Struggling with a chaotic clothing situation? Wardrobe recovery begins with regular decluttering and trips to your local charity shops or selling via apps like Depop and Vinted. After that, it's all about ensuring everything that remains has a designated place and well, stays there. For a closet that excites you every morning, follow our tips on how to organise a wardrobe.

Start With What You Have

Step 1: Do the washing and assess. Before you begin to organise your small closet, start off by doing your laundry. Then, remove all of your clothing, accessories and shoes from your wardrobe and begin the process of clearing out. It may seem simple, but this will ensure that you have every item you own ready to work with.

Step 2: Pare down your wardrobe. Pare down your wardrobe by giving away, selling, or donating any duplicates, out-of-date pieces or items that no longer fit. If you haven't worn it in over a year, you can safely say goodbye to it. Cull your collection and get rid of any damaged or worn items. It might be difficult to retire your beloved jumper, but if it has holes in it, you can throw it away.

Step 3: Sort. Lay out everything you own before you start sorting. This way you will get a better idea of what you own. Once you start sorting, it is helpful to sort your items by types so that you have some sort of system. As long as you are able to maintain the system you create, your wardrobe should remain organised.

Step 4: Store. There are many storage options and additions that can help you organise a wardrobe; read on for a list of closet organisation ideas.

• Keep hanging items such as dress shirts, formal attire, dresses and jackets together.
• Trousers are versatile as they can be hung or folded.
• Try to store small items such as undergarments and socks in a dresser drawer.
• It's preferable to fold jumpers (especially bulky ones) so a hanger can leave indentations in the shoulders.
• Store accessories together, whether in baskets, on hooks or on hangers.

Tip: For even more ways to organise your clothing and personal items, read our guides, Easy Yet Effective Ways to Keep Your Chest of Drawers Organised and How to Organise and Store Your Jewellery.

Ideas for Organising a Small Wardrobe

1. Hang as Much as You Can

Dealing with all of your clothing at once can be a little daunting, but after you've sorted it into logical categories, the process of organising a closet should be a little easier. Many people don't realise it, but wardrobes often have a lot of valuable space that goes to waste. Adding clever storage devices can help you take advantage of this hanging space.

Hooks: Whether you choose regular hooks or over-the-door wall hooks for a great DIY wardrobe organisation idea, you will be able to hang items such as coats, bags and even accessories with ease. You can choose exactly where and how you would like to arrange the individual hooks in a system that works best for you and your wardrobe. Doing this will help make it easy to see more of what you own at the same time.

Hangers: Wooden hangers are ideal for dress shirts, while velvet hangers are good for vintage clothing, as well as any other items you wish to preserve. Skirts are less likely to stay on regular hangers, which is why those with clips work much better. If you're really looking to maximise the space in a small wardrobe, mutlilayer hangers are ideal as they store more clothing in the same amount of space that one hanger would.

Over-the-Door Organisers: It may seem so simple when you consider it, but the wardrobe door is an underutilised area. Make use of over-the-door organisers to store multiple items in space that would otherwise go unused. Hanging organisers that fit inside the wardrobe can also help you take advantage of the vertical space by storing multiple items in an area that would normally only house one or two pieces.

2. Add Floor Storage

Keep your shoes off the floor by adding storage to the bottom of your small closet. Shoes are notorious for being tough to store, especially considering they come in varying shapes and sizes. The addition of a cubby or shoe storage unit can keep your wardrobe floor clear, your shoes readily accessible and give you a little more room to work with in a small wardrobe.

3. Utilise Other Spaces

Hanging your clothing can help to keep it wrinkle-free. There are many convenient ways to do so. When it comes to organising a closet, you should try to work in conjunction with other spaces in your home.

Under-Bed Storage: This works especially well if you are able to divide your clothing by season. Doing so will not only free up closet space, but also make it easier to get to what you need without rifling through items you won't be wearing for another season yet. Store your off-season clothing and shoes in under-bed storage containers where they are easy to reach but still neatly packed away.

Attic & Basement Storage: If you don't have a place for storing clothes under your bed but do have storage space elsewhere, consider plastic boxes. These larger storage options can hold large amounts of clothing and be stored in locations such as the loft or basement.

Racks: Sometimes organising a small wardrobe means using additional hanging space. Consider using a coat rack to hang bulky coats to free up more space in your small closet. A garment rack is an additional external storage option which is versatile and modern looking.

4. Keep Things in Containers

Storage containers are an organisation must-have. Organising a closet with containers will help you maintain order with minimal effort. Storage baskets have a more rustic look and come in a wide range of sizes, allowing you to store anything from jewellery to jumpers, making them ideal for cramped spaces. Storage bins and boxes are the more common way of keeping clothing well organised. They are available in an array of colours and designs. Some even come with lids, allowing you to maintain a clean aesthetic.

5. Shop for Shelves

Organising a wardrobe works best when you make the most of every inch available to you. If your wardrobe doesn't already have them, consider installing shelves to hold your boxes and containers. With our impressive range of wall and display shelves, even the inside of your wardrobe can look stylish. If your closet already has shelves installed, consider using shelf dividers as a small wardrobe hack. These dividers will help you to keep your folded items separated and neatly stacked.

6. Choose Closet Systems & Organisers

Though you may not have control over your wardrobe size, it is possible to reconfigure and even redesign yours to create more space.

Closet System: A closet system is an ideal way to work with your small wardrobe design. These structures are installed within your wardrobe in order to add more shelf and hanging space, allowing you to designate spots to your different clothing categories. If you're handy with tools, you can easily install a closet system yourself. Whether it is the simple addition of a few rods or a full walk-in wardrobe system, you can choose the setup that best suits your budget and wardrobe space.

Rods: If you aren't able to install an entire closet system, then closet rods are also a great solution. Use this budget-friendly modification to clear your clutter and make your organisational system more efficient with additional hanging space.