small closet organization

Photo: Courtesy of 320 Sycamore

The "Leave No Space Behind" Answer to Those Stubborn Angles
Even though your closet is called a "reach-in," the name doesn't quite fit, since the only way to retrieve clothing from its dark corners is with a stretch, a yank and a pull. If you're frustrated with the dead space on the sides, try blogger Melissa Smith of 320 Sycamore's ingenious solution. Remove the long rod and shelf that go straight across the closet side-to-side and replace it with one that is the width of the doorframe. In one corner of the closet, install two closet rods, one lower and one higher (basically, perpendicular to the new, shorter left-to-right rod). The top bar should hang approximately 75 to 80 inches from the floor; the bottom bar, ideal for shorter items such as shirts and skirts, approximately 36 to 40 inches. Tension rods make this a snap (if you're storing lighter-weight items). For more detailed information, see Melissa's tutorial here.
small closet organization

Photo: Roeshel at DIYShowOff

The New Home for Your Strappy Party Shoes
Not all shoes are created equal—which means wear-only-for-special-occasions heels often get short shrift. But instead of keeping them out of sight in shoe boxes, use crown molding along the back wall of your closet (or even on the inside of the door) in one or multiple rows to create shoe organizers. Just 30 inches of molding can hold four pairs of shoes. If you need more guidance, this Home Depot community forum outlines the how-to steps you can follow to build the shoe racks.
small closet organization

Photo: Tara Charlton from IdeaBottle.blogspot.com

The Upcycle That Will Double Your Space
Before you recycle that Diet Coke can, pull the tab off to use as a quick way to double the hanging space available on one hanger. As shown in this tutorial from Idea Bottle, simply slide the tab down the hook of a hanger to its base, and then slip another hanger hook through the lower hole of the tab. Voila! Now you can store more clothing on a single closet rod. (This also is a great way to pair outfits together.)
small closet organization

Photo: Laura Wittmann of OrgJunkie.com

The Leftover Hooks That Are Afraid of Water
Wondering what to do with the surplus shower-curtain rings lurking in your linen closet? Laura Wittmann, author of Clutter Rehab: 101 Tips and Tricks to Become an Organization Junkie and Love It!, and blogger behind I'm an Organizing Junkie, clips shower-curtain rings to a hanger and then loops scarves through them, which saves space and keeps everything wrinkle-free. (The same trick works for hats and belts.)
small closet organization

Photo: One Good Thing By Jillee

The Slipped-Your-Mind Solution That Takes Less Than 1 Minute
You could spend $30 on a set of felt hangers; or, you could try one of these DIY methods from blogger Jill Nystul of One Good Thing By Jillee. Take a few pipe cleaners; wrap one around each end of a hanger, starting slightly after where the neckline of the clothing would sit. Rubber bands work, as well. However, Jill's favorite solution is to use a hot glue gun to make a zigzag pattern along the top of the hanger to create a grip, which, she says, is just as effective but the clear glue is less noticeable.
small closet organization

Photo: Ainhoa from A Little Bite of Everything

The Trick You Learned at the Office
We've worked in offices. We've also woken up to realize the one T-shirt we wanted to wear was at the bottom of the dirty-laundry pile. But it was Ainhoa Vega of the blog A Little Bite of Everything who put two and two together. She installed two towel rods lengthwise, one across the front and one along the back of the drawer; and then placed several metal rods that slide perpendicular to the towel rods, joining them. The result? An at-home closet-filing system where you fold T-shirts on rods in drawers so you can see all your options at once. For a complete how-to explanation, visit her blog post and say goodbye to T-shirt clutter once and for all.
small closet organization

Photo: Roeshel at DIYShowOff

The Third Shelf You Didn't Know You Could Fit
If you've already doubled your closet space by installing two levels of hanging rods, you might not realize that there's space for one more rod—and no, it's not at the ceiling. If you put a third tension rod right below your lowest rod, you can use pants hangers to corral your boots, store flip-flops with bent wire hangers and dangle purses or hats from S hooks.

Next: Uncommon organizing hacks for common household items