When winter comes and homeless shelters are so in need of donations of coats, gloves, hats and boots, I think it’s the perfect time to organize the hall closet. Hall closets can be sorted through pretty quickly, and you’ll feel great afterwards when you have a bag of items to donate to someone in need. Here are my tips to make this project go quickly and easily:
1. What should live in your hall closet? For most people, it’s just outerwear, plus purses and backpacks. Some people also stash the vacuum cleaner in here too, which I think is fine, along with items needed for walking the dog (leashes, coats, flashlight, etc.) Take everything else out of the hall closet and relocate it elsewhere in the house (or donate it, if you aren’t using it!)
2. How many coats/jackets does each family member need? There isn’t a hard and fast number. It will depend on what the weather is like in your area and what your lifestyle is like (do you do lots of outdoor activities or sit in an office all day?) In our family of 3, we each have a jacket, a heavy coat for snow, an everyday coat for school/work, and a dress coat (usually wool) for dressy occasions. That makes 12 coats/jackets in the closet, which is about all our closet can hold.
3. We hung an over-the-door shoe organizer on the inside of our closet door to stow winter gear. All of the gloves live in one row, all of the hats live in another row, all of the scarves live in a third row, etc. It makes it really easy to find pairs and to get out the door quickly!
4. We don’t store shoes in the hall closet, because our closet is just too small. Most Americans (including kids!) own more than 10 pairs of shoes, so it’s not practical to store all of the family’s shoes in the hall closet. We store our shoes in our bedroom closets in shoe racks with the exception of the one pair of shoes we wore that day, which live by the back door. Snow boots and rain boots live in the basement on racks, where they can drip-dry after use.
5. If you decide to store only the daily pair of shoes by the door, this pile can become large and jumbled-looking as family members switch up their daily pair. You will probably need to do a regular sweep of the front door pile and make everyone put their shoes back in their bedroom closet once a week.
6. I use the shelf above the closet rod to store my purse. Some women might choose to hang their purse from a hanger or use a hanging purse organizer to store their purse instead.
7. We installed sturdy hooks on the wall inside the closet for backpacks, shopping totes and string bags. It’s really nice to be able to get those off the floor.
8. Underneath the coats, we store our luggage. This is just the best place for us. I know a lot of people choose to store their luggage in a guest bedroom closet or down in the basement. Ours is in the hall closet because it makes great use of the dead space under hanging coats.
I hope this gives you some ideas for how to organize your own hall closet. It’s really nice to be able to have a designated place to put your coat and purse everyday, and it feels really good to be able to offer guests a tidy spot to hang their coats. Happy Organizing, everyone!
Pic credit to The Container Store.
Like this post? Then like our Facebook page or follow us on Instagram or Pinterest. In need of professional organizing services in the Portland, Beaverton or Lake Oswego area for your home or office? Contact us for a low-cost assessment and get an estimate on your project here.