy settings and having an organized closet makes you happier and improves your mental health. On top of providing vital storage, an organized closet is a sign of a happy, healthy life.
So, why not take the time to give this under-appreciated room in your house the glow-up it deserves? Closet organization is an art, and these tips and ideas will help you master it and make the most out of your closet.
From a walk-in closet to a reach-in, make your closet work for you
Here are 23 tips to organize your bedroom closet and have it stay that way. With these ideas, you can turn even the smallest closet into a neat freak’s dream.
1. Declutter
Our bedroom closets always seem to collect and store the clutter we don’t want around our room, so we throw it in the closet in an “out-of-sight, out-of-mind” way. But no more.
Before diving into your reorganizing project, declutter your closet by getting rid of, donating or reselling unused wardrobe items, shoes and accessories. With less stuff to deal with, you’ll have a good starting point from which to organize your closet.
If you’re unsure where to start, following the KonMari Method is a great starting point.
2. Start from scratch
Sometimes, a clean slate is the best place to start to organize your bedroom closet. If your closet is cramped, crowded and consistently cluttered, pull everything out and reassess the situation. Take a look at your empty closet and restock it, item by item more mindfully.
Then, reorganize your stuff by color, season or frequency of wear. You’ll be amazed at the night and day difference between what it looked like before and after.
3. Upgrade your hanger game
No more using those cheap, plastic hangers from stores. Investing in wooden hangers will not only make your closet look neater, but when you have uniform hangers of the same size, shape and color, you can fit more in your closet.
You can also maximize your space by hanging multiple items on sturdy, S-shaped hangers. The spacing prevents wrinkles and the hanger has a slim profile to fit easily among the other clothes in your closet’s hanging space.
Another useful tip is adding shower hooks to a hanger rod for hats or small clothing items.
4. Move items elsewhere in the house
That jacket that you use all the time? Just leave it by the front door. Your go-to pair of boots that you always wear? Keep them there, as well.
You don’t have to put your most-used outerwear like jackets and shoes back in your closet daily. Migrate these items elsewhere and watch how much space opens up in your closet.
5. Rack and roll
If you don’t have a big closet (or heaven forbid, no closet), get a rolling garment rack. These racks are stylish and affordable, will open up room in your closet and you can use it for your most-used items like jackets, dresses or purses.
6. Mirror, mirror
Installing a full-length mirror at eye level will help you choose outfits efficiently and with less mess. You can even find mirrors with built-in storage compartments for accessories like jewelry which will go a long way in helping you organize your bedroom closet.
7. Use that floor space (if you have it)
Depending on how much space you have, you can use the closet floor for additional storage. Line the floor with moisture-proof plastic containers for seasonal or extra clothing, heavy coats or shoes.
A handy way to pack as many clothes as possible into these containers is by using vacuum-sealing bags.
8. Use upper shelves and levels for storage
Just as the floor is extra room for organization containers, so are the upper shelves. These out-of-reach spaces are ideal extra space to store and organize items you’re not currently using.
For example, use the very top shelves of your closet for storage for seasonal clothing like swimsuits or ski gear. Organizational cubbies will help also, and you can even put clothing and items inside unused suitcases. But you’ll still know where everything is if you need it.
9. Utilize your closet’s vertical space and empty wall space
The vertical and wall space of your closet is valuable real estate you should not neglect. If your closet has doors, put hanging racks over the door to hang scarves, belts or jewelry. Depending on your storage and organization needs, you could get special hangers for specific needs, like an over-the-door shoe rack.
But, you can expand beyond hangers. Come up with different ideas and get creative with them. Install open shelves or hooks on a wall for hanging purses, bags, scarves, jewelry, hats or other accessories. You could even add a customizable pegboard to hang small accessories or clothing items.
If your bedroom is too small for a dresser, maximize your bedroom space by storing foldable items in the closet. From the hanging space, get hanging cubbies for items like folded T-shirts or shoes.
10. Hooks are your new best friend
From the door to the walls, use every inch of that space to organize your bedroom closet. Hooks are an easy way to hang and store hats, jewelry and other small items. This will then leave more space on shelves for other items.
11. Let the light in
Whether your closet is a walk-in or a reach-in, it should have proper lighting. When you can see all your clothes and everything else in your closet, you not only know where everything is but will save time, stress and mess pulling everything out to look for whatever it is you need.
If you can’t install a wired lighting fixture in your closet, you can find simple lighting solutions online or at your neighborhood hardware store. And the lights don’t need to go on the ceiling, either. Affix them to one of the walls so they’re out of the way but in easy reach.
Also, choose a warm, golden light instead of harsh white lights to give your closet a comforting glow.
12. Divide and conquer
A place for everything and everything in its place. Sort your clothes and wardrobe items by category by using shelf dividers and organizers to create different storage zones.
On built-in shelves, you can use shelf dividers to create additional storage along either the vertical or horizontal plains. For example, use dividers to stack and fold clothes and prevent them from becoming a jumbled, wrinkly pile when you pull one out.
Cubbies, baskets and other organizers can also help you keep like-items together or put clothing in. You can stack sweaters inside a cubby so you can still see all the layers but they’re more organized.
13. Be mindful about location
When organizing your closet, place the clothing and items you use/wear the most at eye level. That way, they’re always close at hand. This is also an effective method of figuring out what stuff you use and wear regularly.
In contrast, your least-used items should still be visible and accessible, but not front and center.
14. Fold and stack
Organizing your bedroom closet is as much about presentation as it is organization. If you don’t have a dresser or drawers in your closet, fold and stack your clothes to give everything a very tidy appearance.
Have a neat little stack for T-shirts, another for sweaters, another for jeans and so on and so forth. Sweaters, in particular, are ideal for stacking and folding to free up space on hangers. So keep those items folded and stacked neatly on shelves that are within reach. This frees up space for other, more delicate clothes or frees up space lower in your closet.
Bonus tip: Cut up a foam pool noodle or use two-liter soda bottles to fill your tall boots and keep them from flopping over and creasing between wears.
15. Use shoe racks
Instead of leaving your shoes in a big pile, store them up on a shoe rack for an attractive presentation and easy usability.
If you don’t have enough space for all your shoes, hang boots from hanging rods using hangers with clips.
16. Consider investing in a closet system
If you don’t want to hassle with figuring out how to organize your closet on your own, a closet system could be a worthwhile investment. These types of organizers include various features like shelves, drawers and set-ups designed to fill and maximize space in your closet. It takes the guesswork out of organizing and gives you a blueprint to start with.
These systems can range from prebuilt options available at home supply stores or to customized paid commissions for a totally bespoke model. Just be sure to measure your closet before buying to make sure it will fit!
17. Keep a hamper in your closet
No more throwing dirty clothes in a pile on the floor or around the end of your bed. Slot a clothes hamper into a corner for a neat look and to easily differentiate between clean and dirty.
18. Add labels
If you’re using lots of bins, be sure to add labels when organizing your bedroom closet. That way, you know exactly what is where and easily access it.
19. Ditch the doors
Closet doors sometimes are more trouble than they’re worth. They’re on tricky rollers, they make it difficult to get to different parts of your closet or the way they open messes up how you’ve arranged your shoes. So, get rid of them.
Swap out the doors for a decorative screen or curtains for a fun, aesthetic choice and even faster access than with a door. With curtains, you can also have fun with it and either do fabric or beaded.
You can even take it one step further and leave your closet open to the room. That way, you’re even more motivated to keep it clean and organized because it’s not hidden behind doors.
20. Organize your drawers
If you have enough room for a dresser in your closet or your closet has built-in drawers, use it to eliminate an extra piece of furniture in your bedroom! With a set of drawer dividers, organize essentials like underwear and socks into separate modules within the drawers.
21. Show off your accessories with display stands
Accessories like watches and jewelry are what liven up outfits, so give them the attention they deserve and proudly display them. You can find a wide variety of display stands that serve as both storage and display pieces, which you can place on a shelf for easy accessibility. Not only does it look attractive, but out-of-sight accessories are forgotten accessories.
22. Create a place for maintenance
How often have you pulled out a beloved article of clothing only to see it’s covered in cat hair? Or, you pulled the hem on your pants? Keep a drawer or shelf free to store lint rollers, pin cushions and emergency sewing kits. Remember, clothes you don’t wear are just clothes that make clutter.
23. Regularly clean and organize
At the end of a long day, it’s hard to motivate enough to pick up after yourself and put everything back in its correct place in your closet. But by taking just a few minutes every day to put everything where it belongs, you’ll prevent the disorganized mess and clutter that led you to reorganize your closet in the first place.
Developing good habits is essential to keeping your closet organized for long-term success. Then, instead of a big reorganization project every six months, everything is already where it belongs.
Use these closet organization ideas now, benefit later
Closet space is one of the major selling points when looking for an apartment. With these ideas on organizing a bedroom closet, you can make your closet look as timeless, classy and fashionable as the clothes you store inside it.
