6 Tips For Organizing A Coat Closet

Is your coat closet overflowing with a disorganized mess? If so, here are six tips for making it more functional and less cluttered so all your outerwear have dedicated storage spots.

A coat closet is such a great thing to have in a home, and if you’re lucky enough to have one included in your house’s layout, you probably want to maximize every inch of this extra space. But between big winter coats, lightweight rain jackets, cold weather accessories, and all the other random things you stash in the closet, it’s hard to keep it all organized. Here are my top six tips for keeping your coat closet tidy and functional all year long.

1. Organize Coats First

The whole point of your coat closet is to store coats. So before you start adding baskets and organizers, prioritize hanging your coats first. Donate any coats you rarely wear or your kids have grown out of, then hang the ones you’re going to keep using heavy duty wood hangers. Try not to pack them in too tightly or it will be hard to take out and put back the coats. Aim for loose spacing.

Once all the coats have been hung up, you’ll see how much extra space you have for hanging cubbies and stackable organizers. You may have enough room to hang cubby shelves from the rod, or you might end up filling the rod completely with coats. It helps to know exactly how much space is left after the coats are inside so you don’t waste money on organizers that won’t fit.

2. Choose The Right Baskets

When it comes to organizing accessories like winter hats, scarves, and gloves, the basket you choose to store them in matters a lot. A natural woven basket may look pretty on the top shelves, but they can shed tiny shards into knitted gloves which hurts like a splinter if it ends up in your fingers. They can also snag delicate hats and scarves leaving holes and pulls in the fabric.

For winter accessories, the best type of bins to use are fabric lined or wool. You can go with the standard fabric cube bins, wool baskets, or even a natural woven basket that has a fabric liner inside. The soft fabric protects your accessories from damage. You can also use plastic bins if you’d like; just make sure there are no sharp edges that can tear fabrics.

3. Utilize Door Space

Most coat closets are pretty small and space is limited. Don’t settle for just the shelf above the rod and the gap between coats and the floor as your only storage areas. The back of the door is a great place to stash smaller items like umbrellas, pet leashes and accessories, handbags, flashlights, and miscellaneous things that don’t have a home anywhere else.

You can choose a pocket organizer, tiered basket, or even hanging pegboards for small things. Most hanging over-the-door organizers come with hooks that slide right over the top of the door so you don’t have to drill into it. And there are even specialty organizers like this one made to hold gift wrap, which is super handy if you have been struggling to find a spot for those.

4. Use Washi Tape To Categorize Hangers

If you’re storing coats for multiple family members or a lot of different types of coats for various occasions, this little hack helps visually categorize them easily. Just choose a few colors of washi tape to represent each category (person, type, season, size, etc) and wrap the tape around the clothes hanger hook.

This helps you keep all your coats organized, especially if a few people in the house wear the same size or similar coat styles. It also makes it easy for younger kids to get their own coats in the morning before school because they know which color belongs to them.

5. Rotate Seasonally

Your coat closet likely holds coats and jackets for multiple seasons, and at least half of them won’t be used for quite a while. At the end of each season, rotate the contents of the closet so the items you’ll use in the upcoming season are most accessible.

In the spring, rain jackets, hats, and boots should be within arm’s reach while thick coats, toboggans, and scarves should be on higher shelves and on the far sides of the hanging rod. By putting the things you use most often in the most accessible spots of the closet, you’re more likely to put them away instead of just piling them up.

6. Use A Glossy Paint Sheen

Between daily wear, sliding around baskets, and tossing in dirty shoes, coat closets get a lot of use. And that increased usage can cause the walls and shelves to get scuffed up pretty quickly. If you have time and are able, it’s a good idea to freshen up the paint with a semi-gloss or gloss sheen.

This paint sheen is very slick and easy to wipe clean, it won’t scuff or chip, and the coats stored on the ends of the rod will just glide right along the side walls. Repainting isn’t necessary for an organized and functional coat closet, but it will make a huge difference when it comes to maintaining the space.

Coat Closet Organization Must-Haves

Stackable Storage Boxes With Clear Window
Bamboo Shoe Rack
Fabric Storage Bin
Heavy Duty Wooden Hangers
Glove & Mitten Clips
Bamboo Charcoal Odor Absorber
Colored Washi Tape Set
Rattan S-Hooks
Small Framed Dry Erase Board
Hat Hanger
3 Tier Over-The-Door Baskets
Collapsible Space Saving Hanger
Wooden Key & Mail Organizer