How to organize a small closet and actually gain space

The problem is not just space

A small closet, especially in an apartment, is almost always full of clothes nobody wears. Before buying bins and organizers, it helps to understand why having too much weighs on you.

Read also: How to get the musty smell out of clothes in storage and How to make clothes last longer by washing them right.

What the research found

Catherine Roster, Joseph Ferrari and Peter Jurkat studied clutter at home and published their findings in the Journal of Environmental Psychology. Clutter was associated with lower well-being and a worse relationship with one's own home, which stops feeling like a place to rest.

Source: Roster, Ferrari and Jurkat, The dark side of home, Journal of Environmental Psychology, 2016.

Why clutter tires the brain

The brain has a limited capacity for attention. A neuroscience study from Princeton showed that when many objects appear in your field of view at once, they compete for attention in the visual cortex. A packed closet is exactly that: lots of things fighting for your eye while you look for one shirt.

Another study asked couples to give a tour of their homes. Women who used more words about clutter and unfinished projects had a less healthy daily pattern of cortisol, the stress hormone, and a more depressed mood. The study shows an association, not proof that clutter is the cause, but it matches the fatigue many people describe.

Source: McMains and Kastner, Journal of Neuroscience, 2011; Saxbe and Repetti, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 2010.

The four-step method

1. Take everything out. It is the only way to see what you have.
2. Sort into three piles: wear all the time, wear sometimes, have not worn in over a year.
3. Donate or sell the third pile at a thrift store, on Facebook Marketplace or on resale apps like Poshmark or ThredUp.
4. Store by frequency: what you wear most goes at eye level.

Space tricks that work

• Matching slim velvet hangers take up less space than bulky plastic ones.
• File-folding in drawers keeps everything visible.
• Off-season clothes can go in fabric bins on the top shelf or under the bed.
• The inside of the door can hold hooks or an over-the-door organizer for belts, bags and shoes.

How to keep it organized

• One in, one out: every time you buy something, pick one item to donate.
• Review at every season change, when clothes are already moving around.
• Create a set spot for clothes worn once that are not ready for the wash, so they do not pile up on the bedroom chair.
• Only store fully dry clothes, so moisture and smells do not get into the closet. See how to get the musty smell out of stored clothes.