Organizing a Small Closet: Small Closet Organizing Ideas

Not sure how to go about organizing a small closet? If so, I’ve got some good news for you…

I have some small closet organizing ideas that I think you’d like. So, today we’re going to talk about the best ways to organize a small closet.

As always it doesn’t have to be a difficult task. A little labor is required but with a few essential tips you’ll be well on your way and wonder why you never did it sooner.

I have 3 steps in mind that will take you from start to finish on organizing a small closet.

And they are…

Step One: Categorize and sub-categorize your clothing.
Step Two: Do a major clean-up each season.
Step Three: Include the necessary closet organizers.

After reading the steps, organizing a small closet doesn’t sound so bad, does it?

In fact, it sounds pretty darn simple. But let’s discuss each in further detail and so you can make your mind up for yourself.

Step One – Categorize and Sub-Categorize Your Clothing

Initially, if your closet is in complete chaos you will need to do what is considered a one-time major clean-up that will require you to sort through your clothes, divide them up, categorize them and get rid of what you don’t need.

To begin organizing a small closet, you can start simple and divide your clothes up by seasons…

Spring
Summer
Winter
and Fall

And while you’re dividing them up you can be on the lookout for things you no longer want, can’t fit and put them in your “Must Go” pile.

Once you’ve sorted through them all you can then get rid of the unwanted items and then focus your attention on the clothes you’ve decided to keep.

Organizing a Small Closet: Keeping All of Your Clothes in Your Closet

For the clothing you decided to keep you could choose to keep all of your clothes in the closet or if you prefer, you could remove all out-of-season clothes from your closet, fold them up and store them away.

If you decide to keep all of your clothes in your closet, it’ll probably be easiest for you if you make sure your clothes categorized under different seasons don’t get mixed together. And a simple way to do that would be to use something quick and convenient like closet clothes dividers or blank closet dividers.

They will be advantageous to you in most circumstances. That includes even if you decide to remove all out-of-season clothes from your closet and store them away.

If you choose to keep your clothes in your closet, when organizing a small closet, but also need more space or find that your closet is a bit too small for all of your clothes, there’s a solution for that too.

A simple way to maximize space is to use space saving clothes hanger hooks. For each bit of hanging space you’ll be able to hang five garments rather than one.

I’d say that really increases your chance of fitting it all in there in an organized manner, wouldn’t you?

Organizing a Small Closet: Storing Your Out-of-Season Clothes

If it turns out you’d rather store your clothes until they’re in season there are several ways you could go about it.

You could use under-the-bed storage, boxes or if your budget is low and your space is limited you could store them away in your suitcases.

The wonderful thing about using suitcases is that suitcases already take up space so storing your clothes away in them wouldn’t cost you any more space than you’ve already used up.

Organizing a Small Closet: Sub-Categorizing Your Clothing

Once you’ve done that, you may or may not wish to sub-categorize the clothes that remain in your closet. It really depends on the type of person that you are.

Some people excel with a more detailed-oriented system and others simply find it too restricting. So it is up to you what you decide to do after that.

If you do prefer a more detail-oriented system, some ideas on how you can sub-categorize your clothes are:

Dividing them up by style…

Sportswear
Leisurewear
Formal wear
Lounge wear
Sleepwear
Swim wear

Dividing them up by type…

Shirts (Long and Short Sleeves)
Pants
Suits
Dresses
Skirts
Shorts

Consider This…

Neither option is better than the other. It’s simply a matter of which way would make it easiest for you if you decide to sub-categorize your clothing.

When considering each sub-category, you’ll want to make sure you think about it on a long-term level. When organizing a small closet, keep in mind that sometimes being too detail-oriented can make it harder than it needs to be (in the long-run) to keep things organized.

Step Two – Do a Major Clean-Up Each Season

Once you’re done you’re initial major clean-up, to keep your small closet organized all you have to do now is keep it going.

Many closets tend to get cluttered by the simple fact that they aren’t routinely kept up. To keep it simple and easy, one of the easiest ways to keep your closet clean is to simply clean it during the change of each season.

So, that means you would simply clean your closet out 4 times a year in accordance with…

Spring
Summer
Winter
and Fall

During spring you will simply sort through the spring clothing that you have and get rid of…

what’s not useful
what doesn’t fit
what’s too old

…and so forth.

And that’s how it would go for summer, winter and fall as well.

You may find it particularly advantageous to get rid of clothes at the beginning of spring (and every other season) and purchase clothes at the end of spring (and other seasons).

Especially if you shop for clothes during end-of-the-season sales in department stores.

This will help you keep your quantity-in in balance with your quantity-out flow.

In short, it simply means you won’t accumulate too many clothes. You will simply get rid of clothes that are no longer of interest to you at the beginning of the season and buy equal amount of clothes at the end of the season.

But that will only work well if you have a good amount of clothes after you’ve gotten rid of what you don’t need.

If it doesn’t work well for you to do it that way, keep in mind you can do it all at one time. That is, get rid of what you no longer need and buy equal amount of clothing during the time you get rid of the others.

Step Three – Include Closet Organizers

Once you’re finished organizing your clothes, there are still those small items that can cause big trouble.

Things such as…

Shoes
Belts
Ties
Scarves

And there’s even the possibility that you’d like to exchange out your entire rod and shelving system in your closet. If that is the case we’ll get to that too in just a moment.

But first, let’s talk about those significant items that can add up to big trouble in large quantities. Shoes are a particular problem for many of us. Even for those of us who don’t have many, they can often get in the way and create a lot of clutter.

For that particular problem I recommend using simple cardboard box if you have a very small amount of shoes and you’re on a tight budget.

However, if you have a bit of extra cash and you would prefer something a bit more organized, I recommend using a revolving shoe rack to store your shoes in.

It will not only save you space but you’ll also find it very easy to get the shoes you need at the time you need them since the racks revolve.

And clutter created by scarves, ties and belts can be solved by using a simple
tie rack. It provides you with an easy but efficient way to get them out of the way and keep them from mixing and interfering with your clothes.

But if your problem is bigger than that and you’re looking for a new closet system, then you can consider Rubbermaid’s Closet Kit which may take care of most of your organizing needs that we discussed above.

Many kits can expand and store your shoes, pants, ties, belts and similar items. But keep in mind you generally have to purchase additional items to accommodate those needs.

Remember, organizing a small closet doesn’t have to be a difficult job. It will require some work but with a few logical steps the task is pretty simple.

If you take it step-by-step and do a one-time major clean-up and after that clean up at the beginning or end of each season and then tidy up the small items like ties, belts and scarves that could also serve as a clutter problem, before you know it everything will be in tip-top shape and you’ll be wondering why you hadn’t done it sooner.

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