Hallway closet organization can be a hassle. Its a small space that can easily get over cluttered. From coats, vacuums, and other items… a hallway closet is often a throwaway space. Reclaim this space with this hallway closet organization guide.
From hooks and space savers to methods to manage the space, there are so many options for organizing. If you are looking for more security during an emergency, the hallway closet may also be a great place for your emergency water supply. Once you conquer this space, tackle the walk-in closet or use the room by room storage guide for ideas.
Ways to Make Your Hallway Closet Functional
To establish the order that you want in your hallway closet, it comes down to making it a more functional space. In other words, you must utilize steps that make the most use of the space without it getting out of control. Things falling out when you open the closet door or not being able to find what you’re looking for are signs that your hallway closet needs an intervention.
The following ideas will help you transform your hallway closet from a war zone to a place of peace.
Hooks are Your Friends
An item to add to your closet is the hook. Actually, add more than one so you can hang bags and coats on the inside of the door. If the closet has more depth, putting hooks on the walls gives additional hanging areas. Plus, it’s easier to hang an item like a jacket or coat on a hook than it to hang it on a hanger. There’s no shoving the coat into a tight space between other coats.
A hallway closet that is exclusively used for jackets, purses, beach bags, and similar items is a good candidate for hooks. This method of hanging items also leaves more room for drawers and containers that store additional items. That way, there’s storage for items that don’t necessarily hang up.
Box It Up
Plastic storage containers are popular hallway closet organization tools because they come in all different sizes, colors, and styles. Since the creation of the large storage tote with a lid, plastic storage drawers have also become an option. Instead of having to unstack containers and pull off a lid, you can stack the drawer units. Simply slide the drawer open when something is needed.
If you are storing items long-term, then stackable totes that are labeled work well. However, items that are not used often will work well being placed in baskets along the closet’s top shelf. Fabric storage boxes also make effective and attractive storage methods.
Pegs Make Life Easier
A peg wall might also make a good addition to the closet, especially when you have a lot of shoes in your life. Shoes can be hung on the pegs, which gets them out of the closet floor or from around doorways. Most of all, shoes aren’t lost in random places when each pair has its own designated place. Pegs also make excellent places for hats, scarves, earmuffs, and similar items.
Space Savers Are Still a Thing
Space-saving hangers have been around for a while. This device is a single hanger that expands into multiple hangers that collapse back down to consume a single space in the closet. Using these will more than double clothing storage. These hangers are useful for jackets and scarves. Attach bags to each hanger on this device to store small items. You aren’t limited to just hanging clothes on one of these.
A Closet of Shelves
If you aren’t hanging jackets or clothes in the hallway closet, there is nothing wrong with making it a closet of shelves. In fact, this is common when the closet is narrow. If there is any additional room for a shelf, install it. Shelves provide the opportunity to effectively utilize plastic drawers, baskets, or totes so everything has a designated space.
Also, consider adding shelves on the floor. These shelves are standalone rather than attached. Simply place the pre-built shelving system on the floor and place items on each shelf.
Get Rid of the Clutter
One of the keys to home organization is getting rid of the clutter. Take out the contents of the closet and consolidate items you want to keep. Throw away items you don’t need. If a storage container is bulkier than it needs to be for its contents, replace it with a storage container that is less bulky. Storage containers make retrieving items and putting them away much easier.
Take board games, for instance. A common storage location for them is the hall closet. Place the games in storage containers and keep them organized. This prevents them from being messily placed on a shelf where they can fall and pieces lost.
Label Everything
It is frustrating when you commit to home organization and then everyone goes behind you and destroys your work. Labeling can keep everyone and everything in check, which also saves your sanity. Placing labels on storage bins and drawers keeps everyone informed so nothing gets put in the wrong place.
Utilize Your Overhead Space
If you have a closet with a high ceiling, consider putting shelves with containers for additional storage space. Great for long term storage, you can put items like your old DVD and CD collection safely away. Stackable storage is the way to go for this part of the closet.
Behind the Door Organizers with Multiple Functions
If you have a closet door that opens toward you, consider over the door organizers for additional storage space. This is a highly untapped area, especially when there is ample space. Make sure you have enough room between the top of the door and the ceiling.
Behind the door organizers have been popular for a long time. You can get an organizer with pockets for shoe storage or for small items. An organizer that is see-through lets you see what’s inside. Attach a pegboard to the inside of the door for shoes, scarves, and other small items. Use your imagination when utilizing the space behind the door.
Lazy Susans Simplify Things
When small things are stored in a closet with shelves, rotating racks or lazy susans are useful. These devices make small items accessible and easy to put away. This idea will prevent small items from getting lost in the closet. Labeled lazy susans will tell everyone where things go.
The Floor Works Great
Any floor space that can be filled without hindering accessibility is ideal for storage. The floor is a good location for storage containers, cloth storage bins, plastic drawers, and even baskets. It’s an area that is sometimes overlooked, especially when that space is under a shelf. The closet floor is also often overlooked because it already has items stacked there.
It’s common for the closet floor to catch everything that falls from higher storage areas. Over time, those items aren’t picked up, so they pile up. Making sure everything in the closet has its designated space will keep this from happening so organized storage is in the floor rather than the floor being a “catch-all.”
See-Through Storage
If you have difficulty finding items in the closet, see-through storage is functional and keeps you sane. Nothing is worse than when someone in the home is trying to find something in the closet and they ransack through everything. It’s rare that they put everything back. Ransacking is less likely when the items inside the storage containers can be seen. It is almost like labeling every container but with a more visual element.
Develop a Coat System
The first step to developing a coat system is to trim down the collection to frequently worn coats. Next, arrange them by length, wear frequency, and color. The system prevents the family from having to search for their coats. Instead, every coat is placed back in the space it was retrieved from every time.
If you have small children, consider installing a tension rod lower in the closet. This makes it easier for them to retrieve their coats and put them away later. Installing a rod below the main rod also presents further storage opportunities.
Shower Curtain Rings and Hangers Make a Good Team
If you have ball caps or scarves that go into the hallway closet, hang them on hangers. An effective hall closet organization tip is to put shower curtain rings on a hanger. The back snap of the hat snaps around the ring and you can get as many as 7 hats on one hanger. Once attached, hang the hats on the inside of the door, on pegs, or on the tension rod.
As many as 14 scarves can hang on 14 rings, which reduces the chances of them falling off. This solves the common problem of having to dig through the bottom of the closet to find a scarf.
Sweater Organizers Aren’t Just for the Bedroom
Sweater organizers are frequently used in bedroom closets, but they are useful for more than just sweaters. Placing one in the hallway closet provides more space for items that might not need to be hung. Not only do you more than double the amount of storage for any given space but these organizers present an opportunity to be creative so the closet has a little style.
Accessibility Is a Priority
Accessibility takes priority because making things reachable prevents items from being moved around. Organize by frequency of use and by season. Sometimes, it’s more about everyone retrieving items from a specific area rather than wherever they landed after the last use. Communicating the organization structure to the family will make them aware of where to get what they need. This ensures all of the work you have done isn’t undone.
Frequently used items should be easily accessible, while the least frequently used items should be placed on the top shelves. Bins, baskets, and plastic totes make the ideal storage methods in this case. Make note of any obstructions in the closet that cause you issues and then evaluate unused space. Use that space to eliminate those obstructions as much as possible.
Overcoming Hallway Closet Organization Challenges
The above tips will help you bring more order to your life. It’s all about overcoming the challenges. One of those challenges is items falling into the floor. A second challenge is not being able to find what you’re looking for. Taking everything out of the closet, organizing it, throwing away unusable items, and donating ones that are usable are effective first steps. Next, you must determine what will work well for your closet.
One way to determine what is best for your closet organization endeavor is to look at the different types of closet organizers. Shelving units, hanging bags, valet rods, plastic bins, cloth-covered bins, and even shoeboxes are helpful. Each of these helps make better use of the space.
Another way to organize is to use your imagination so you can inject a little creativity into the closet. For example, a canvas sweater organizer that hangs from the tension rod in the closet is ideal for shoes, gloves, earmuffs, or scarves. A shoe bag makes good storage for those items as well. Just because an organizational item is made for a specific thing doesn’t mean that it has to be. Use organization tools the way you need them to be used.
Conclusion
Now that you know how to organize your hallway closet, go forth and de-clutter! With all the options in this guide, its time to pull out all the items of your hallway closet and get a fresh look at the available space. Using space savers, a organization method, and the home organization hacks mentioned in this guide will have you loving your hallway closet in no time.