Tiny House Closets For Your Clothes
I think the biggest piece of advice I have when it comes to your wardrobe is to question everything. You first want to pare down your wardrobe to only pieces that you love to wear and that work well together. I’ve covered how you can embrace a minimalist wardrobe, but I know that isn’t for everyone.
Hi, I’m Ryan
Storage is a huge part of making a tiny house practical. I’ve been living in a 150 sq/ft for close to a decade now and having a great designed closet for my clothes and organized storage for all my possessions keeps my house tidy despite being such a small space!
Ryan’s Tiny House Clothes Closet Video Tour
The way I dress isn’t for everyone, but I thought I’d show a practical example by giving you a video tour of my own closet in my tiny home that I’ve lived in for close to a decade.
Tiny House Closet Design
Once you’ve figured out what you need to store in your closet, it’s time to figure out how to design the actual layout. I find that people either like to hang their clothes or keep things in drawers. While most of us might use both, we tend to prefer one way or the other.
Think about how you like to store your clothes and what kind of wardrobe you have. If you have a lot of nicer blouses or business-casual wear, your closet will be different than someone who wears yoga pants and T-shirts most days. You may also be a person who has two types of clothing: casual wear and a professional wardrobe for when you’re in the office.
When I built my tiny house, I also transitioned away from my corporate job, leaving my business wear behind me. I now only keep one suit and a few polos. The rest is a minimalist wardrobe of just grey shirts for a minimalist uniform.
Tiny House Closet Dimensions
There are some key dimensions you should consider when designing your closet. I recommend you first figure out exactly what you want to store, then design around those exact items. I also tell people to figure out what you need to store, then double the volume for things you forget and to future proof your design.
| Standard Clothing Dimensions | |
|---|---|
| Men’s Suit Coat | 1-1/24″ x 38″ long |
| Men’s Shirt | 1″ x 38″ long |
| Men’s Pants Straight | 44″ long |
| Men’s Pants Folded | 44″ long |
| Women’s Dress | 68″ long |
| Women’s Jacket | 36″ long |
| Women’s Blouse | 24″ long |
| Women’s Skirt | 36″ long |
| Folded Clothing | 10″ wide x 12″ deep |
| Shoes | 9″ x12″ per pair |
Tiny House Closet Layout
Storage is something that you’re going to want to take pretty seriously, I usually advise people to gather everything you want, down to the very last item, then design your storage around that.
If you’re a person who hangs a lot of things, you’re going to want more hanging space. But if you’re like me, I don’t like hanging much, so I’d swap these spaces for shelves, drawers and bins that I can fold and stack thing into.
I don’t have a lot of accessories, I keep my shoes to a minimum, and I have a backpack that I keep my laptop in while I’m on the go. You’re going to want to balance how much space you dedicate to your clothing and other stuff in your tiny home, because we don’t have a lot of space to begin with.
Here is a design I recommend:
Items You Might Want To Store In Your Tiny House Closet
| Tiny House Closet Items | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Underwear | Shorts | Winter Coats | Dress Shoes |
| Socks | Dresses | Rain Coats | Sandals |
| Bras | Skirts | Hats | Belts |
| Sleepwear | Sweaters | Gloves | Ties |
| T-shirts | Sweatshirts | Scarves | Jewelry |
| Dress Shirts | Suits | Leisure Shoes | Purses |
| Casual Shirts | Vests | Hiking Boots | Workout Clothes |
| Jeans | Swimsuits | Sneakers | Towels |
| Pants | Cover-ups | Snow Boots | Bandanas |
Open Shelves Vs. Cabinets In A Tiny House
Open shelving has been trendy for a while now, but I’d argue that you should set aside whether something is fashionable or not and think about how it suits your needs. I think there is a case for both open and closed storage, but it depends on your needs, the placement, and your behaviors.
Use Open Shelves For Quick Access Of Regularly Used Items
I use open shelving right above my kitchen counter in a small nook I couldn’t otherwise use as cabinet space. Here I put things I use multiple times a day: dishes, bowls, toothpaste, and my little Bluetooth speaker. These are easily grabbed but can be tucked out of sight when not in use.
Use Cabinets For Higher Density Storage And To Hide Disorderly Items
The nice thing about cabinets is that you have a door that you can close to hide stuff behind. This isn’t to say it’s messy, but there are things that are disorderly, like your landing pad for your wallet, purse, mail, keys, etc.
I think the big realization I had with this is that even if you’re pretty organized, your storage is going to have an irregular pattern to it. There are always some disorderliness to things like jackets hanging, etc. These irregular patterns can cause some subconscious stress at an almost undetectable level because it enters our visual field.
A tiny house is just too small for such things. A cabinet door lets you visually cloak the irregular patterns, making the space feel really comfortable; that’s the brain telling you that the micro stress of irregular patterns is gone.
Everything Has A Place And Everything In Its Place
The reason I emphasize figuring out what you want to store first is because the key to a tidy home (tiny or otherwise) is that every item you own has a designated spot in your home. That means that when you use something, you know exactly where it should go afterwards.
As you live like this, you’ll train your brain to flag items that don’t have a home. That brain pattern will signal to you that either this item needs a designated spot or it’s not important enough to have one in the first place, which tells you that it should be decluttered out of your house entirely.
Learn about this while I talk about my junk drawer here:
Tiny House Closet Ideas
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