10 Space-saving clothing storage tricks

Is the floor of your wardrobe overrun with shoes? Are you strapped for belt storage? Are you up to your neck in loose scarves or extra ties? You are not alone—just about all of us have amassed so many clothes that we just don’t have enough storage space for them.

The ultimate solution, of course, is to take an honest look at your wardrobe and get rid of a lot of the items that you never wear. That—and learning to resist the temptation to buy that cute dress or sporty shirt that you don’t need—will go a long way toward freeing up some clothing storage space.

Still, there are very few among us who would not like to have more places to store our clothes, and manufacturers have been very adept at devising relatively inexpensive aids that will help you squeeze every conceivable bit of clothing storage space out of your homes. Try out these storage tricks, and you will have that wild wardrobe tamed in no time.

When you consider construction costs, adding a wardrobe to your home for less than £100 is more than reasonable. Visit a storage-gear shop in person or online and pick up a freestanding canvas wardrobe, which you can set up in a spare room or basement. This will give your home an extra metre of wardrobe rod, plus storage for folded sweaters as well. The canvas will protect your stored clothes and let them breathe at the same time.

Credit: IKEA

If you’d like an extra 0.4 to 0.6 cubic meters of clothing storage space, just look under your bed. Container manufacturers have devised a wide variety of clever gizmos for making maximum use of this space.

Look for flat totes that will vacuum-pack bulky comforters, clear vinyl cases for shoes and accessories you want to peruse at a glance, and wide storage boxes with wheels, snap-on lids, or side drawer access.

When you buy furniture, pick the kind that will perform more than one job—including storing clothing that you can’t accommodate in your bedroom. Examples include a daybed with a hinge-up top and storage underneath or a sofa with hidden drawers below the seat cushions.

Credit: A Place For Everything

Add shoe-bag-style organisers to the backs of wardrobe doors and bedroom doors. The typical shoe bag has hooks that fit over the top of the door, draping a couple of dozen pockets down the door surface.

These are a splendid way of getting shoes off the floor of your wardrobe, of course, but they also provide clever storage for rolled scarves, pantyhose, other accessories and even kids’ toys.

In the bathroom, install hooks on the back of your door to hang extra towels and robes.

Freestanding coat racks come in handsome designs, and they can turn a small bit of floor space into vertical clothing storage. Park one by the door, in the mudroom or in the kids’ bedrooms. With several hooks for jackets, scarves and hats, coat racks go a long way toward freeing up space in crowded coat wardrobes.

Pull out any luggage that are not in current use and fill them with the kind of clothing you don’t need day in and day out. You will gain some elbow room in your wardrobe, and your luggage will take up no more space than it did before.

To save space, become a fan of the specialty hangers that are available at home shops, discount shops, and organising shops. Such hangers take up very little space, but they can accommodate several skirts, a dozen neckties, a like number of scarves or a score of belts.

Credit: Rozette Rago

See-through stacking bins are ideal for storing sweaters, other foldable clothing and accessories such as handbags and shoes. When you stack such bins, they take up vertical space—but minimal floor space. Since they have transparent sides, you can quickly identify the items that you want. Drawer-type access makes this all the easier.

Install high shelves in your bedroom to accommodate hats, purses or small storage bins. A shelf mounted 30 to 46 cm below the ceiling will be in no one’s way, but it will provide a nice “relief valve” for an overstuffed bedroom wardrobe.

Banner credit: Maya23K

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