I Asked Professional Organizers How They Keep Their Entryway Closets Organized — These Are the Must-Haves

An entryway closet can rapidly fall into abyss territory, becoming a space where items go to get lost for good. If used thoughtfully, they can be a great form of storage, providing households and guests alike with an ideal place to tuck away their coats and belongings. However, in more cases than not, these closets become and remain an untackled mess.

This doesn't have to be the case, though, as figuring out how to organize an entryway closet is far from impossible, even if, at times, it may feel that way.

I spoke to professional organizers to discover their top tips for keeping an entryway closet organized and sought out product recommendations to help bring functionality to your closet space. After hearing what they had to share, I honestly envied the fact that I didn't have an entryway closet to crack down on organizing in my home. Let's dive right into it.

1. Use the Entryway Closet for Essential Items

It's time to utilize those entryway storage ideas and organize your entryway closet, as this will certainly help future-you locate what you need, when you need it. The best place to start would be to store only essential items within your entryway closet.

Keren Geva, a professional organizer and the owner of Organize It, recommends being mindful about what you store in your entryway closet to combat this problem, reserving the space for essentials and items that make sense to live there. "The entry closet is essential for storing the items we need most often," says Keren. "For instance, I keep "to-go" bags there, which I use when packing my kids' things for trips to the park or a friend’s house. I also store the coats we wear most frequently in our entryway closet."

Being sure about what you wish to store in your entryway closet is the first step to having an organized, functional closet. So, think before placing items inside and invest in the best closet organizers. A cluttered space can't equal an organized space.

2. Add a Shoe Organizer

It can be a challenge to organize shoes in a closet. Many built-in entryway closets consist of one big open space without the addition of shelving, so your shoes will be left with nowhere to go aside from on the floor. This can cause pairs to end up separated, becoming more difficult to find and reach. Your haphazardly stored shoes can also make your entryway closet floor dirty if they aren't elevated.

Dana Reder, a professional organizer and the founder of Winnow & Bloom, shared some of the things that people who always have neatly organized shoes do that would be perfect for your entryway closet.,

"There are many different efficient ways to organize shoes in an entryway closet space. Shoes can be kept off the floor with a low shoe shelf or sorted into wicker baskets by shoe type or family member. Or even, to maximize floor space for other storage, you can use an over the door shoe organizer."

An over the door shoe organizer, such as the Amazon Basics 24 Medium Pocket Over-the-Door Hanging Shoe Organizer can hang on the inside or outside surface of your entryway closet door, depending on whether you wish for the storage to be visible. These types of shoe storage tend to be washable as well, making them ideal for tucking away little one's muddy shoes in the fall and winter. Or you can opt for baskets too if collating shoes into categories within open storage is more suitable for your home.

3. Use Durable, Matching Hangers

Upgrading your entryway closet's rail space to include good quality, matching hangers will make your closet feel more visually cohesive. This will subconsciously encourage your brain to want to maintain its tidiness, helping you to avoid entryway feng shui mistakes such as clutter build-up.

Having hangers of a high quality will further ensure that nothing you hang up will fall down when hangers break, and that when your items are hanging up they align on the clothing rail. Millie Naor, a professional organizer and the founder of Bella Organizer, says, "Investing in matching hangers is an easy way to upgrade your entryway closet and make everything hanging look put together." This will make your items easier to find, and your entryway closet will have a clear sense of order.

Dana recommends opting for a sturdy hanger material such as wood, since most people's entryways store heavier clothing items such as coats. "Jackets and coats are heavy, especially in the winter, so wooden hangers are the best option to ensure a streamlined system, making it easy access to your outerwear."

4. Add in Extra Shelves

Your entryway closet may be a walk-in room that you're doing up from scratch, or it may already have a bunch of shelves for your stuff. Either way, the option to add closet shelving is viable if your current space feels too crowded.

"I recently discovered tension rod shelves that are an easy solution if you need an extra shelf," says Millie.

A tension rod shelf is an expandable extra piece of shelving that can be inserted into a space. For instance, the Hershii Expandable Closet Tension Shelf Rod from Amazon features soft rubber rads on each end that push against the walls of your entryway closet space, preventing it from falling. These types of shelving would be amazing if you're looking to add a new shelf generally, but also if you're seeking to divide up your current deep entryway closet shelves into smaller, more manageable chunks of space.

5. Add in Hooks

Hooks are handy for hanging up all kinds of things, but when it comes to organizing the space of an entryway closet, they can be a game changer. They're also a great way to make an entryway look more expensive. So many items that a homeowner could benefit from having stored near their front door could be hung up on a hook or two in the entryway closet: tote bags, lanyards needed for work, scarves, the list goes on...

"Hooks are great for umbrellas, tote bags, or pretty much everything that you can hook on the wall," says Millie. In the same way as an over-the-door shoe organizer, hooks will also save you valuable floor space in your entryway closet. Just make sure that you don't hang too many items on each hook, otherwise things will begin falling down and accumulating on the ground.

There is a sea of hooks available, from the simplistic get-the-job-done renter-friendly Free Hanging Wall Hooks with Adhesive Strips from Amazon, to more stylish offerings such as the Streamline Hook from Anthropologie.

6. Make the Most Out of Storage Bins

Storage bins are a popular organizational tool used by people hoping to upgrade the accessibility of their space, and it's for good reason.

Dana recommends using storage containers to section off seasonals. "I separate winter gear (hats, gloves, scarves) by type and store my basket or container either on the floor or on a top shelf above my coats."

These containers, especially transparent ones with lids, such as the simple storage boxes from The Container Store that are available in all sorts of sizes, are considered to be some of the best storage for clothes — they will keep your entryway closet items categorized while still being able to see everything in each container with ease. You can even label your containers if you'd like the contents to be incredibly clear.

FAQ

How do I organize a deep entryway closet?

Extra floor-to-ceiling shelving will be your best friend if you have a deep entryway closet. Adding this into your space and designating each shelf a different category of item will not only help you to make the most out of every nook of your storage, but it will also make your deep entryway closet a dream to navigate.

Use a mixture of closed and open storage to store items depending on how frequently you need to take them out. For instance, if you're storing beach essentials such as hats, mats, and swimming gear in your entryway closet, you won't have to worry about putting it away in a container with a lid up on a higher shelf as we go into the later months of the year.

Everyone's entryway closet will look a little different, with some having predominantly hanging space for clothes and others shelves designed to store items folded up. If you've ever wondered whether you should hang or fold your clothes, I talked to experts to learn about the pros and cons of each of the methods for different items of clothing.