A closet can turn from a calming refuge of your favorite things to a junkyard pretty quickly. We often dump our clutter there to keep the rest of the house uncluttered (especially the clutter you don’t want any guests to see). Eventually, things pile upon more things until we have no way of knowing what we’ve stored inside our closets anymore — or how to get them back. That’s why it’s good to organize your closets once in a while, and closet organizers might help keep things in check.
SKIP AHEAD The best closet organizing tools in 2023 | Tips for organizing belongings | Questions for thoughtful buying
Everyone has a system of organizing, whether they recognize it or not, says Nancy Meck, founder of Meck Organizing. Meck encourages buying only what we need. Otherwise, the urge to shop eventually leads to the urge to purge.
One should aim to create systems around the things you already have to avoid wastefulness, advises Gilat Tunit, who started Project Neat. We talked to Meck and Tunit about useful items that can help organize a messy space, as well as tips for organization and overall questions to ask yourself as you reorganize your belongings.
Related
The best closet organizing tools in 2023
We talked to experts about what products they recommend for cleaning up your closet, like storage boxes and hanging racks, and then highlighted the Amazon bestsellers for each.
Pinkpum 12-Pack Shoe Storage Boxes
Meck doesn’t love the idea of shoe boxes because they often take up valuable space in a closet. Additionally, because they’re opaque, it’s easy to forget what’s inside them. She recommended prioritizing clear shoe boxes or shoe boxes that come with a label, which make it easier to find what you’re looking for. These Pinkpum shoe storage boxes are made from clear plastic, so you can easily see which shoes are inside them.
The Pinkpum Shoe Storage Boxes are 13.1 inches long by 9 inches wide by 5.5 inches high each. They also sell a bigger version that’s 13.2 inches long by 10.2 inches wide by 6.2 inches high, for high heels or sneakers with a chunky sole. They’re also easily stackable and come with a 4.2-star average rating from more than 5,900 Amazon reviews.
ClosetMaid 25-Shoe Cube Organizer
Though a storage box may be good for shoes you aren’t wearing regularly, shoe cubbies (or cubbyholes) are great when you need quick and easy access to your shoes on any given day. Meck has historically recommended using normal shelves for shoe organizers, but she likes cubbies, too, like this 25-Shoe Cube Organizer from ClosetMaid.
It has 25 cubes for 25 different pairs of shoes, measuring 11 inches long by 4.5 inches wide by 5.75 inches high. Unlike the Pinkpum storage boxes, you should only put one shoe in each of ClosetMaid’s 25 cubes. The ClosetMaid has a 4.5-star average rating from more than 5,000 reviews on Wayfair.
AmazonBasics Slim Velvet Non-Slip Clothes Hangers
Meck recommended slimline style hangers to save space in your closet and ensure your clothes don’t fall to the floor. Regardless of the hanger style you choose, Meck recommends buying hangers of the same color and style. Doing so provides a “calm, cohesive look” to the closet and “helps the clothes hang well next to one another.” These clothes hangers from AmazonBasics fit the bill: they’re slim, lined with velvet and non-slip, so your clothes won’t slide off of them.
Each hanger is 17.4 inches wide by 9.2 inches high and Amazon says each hanger can hold up to 10 pounds. The AmazonBasics Slim Velvet Non-Slip Clothes Hangers come with a 4.8-star average rating from more than 184,000 customer reviews on Amazon. While these are technically for suits, AmazonBasics also sells clothes hangers catered towards shirts and skirts (though you can use all of these hangers with your clothes interchangeably).
Webi Coat Rack
If you can’t fit all your coats inside your closet, Meck recommended buying a dedicated coat rack instead of individual hanging hooks. “Multi-hook types are nice to avoid the efforts of trying to get individual, multiple hooks level and putting a bunch of holes in the wall the individual hooks would make,” she said. A coat rack is also great for hanging hats, necklaces, handbags with handles and keys.
The stainless steel Webi Coat Rack can be mounted to the wall with pre-included mounting hardware and has five tri-hooks, or 15 hooks total. It’s about 16 inches wide. It has a 4.6-star average rating from more than 2,000 Amazon reviews.
Evelots Closet Wire Shelf Dividers
When shopping for shelf dividers — which Meck recommends for books, sweaters and clutches — make sure you’re mindful of “the width, depth and heights of the shelf and what you want divided by the product.” These Evelots Closet Wire Shelf Dividers are made from premium-grade iron that are plastic-coated, rust-free and durable, according to the brand, and they’re simple to install by clicking in your existing shelving.
They’re 12.25 inches wide by 10.75 inches high with 1.25 wide prongs. You can choose between a set of eight shelves or a set of four, if you have less room or less need for shelf dividers. The Evelots Closet Wire Shelf Dividers have a 4.6-star average rating from more than 4,700 Amazon reviews.
Ikea Kuggis Storage Boxes
There are tons of different styles of storage bins to choose from. Meck acknowledges that while clear containers make for easier organizing and access, opaque ones look better. These Kuggis storage boxes from Ikea have a simple design and come in three colors — black, turquoise and white — and in a variety of sizes to fit your closet. They have a 4.8-star average rating from more than 600 ratings at Ikea.
GRANNY SAYS 3-Shelf Hanging Closet Organizer
This three-shelf organizer is a great way to utilize any empty space your closet may have. This fabric shelf’s material is machine washable and is made of lightweight polyester, according to the brand. It can also be collapsed to bring for travel or to save space when not in use. It has a 4.5-star average rating from more than 11,000 reviews on Amazon.
Related
Tips for Organizing Belongings
Adjust your environment, not your organizing habits
When organizing the home, Meck said it’s always going to be easier to change your environment than your habits, à la buying a new hamper to keep your dirty clothes or downloading a scanning app to store electronic copies and reduce paper. In terms of dirty closets, buying one of these recommended closet organizing tools is actually a healthy, important shortcut towards being more organized at home overall.
Avoid buying too much
When it comes to space and stuff, most of the time people just have way too much stuff, according to Tunit. It’s about creating systems, she said, regardless of how much room you have.
But don’t overdo it, because that can often lead to a toxic back-and-forth of wastefulness. “We see people buy too many containers, clothes, office supplies, toys, gadgets,” Meck told me. “The urge to buy is often followed by the urge to purge, which can often be followed by the urge to buy,” she said.
Questions for thoughtful buying
Meck talked to me about ways to combat the urge to buy. When you want to buy something, ask yourself these questions:
- What problem is it solving?
- Is what you have enough?
- What if it weren’t beautifully presented?
- Would the money spent on it be better used serving a future purpose?
- How about we sleep on it first?
Meet Our Experts
- Nancy Meck is the founder of Meck Organizing, an organizational consultancy.
- Gilat Tunit is the founder Project Neat, a company that help clients clean, sort and purge belongings.
Catch up on Select's in-depth coverage of personal finance, tech and tools, wellness and more, and follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to stay up to date.