Small closet solutions to make the most of even the tiniest space
No matter how big your space, I bet there never seems to be enough storage.
Amirite?
When we moved into our cottage, I quickly realized we’d need some clever small closet solutions in the bedroom.
We have a built-in wardrobe — which is lucky, as many houses in England don’t have closets at all. While everything could technically fit in there...we were always playing Tetris, juggling things from one spot to another to another to be able to access everything.
And the way our bedroom is laid out, we don’t have space for a big set of drawers. So we really needed our closet to be a powerhouse in the storage department.
^ Naturally, Brody couldn’t not check out what I was doing and leave me to photograph the wardrobe in peace. 😜
To make a 4x2.5-foot closet work for two adults (who aren’t trying to adopt a crazy strict minimalist wardrobe) we had to get creative.
I’m endlessly inspired by tiny houses for their ingenious design plans that utilize every square inch of space. If they can make their teensy homes work, I knew we could figure out some small closet solutions to help us!
In borrowing a few tiny house tricks plus throwing in a few of my own, I effectively doubled our storage space. Here are my tried-and-tested tips to make the most of your small closet:
6 small closet solutions
Utilize vertical space
Not to flex or anything, but this is probably one of my more clever ideas. (Not beautiful, but it’s damn inventive!)
Consider whether you can store things along unused vertical spaces, such as:
On the back of doors
Along interior walls
Above or below your clothes (like adding a shelf above your clothing rod)
For our closet, I hung canvas bags on the back of our wardrobe doors that add a ton of extra storage to the unused space.
I used extra totes — freebies we got from conferences or with purchases — on the doors with sticky 3M hooks we already had. So, bonus: this small closet solution cost $0. 👊
Stuff doesn’t really stay folded inside the bags so we fill them with items that don’t have to be wrinkle-free, like:
Underwear
Socks
Bras
Workout clothes
Undershirts
Honestly, I’d prefer pretty lightweight wire baskets screwed to the doors instead. 🤷♀️ Buuuuut this canvas bag setup works great...plus it was nice to make use of things we already owned.
As another small closet solution, it’s also worth considering if you can re-jig your vertical space to add a second clothing rod. We already had two but we def would’ve added a second if it wasn’t already in there!
Make smart use of floor space
If I line up our shoes on the floor, I can fit 12 pairs.
But when I fill that same floor space with tall baskets, I can fit 24 pairs (with room for a few more) PLUS handbags and belts.
If you can, opt for a square or rectangular basket here. Round shapes leave little pockets of space unused but straight edges utilize more area.
Ours are jute baskets from LaRedoute and they work perfectly. But in retrospect, I actually kinda wish I used another one of my small closet solutions instead (keep reading for tip #3…) but c’est la vie! They’re here now and they work great. 👍
We also store stuff on this weird little shelf thing at the back of the closet to make sure every bit of floor space is used. We have winter boots in the shoeboxes and off-season clothes in the packing cubes. Every little helps!
Frugal tip: Consider items you already own
Reminder: no one sees inside your closet but you. 😉
So it’s a great place to save money (and the Earth!) by repurposing something you already own, rather than buying new.
Think about what items you already have that could be used for storage, like:
Cardboard boxes
Shoeboxes
Random plastic tubs you have lying around
Canvas totes
Packing cubes
Suitcases or duffle bags
The benefit of using something you already own — in addition to reducing consumption — is the cost savings. Instead of wasting money on hidden small closet solutions, you can save them for areas like the kitchen or living room, where you spend the bulk of your time.
Buuuuut at the same time, we’re all human and like nice-looking things. So if you’d rather not fill your closet with cardboard boxes, I get that, too! I won’t judge you for wanting something pretty. 💁♀️
I think the key is conscious consumption. Really wait to find the perfect item for the space so it proves useful for years to come.
Create a (pseudo) capsule wardrobe
The very easiest of the small closet solutions is to simply have less stuff, right? 😜 But that’s easier said than done and we’ve all got a certain comfort level with how many clothes we like to have.
Instead of having a strict minimalist wardrobe, I rotate my clothes out seasonally.
(We don’t have 12 boxes of off-season clothes, btw! We had to number these tubs when we shipped our stuff from America. You can see from the writing this bad boy’s stored mannnnny things over the years.)
I keep my off-season clothes in tubs like this one. At the start of every season, I pick out the items I want to have readily accessible in the closet.
…Which is always a challenge because the weather here in northern England is suuuuper unpredictable!
Exhibit A 😂:
Keeping your closet seasonal not only makes a small space work, it’s also a cool way to experiment with a minimalist wardrobe. Because you’re not getting rid of anything, just keeping it in a harder-to-reach spot.
If you want to give this a go (which I highly recommend, it’s fun!) check out Project333. Or for an even more bite-sized taste of a capsule wardrobe, try the 10x10 Challenge. They’re both easy ways to see how it feels to live with less without fully committing to anything.
Here’s a video I like if you want to check out the process of choosing a seasonal wardrobe:
Zero in on what you really wear (using this simple trick!)
I started using this trick years ago as a way to OBJECTIVELY see what clothes I actually wear. And every season when I change over my clothes, I’m surprised by what I find.
When you put your seasonal clothes into the closet, face the hangers the “wrong way” around — the opposite way to how you’d naturally hang them. For me, that means hooking it from the back of the clothing rail. (LEFT on the photo below.)
Once I wear an item, I put it back in the closet with the hanger the “right way” around; hooked from the front. (RIGHT on the photo above.) Once I do laundry, I re-hang everything the “right way” because if I’m washing it, it’s because I wore it.
At the end of the season, I can clearly see which items I haven’t worn over the last three months because their hangers are facing the “wrong way”.
...And then you can decide what to do about that! Just because a hanger hasn’t been turned around doesn’t mean you should get rid of it.
But think about why the item wasn’t used:
Does it fit?
Does it need mending or tailoring?
Do you like it?
Have you simply not had a reason to wear it this season (and if so, will you have a reason in the future)?
For example, I had a bunch of items in my closet that I didn’t wear this summer. But we haven’t left the house that much (hello, pandemic!) so I haven’t had reason to wear some of my nicer tops and skirts.
It’s super helpful to have a clear way to identify your least-worn items — to help you narrow down your wardrobe and show you what kind of purchases you can probably avoid in the future. (And vice versa, what types of clothes you wear all the time and might want more of in the future!)
Little joy tip: hang clothing from light to heavy
This won’t help you fit any more into your closet but it’s one of the small closet solutions that just makes me happy! It’s a Marie Kondo original.
To give your closet a natural flow, hang your items from left to right, light to heavy. Two common ways to do this are:
Light colors on the left, dark colors on the right
Lightweight items (like t-shirts) on the left, heavyweight items (like sweaters or denim) on the right
I do both! I split up my tops and bottoms and have each section progress from light to dark. It’s a breath of fresh air to see clothes ordered like this and it makes it easy to find the item I’m looking for.
With these small closet solutions, we’ve created enough space for our clothes and everything we need is easy to access. Which is a nice feeling!
In my experience, no matter how small your space, you’ve probably got enough for the things that matter most…if you’re willing to go your own way and get creative with it. 😉
