Storage Solutions

January is a good time to dive into the wardrobe and impart some order by detoxing your clothing collection and organising what’s left in an efficient way. Having a well curated and organised wardrobe will help to take the stress out of dressing each day enabling you to face the New Year with a clear head, leaving unnecessary clutter behind. During 2023 I had my biggest ever wardrobe clear-out. Whilst my primary motivation was raising funds for my pug’s expensive vet bills it felt good to be letting go of things I no longer needed and streamlining my wardrobe into only the essentials. So if you fancy starting 2024 with a clothing clear-out I’ve highlighted below some of the storage solutions I have used or recommend to help keep your new wardrobe well organised. For tips on wardrobe detoxing head to my earlier blog post New Year Wardrobe Detox or pick up a copy of my book Wardrobe Wisdom. For USA readers scroll to the end where I have done a separate edit for you – with storage solutions available in the US.

Clothing rails:

Clothing rails are a great way to add additional storage space for hanging clothes and for ease of access to clothes you wear frequently. If you’re looking for a simple budget option to store an overflow of clothes outside your main wardrobe then this heavy duty rail from Argos is a good choice. I have the 6m rail – they are very strong (can carry up to 50 kilos of weight) so you can fit a lot of clothes on them without weighing down the rail. Some of the cheaper metal rails aren’t a good option if you have a large quantity of clothing as they can’t carry a lot of weight so will bend and break if overloaded. I also have this bamboo and white rail for every day clothes which has handy hooks at the sides for accessories and a shelf at the bottom for shoes. If your rail is a more permanent solution in place of a wardrobe I’d opt for one with a storage space at the bottom like these from John Lewis and Habitat, so that you can store things like shoes or folded garments. If you’re looking for something more aesthetic I quite like the design of this curved clothes rail from Dunelm – this would work well in a guest room if rail space isn’t a priority.

Hangers

Slim velvet hangers are the best space saving option for hanging clothes. I like these rose gold and blush pink ones. Pale colours are better for hanging white or pale garments to prevent any colour transfer from the black hanger. The slim hangers aren’t so good for bulkier items like coats so make sure you have a hanger with a stronger shoulder like these ones for heavier garments. Within the wardrobe I tend to organise by garment type and then colour.

The Dressing Table

Dressing tables are where you start the day so I think it’s really important to keep them organised so that you can mentally start as you mean to go on. It’s very easy for them to get messy if you have a lot of make up and other lotions and potions but a simple make up caddy or drawer organiser will keep everything neatly arranged. This pink gold and glass make up organiser and brush container is an elegant option for dressing table organisation. I’ve long been searching for the perfect canister to store cotton wool pads and think I’ve finally found the one in this pretty pink glass pot. This two tier stacking pot would be good for hair slides in one part and hairbands in the other. For US readers this Q tip and cotton wool dispenser looks pretty and practical. Ceramic dishes are a good way of storing frequently worn jewellery on the dressing table or side table.

Acrylic containers are an efficient way of organising small items like make up, glasses and jewellery so that you can easily view and find items. They also blend in with the surroundings well so don’t add bulk to whatever furniture you place them on. This drawer unit is a good item to have on the dressing table for makeup and small accessories. Muji have a good range of drawer units with velour partitions for storing jewellery.

This make up organiser is good for storing make up and toiletries in the bedroom/dressing room/bathroom.

Single layer open trays are good for organising make up and other small items within dressing table or bathroom unit drawers. You could recycle any shallow cardboard box or lid for this purpose too – I use Laduree macaron boxes to store some of my jewellery – they’re too pretty to throw away! This modular system from Joseph Joseph is good as you can customise it to fit your drawer space. The Home Edit and Stackers also have good extendable drawer organisers.

Underwear

I’ve tried various storage containers to use within drawers for organising smaller garments like underwear and hosiery and I think these storage drawers are the best I’ve found for organising smalls. (In the US they are available at The Container Store). I like the way they have a sliding divider so that you can easily adjust the space and keep everything neatly lined up. The smaller size is good for socks and knickers and the larger size for bras and bulky tights or socks. If you have a lot of tights of different denier arrange them by denier in separate drawers and then label the divider so they can be easily identified at a glance. These fabric underwear organisers are more budget friendly for larger quantities so a good affordable alternative for families.

Wardrobe Storage Boxes

Stackers products aren’t cheap but they are good quality and elegant – I’m always partial to anything blush pink! These large faux leather storage boxes are a great option for storing items at the tops of wardrobes if you want something more decorative as well as functional. They can be stacked or placed individually so are versatile too. These foldable boxes are a more budget friendly but still aesthetic option for storing larger items in the wardrobe and other shelving units.. I have a couple of this storage boxes from Ikea to store out of season things – they are good value but still have a premium feel with the beige woven paper and brass label holder.

Boxes with divided compartments are a good way of keeping folded garments organised within a chest of drawers. The sturdier ones can be stacked on shelves too.

Jewellery

Stackers have a great system for organising jewellery and accessories with their versatile stacking trays. You can customise your own jewellery tower with their various trays depending on the size and type of your jewellery:

As with make up storage I also like transparent jewellery boxes – they are simple but elegant storage solutions that enable you to easily locate the items inside and they don’t add too much bulk to the dressing table. These two glass ones are by Oliver Bonas. There’s lots of acrylic options at Amazon and Muji too.

Shoes

Double your shoe storage space on shelves with these shoe holders – a great space saver if you have a large shoe collection. If you don’t have shelves in your wardrobe this customisable and stackable shoe grid would fit in the bottom of wardrobes or in cupboards under stairs. Stackable front opening transparent shoe boxes are another good solution for organising large shoe collections, allowing each pair to be easily identified and removed, whilst keeping them dust free. This tiered shoe rack will increase shoe storage space at the bottom of wardrobes. The ridged surface stops shoes from slipping which sometimes happens with metal shoe rails. For shoes that you don’t wear so often you could store in an underbed storage container. If you have more hanging space than shelf space you could store some shoes in a hanging organiser.

If you need additional shoe storage outside the wardrobe a rack with a shelf at the top is a good idea so that this can be used to store other items like handbags etc.

Portable Storage

Hands up if you end up styling your hair at a mirror that is nowhere near the rest of your products/appliances?! This multipurpose caddy is a good idea for storing hair tools and products so that you can easily transport it to wherever the biggest mirror/plug socket is. This tool caddy from stackers works well for this too.

Out of Season Storage

Out of season clothing and shoes can be stored in underbed storage bags. Make sure clothing is clean before placing in longer term storage and add a lavender sachet to keep it smelling fresh and ward off moths. Long dresses and coats can be protected long term in breathable garment bags. Protect knitwear from the dreaded moth by storing in knitwear bags. These organic cotton hanging bags are good for storing dresses and coats.

If you have a lot of bulky jumpers or blankets, bedding etc that need to be stored longer term you can vacuum pack them first before storing to reduce the space needed.

Click below for a wider range of options for storage solutions in my Amazon shop front.

For my U.S. readers – I recently went online at The Container Store and you guys are spoiled for choice when it comes to affordable storage solutions! Lots of great ideas at Walmart and Target too – I’ve picked out some favourites below: