10 ways to squeeze more space out of your closet

When your closet is shy on storage, try some clever hacks to maximize the space. Credit: Dreamstime
It's true that you can never have too much storage. Homes with generous closet and drawer space are a dream. But what if your closet is shy on space? With some clever changes you can carve out more storage in your closets.
1. Use the back of the door. The back of your closet door can hold a variety of items. Add an over the door hanger with multiple hooks, and you can hang robes, exercise wear, belts or hats. Look for specialty hangers specifically made for the back of your closet door.
2. Ditch the plastic hangers. It's true; tubular plastic hangers do take up more space. Recycle those mismatched plastic hangers with velvet thin hangers in a single color. You can get 100 for about $40 on AmazonBasics (www.amazon.com).
3. Add a shelf on lower rods. If you have a double rod closet, be sure to add a shelf over the lower rod. This is the perfect place to add thin jewelry boxes like Colleen's Prestige sunglass and jewelry storage boxes (www.hsn.com).
4. Get wired. Affix wire baskets to odd corners and small spaces to hold odds and ends. Wire shelves can be added above regular shelves to add more space, and they enable you to see what's on the shelf at the top.
5. Install hooks on shelves. Adding hooks on either side of closet shelf boxes makes a handy spot to hang belts, handbags and scarves.
6. Place shelves and drawers under clothes. Make the most of space by adding a dresser or drawer unit under hanging shirts. Look for easy to configure units like the Nordli (www.ikea.com) that can be adapted to multiple sizes and shapes.
7. Reduce your pant space. Jeans and pants eat up a lot of closet real estate because they're bulky and they're doubled up. Reclaim some of that space with specialty hangers for pants that let you hang four or five pairs of pants on one hanger.
8. Group clothing lengths. Place all long garments on one end of the closet. This will enable you to create more space under the shorter garments for additional storage.
9. Put tanks and camisoles on a multi-hanger. A tank top hanger (www.target.com) is a great way to group like items and reduce the number of hangers needed by hanging up to eight garments per hanger.
10. Add a shelf unit. It may seem like you're taking away valuable hanging space, but a shelf unit can be outfitted with baskets that can work like drawers, storing folding T-shirts, corralling flip-flops, housing shoes or containing other odds and ends that clutter closet floors.