8 Wardrobe Organisation Tips

Are your shelves looking messy and cluttered? Young Lim, editor-in-chief of home & decor, shares some of the best shelf organisation hacks he has seen from the homes he has visited.

Install a mirror at the back of your shelves to add depth and reflect light. This not only makes your shelf display feel more spacious but also highlights decorative items by giving them more prominence and a sense of layering.

Don’t leave your books slanted or sliding off the side of the shelf, prop them up with clear acrylic bookends to achieve a neat and smart look. Alternatively, conceal a metallic bookend within the covers of a book and use that to create the illusion of your books standing at attention with no help at all.

Organise books or objects by color gradients rather than random placement to achieve a cool ombre effect from the display. Gradually transitioning from light to dark or warm to cool tones creates a cohesive, aesthetically pleasing look that draws the eye smoothly across the shelf.

This is a hack you often see in furniture showrooms. Leaving some open or “negative” space allows the eye to rest and highlights the items you’ve chosen.

1. Chest of Drawers

Double up on functionality by replacing a conventional bedside table with a multi-level chest of drawers like the Mountain chest of 5 drawers, $1,699, from Mountain Living (pictured above). Fundamentally, a chest of drawers provides a bedside surface for laying down your devices, books, and various other knick-knacks; functionally, it adds additional storage compartments for your belongings, cutting the clutter to preserve visual clarity and orderliness.

2. Drawer organisers

Up the ante on your aesthetics by matching your organisation containers such as these bamboo boxes, $6.32, from Daiso (pictured above) to your drawers. This provides a seamless visual integration between the furniture proper and your added compartments and enhances the overall aesthetic.

If you’re planning on mixing and matching your storage organisers, a good idea is to test out how individual boxes will fit into your drawer alongside its counterparts. Be sure to measure the interior dimensions of your drawers so as to guarantee a perfect fit.

Your belongings and essentials come in all shapes and sizes, and so too must your storage organisers. Keep things neat and tidy by incorporating containers of various sizes - even using stackable Paulownia cutlery boxes, $4.14, from Daiso (pictured above right), all the better to fully fit your various belongings, from tiny lipsticks to longer hair brushes.

Kitchen bamboo trays from $9.59, from Daiso, also make good storage organisers.

Keep your devices and their accessories within easy reach by sorting them neatly into organisers. Beyond reducing clutter, an organised array of gadgets will also eliminate frantic searches for missing cables, ensuring convenient access at all times.

3. Wardrobe Boxes

In smaller homes with narrower spaces, every last square inch is precious. Your wardrobe, in particular, features usable space between the hanging rod and its lower drawers. Take advantage of this space by fitting in collapsible fabric boxes. These boxes can then be used to store foldable garments.

To prevent mishaps and accidents, opt for storage containers with handles that proffer a firmer grip. This makes for easier transportation and moving, especially for containers that are stacked atop one another.

Opt for stackable containers if you have deeper drawers to take advantage of your available storage space. Less-used items or spares can fit snugly in the lower tiers, whilst frequently used items should be stored within reach for optimum convenience.

4. Sports Drawer

Augment an active lifestyle with the wherewithal to get up and go at a moment’s notice. Don’t waste your precious workout time! Instead of losing your sporting gear to clutter piles, simply assign spaces for them in a dedicated drawer, carefully divided so everything you need can be seen from a glance for easy access. That way, you won’t have to waste any time digging around for errant socks or lost swimming goggles.

5. Vanity Drawer

The wider the drawer, the higher its possibility of becoming cluttered and messy. Negate this by splitting up the space, using a variety of smaller containers to proffer nooks for items of all shapes and sizes. This is especially useful for skincare and makeup products, which can easily become overwhelming to manage.

6. Ties & Socks Drawer

Want all your options for accessories laid out before you? In the case of ties, socks, watches, pendants, brooches, and so on, a good idea for storage is mini compartments that lay them all bare for you at a glance. Not only will they look incredibly pleasing when displayed thus, you’ll also be able to make your selections with ease when dressing from day to day.

7. Adjustable Drawer Dividers

Want the ability to change around the size of your compartments with ease? Opt for adjustable dividers that allow for customisation to easily suit the shape and sizes of your items in storage.

8. Store Bedsheets in Boxes

Cut down on clutter by getting several of the same storage containers for larger items such as bedsheets, towels, blankets, and so on. Not only will this maintain visual clarity, it also allows for easy stacking of your containers when they are not in use.