Out of every room in your home, why does the closet never seem to stay organized? Days (okay, maybe even minutes) after putting away every shoe, sweater, and belt, it’s back to looking like a tornado made its way through your space. Well, Lucy Milligan Wahl, the professional organizer behind LMW Edits, is here to help solve that issue for good.
In a session for Intuition, Milligan Wahl let everyone take a peek inside her own closet and how she has everything set up. With that, she also shared some must-haves she loves that you can use to tidy up your own closet as well. “When I designed my closet, I was thinking about keeping everything visible,” she said. “I love getting dressed and expressing myself through fashion, and in order to do that, I really need to see what my options are.”
Whether she keeps things organized and visible through matching hangers, wall hooks, or letter sorters (yes, you read that right!), here are her top five must-haves for creating a stress-free closet.
5 Must-Haves That Tidy Up Your Closet
1. Shoe Rack
Anytime Milligan Wahl is working with a smaller closet, she utilizes a good old fashioned shoe rack. “A really simple one that’s expandable, made out of chrome, and where you can stack the units up,” she says. “You can fit a lot of shoes that way.” In fact, she prefers this method over using shoe boxes, which she says take up way too much space and prohibits you from easily seeing what’s inside.
2. Matching Hangers
Sure, you can get by with all the mismatched hangers you’ve picked up over the years. But getting matching hangers makes a big impact in staying organized. “A lot of visual clutter in closets comes from the fact that the hangers are all kinds of different colors and materials,” she says. When your hangers match, they recede into the background and allow the focus to be on your clothes. She prefers narrow velvet hangers, which allow you to fit more within your space. Extra bonus: Clothing won’t slip off of them.
3. Letter Sorter
A letter sorter… in your closet? According to Milligan Wahl, they come in handy when it comes to organizing and displaying your purses and clutches. “Mine comes from the office section of The Container Store, but it makes a great repurposed storage for clutches,” she says. Just measure the bags you have before buying one, as the widths can be narrow and you’ll want to make sure yours can fit.
4. Wall Hooks
If you’re not sure how to store something, there’s a good chance wall hooks will come in handy. “I’ve used them for baseball caps, belts, and scarves,” she says. Milligan Wahl installed a multi-hook wall hanger, but you can go with individual hooks, pegs, or even an over-the-door option that doesn’t require you to drill any holes.
5. Shelf Dividers
If you’re not sure how to organize and store all your sweaters, Milligan Wahl recommends getting shelf dividers. “They make sure that when you have stacks of sweaters, they don’t topple over when you’re trying to pull things out,” she says. Because the last thing you want after neatly folding all your knits is getting caught up in a sweater avalanche.
