Why not give the man in your life a valuable gift - the gift of mens closet organization. By organizing your man’s closet, you will be able to help him manage his time in the morning better and be able to help him see what he has and what he needs easily and quickly.
Many years ago, I helped my father organize his closet; these tips came from my experience of doing my first men's closet organization. I hope they help you and your man.
First and foremost, be sure you ask your man how they want to use their closet space.
- By tasks (work, casual, workout, etc...)
- By type of item (pants, shirts, sweatpants, etc...)
Men do tasks in order. First, they put on their undergarments, then maybe their shirt or pants, then their socks (Affiliate Link), etc... To figure out how he does his closet, ask him what he does first, second, third, etc....
Here is an example of the order he may use:
Undergarment >>> Socks (Affiliate Link) >>> Shirt >>> Pants >>> Shoes (Affiliate Link)
After you figured out how he does his morning routine (Affiliate Link), you need to determine where to start.
Where to start?
- Start from the left of the closet to right of the closet when organizing for right-handed people.
- Start from the right of the closet to the left of the closet when organizing for left-handed people.
Now you are ready to work on the different areas of the closet. Below are the main areas to take into consideration when organizing the closet:
Hanging Items in the closet
Buy the same type of hangers for the different types of garments. Make sure they are strong enough to hold the items. Some items may be heavier than others.
How to hang men's suits in the closet?
Buy hangers that are wider at the ends so the shoulders will stay on the hangers and will not leave a mark. Here are examples of the ones I am talking about on Amazon (Affiliate Link). (affiliate)
How to hang Shirts in the closet?
If you have lots of button-down shirts, have all the button-down shirts facing the same direction works best. Think of how it looks in the department store. Facing them all the same direction will allow you to store more and eliminate excessive wrinkles.
From my experience, determining how he searches for the shirts will help minimize time looking for something. Ask him which way he prefers his shirts to be facing.
If your guy buttons the top button of his dress shirts, these hangers would work fine. Click on the image to buy. (affiliate links from Amazon (Affiliate Link))
If you know your man will not button the top button, purchase velvet coated hangers to help keep them on the hangers. Below are examples of the ones I am talking about from Amazon (Affiliate Link) (affiliate).
How to hang pants in the closet?
Jeans can be folded or hung depending on the space in the closet. Dress pants and slacks should always be hung.
There are two ways you can hang pants, folded on a hanger or hanging down from the leg. Here are the two types of hangers from Amazon (Affiliate Link)(affiliate).
Hanging pants down from the bottom of the pant leg:
This way helps you keep the pants straight and with fewer creases. You will need a lot of space to do this so before buying make sure this will work on your man's closet. Below are examples of these types of hangers from Amazon (Affiliate Link)(affiliate).
Folded pants over the hanger option:
This one can be used for people who wear their pants more often. If you store them this way for too long you may see dust forming on the folded area. There are some options if there is not enough space in the closet. You can layer them on one hanger. Be sure to place the hanger with the opening facing out so they can easily access the pants.
Now, it's time to move on to the shoes (Affiliate Link).
How to organize men's shoes?
Divide the shoes (Affiliate Link) into casual and formal. This will make it easier to determine which ones need special storing.
If the dress shoes (Affiliate Link) are not worn often, use a box like this one to protect them from dust. Below are some examples I found on Amazon (Affiliate Link)(affiliate).
If they are OK with the shoes (Affiliate Link) being left out, here are some options you can use to store the shoes (Affiliate Link) from Amazon (Affiliate Link)(affiliate).
Now, let's move on to the other miscellaneous items that may be in your man's closet.
How to organize Jewelry / Watches / Cufflinks / Collar Stays?
Storing Jewelry (Affiliate Link), watches, cufflinks, and collar stays in one unit on a shelf in the closet works nicely too. Here are Amazon (Affiliate Link)(affiliate) examples of a men's valet box that can use stored on a shelf in the closet. They are primarily called "Dresser Valets" for men and jewelry (Affiliate Link) boxes (Affiliate Link) for Women. Interesting, right?
How to organize Ties and Belts?
Now we are onto the ties and belts. He may wear ties or belts. Both can be hung together. Mounting a unit to an available wall or back of a door works great. Here are some examples I found on Amazon (Affiliate Link)(affiliate).
That's it. I hope this post helps you and your man get his closet organized. We have covered a lot of information here, feel free to leave a message with your questions about your closet in the comment section and I will be sure to respond.
Learn more about organizing a man's closet with these additional articles here.
The Smartest Way to Organize Your Closet
Men's Closet Ideas and Options
Feel free to visit some of our other posts about closet organization.
THE ULTIMATE CLOSET ORGANIZATION TIPS FOR SENIOR CITIZENS
HOW TO STORE CLOTHING IN REALLY SMALL SPACES
SHOULD YOU FOLD OR HANG CLOTHING
Nancy Haworth says
Thank you for these tips! I like how you not only suggest products, but explain how to organize things in the closet, like hanging all of the shirts in the same direction. Great tips on starting from the left or right side of the closet, depending on whether the person is left-handed or right-handed, too!
Linda Samuels says
Just last week, I was helping one of my clients (a man,) organize his clothing closet. He was moving back into his home after being away for a renovation. This was the perfect opportunity to do some editing and re-organizing. He felt his closet was too full, so we worked on making it better. I had many questions, including how did he like to face his hanging clothes. As it turned out it was the opposite way I normally hang them. But that was OK. It was important that they hung how HE preferred. In addition, I normally button at least one button on the shirts so they don't slip off the hangers. However, I noticed that NONE of his hanging shirts were had been buttoned so I asked him about it. He explained that he HATES having them buttoned and can't stand it when the housekeeper buttons them. So guess what? We left them all unbuttoned. And again, the key was getting the closet set up in a way that he liked and preferred. In the end, things looked great and he even had empty shelves and extra hanging space.
Donna Matthews says
The best part of your article? Ask HIM his routines and preferences...I once reorganized my husband's closet and it turned into the biggest fight 😐 lesson learned!
Seana Turner says
These are all great tips! My husband follows many of these suggestions, including hanging all shirts in the same direction, using a tie rack (a couple, actually), and a belt rack. We don't have room to hang pants straight, so he folds them, which works fine. He also has a lot of shelving, so his sweaters and sweatshirts and folded in his closet as well. I always call it a "man box" for storing watches, etc. That sits on a dresser rather the closet for us. They are really great to have!
Janet Barclay says
I'm glad you explained the purpose of all the different kinds of hangers. It will make it easier to choose the right ones, especially realizing that more than one type will probably be needed.
andleeb says
The tips are amazing but in my case I need that someone organize my closet as my husband is best in organizing and always ask me to give some time to mine.
I will try to use this post to organize my closet.
Thank you for great tip.
Jill Robson says
I have a valet box for my husband, it certainly keeps the stuff together and not spread across the top of the dresser. Great post.
Autumn Leopold says
For my husband organizing by task works better than organizing by type. I also have that exact shoe rack for him because it has a nice depth for his size 12 shoes! We are also switching to the flat velvet hangars you get at Costco.
Pamela Chollet says
I'm overwhelmed just reading this post. But I know if someone offered to organize my closet as a gift I would be thrilled! I never thought about setting a closet up according to your dominant side. That's a great tip! Thank you.
William Rusho says
As a single guy, your tips are very useful for helping me organize my closed. You forgot one main thing, and that is a forklift to get all the crap out of there first. Great post, thanks for sharing.
Michele Harvey says
These are wonderful suggestions. I've never known a man with an organized closet. My son would really benefit from your suggestions. What about colors? Do you group like colors together, or organize them in any particular way, when hanging the clothes?
Sabrina says
It really depends on the man. Not all men care about color grouping. They like it easy. Color grouping means they would have to do some work to keep it that way. I have noticed that men tend to like it organized by activities, like work, relaxing, exercising, etc... Another tip is to stay consistent when hanging jackets and shirts, it helps to have the front of the shirts facing the same directions for example. =)
Lenie says
Hi Sabrina - I follow most of your ideas for my husband but I missed a big one - I never consulted him as to what he preferred. After 48 years it's a little late for that now but that is a really good idea.
I do like your little rack for hanging belts. Looks nifty.
Beth Niebuhr says
What great suggestions! My husband is much tidier than I am and his closet reflects that.
Jacqueline Gum says
What a great idea! But do you think men actually like organized closets? Kidding.... it's just that they don't seem to be very good at it:)
Donna Janke says
Good tips for organizing a man's closet. My husband is already pretty organized (maybe even a little OCD) and he keeps his closet and drawers in order. Since retiring, he has gotten rid of most of his suits and ties, so there is also less stuff to organize.
Mahal Hudson says
My perfect gift idea for my husband! Thank you for all the wonderful tips.