As the cooler weather sets in, warm coats and other outdoor gear become more crucial for the everyday routine of everyone in the house. Rather than take up a lot of space in the bedroom closets, it can be useful to have a coat closet that provides you with the space your household needs for outdoor gear. When it comes to a reach-in closet system for your coat closet, we've got some tips:
- Choose the Right Hangers for the Job
- Use Baskets, Bins, and Hooks for Smaller Items
- Don’t Put Coats Away Wet
- Have A Plan For the Off-Season
With a good organization system, your hall closet will stay neat and accessible so that you can find what you need when you need it.
Choose the Right Hangers for the Job
Your hangers matter more than you think. You can maximize your space and create a consistent appearance by using the same kind of hanger. You don’t want to just hang up coat closet items with whatever hangers you grab; chooses coordinating hangers that fit together and will look nice while keeping your coats in good condition.
Wooden hangers are widely considered the best hangers overall, and they’re usually the best choice for jackets and heavier coats specifically. However, if you need to save space and wooden hangers are just too large, then look for velvet non-slip hangers that are slimmer but can handle heavier weights like coats.
Use Baskets, Bins, and Hooks for Smaller Items
Coats are not the only articles of outerwear that you might need, especially in the winter. Items like umbrellas, rain hats, gloves, mittens, ear muffs, and scarves are all items that you may want to be able to grab when headed out the door. They’re also items that are easy to lose, especially if you’re just setting them down at random when you come inside.
Closet accessories like bins, baskets, and hooks can help you keep track of these items. These are all items that can be hung on hooks or tossed into baskets. You can label bins or baskets so that umbrellas go in one box and gloves and mittens go in another, so it’s even easier to find what you want when you need it. This way, your important items are kept in one place and easy to find when you’re getting ready to leave the house.
Don’t Put Coats Away Wet
An important part of an organized closet system is following steps to keep the closet in good shape and functioning optimally. Never walk inside from a rainstorm and immediately hang your soaking wet coat in the closet. Similarly, rain or snow boots and hats and other accessories and outerwear shouldn’t be put in the closet while wet either.
For one thing, your wet items will most likely touch other items in the closet, so dry things will end up wet and perhaps dirty as well. What’s more, when you put wet items in the closet, you run the risk of mold and mildew growing in the closet. It doesn’t take a lot of moisture or a long time for mold to develop. Make sure these items are dry before being replaced in the closet.
Have A Plan For the Off-Season
Another important part of taking care of your closet and the clothes in it is having a plan for the off-season. Eventually, the temperatures will rise again, and while you will still need rain gear, you might want to put away the heavy coats and replace them with light jackets or sweaters for the occasional cold night or visit to a venue that you know has cold indoor air. That’s fine, but you need to have a plan for the off-season.
Start by cleaning the coats and other items that you’re going to put away. Don’t store dirty garments away before washing them. The Guardian explains how you can store heavy coats on hangers inside a calico suit bag if you have the hanging space, but if you can’t hang them, you can pack them folded in plastic bins with clear lids and put acid-free tissue paper around them. Since these clothes can also be vulnerable to moths, make sure to store them with some type of moth repellent. Natural moth repellents that smell good include cedar planks, pine blocks, or a potpourri of dried rosemary, thyme, cloves, lavender, or bay leaves in a cloth bag.
Conclusion
A good closet organization system protects your clothes and helps ensure you can leave the house with what you need without having to search for it. This is just as important for a hall closet as it is for a bedroom closet.
