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How to Share a Closet

Anthony Cuomo • November 25, 2014

Some master bedrooms come with two walk-in closets, which makes it easy when it comes to sharing the space with your significant other. Most, however, include only one walk-in closet. Who gets it? Where will you keep all of the shoes? And how do you keep one person from taking over? There are ways to keep the peace while sharing storage space. Here are some of them:

Start with a clean slate
If you have found that your shared walk-in closet is filled to the gills, you need to take everything out and start fresh. While the task may seem overwhelming, it is easier if you work methodically: Clear out one section at a time, and separate your items into piles. One should be items to keep, and the others will be items to repair, items to give away (or return to someone else), and items to toss. If you haven’t worn something in the past year, strongly consider giving it to someone who can use the item! As you work through the closet, you may find that you are gaining a lot of space. In mild closet-sharing-crisis cases, this step may be enough to restore harmony.

Divide the closet
Now, the equitable thing might be to divide the space in half, but in reality, most women need more closet space than most men. Of course, this is a generalization and the opposite might be true in your case. Determine how much space each of you needs, and make some sort of dividing system. This might be in the form of a professionally installed custom closet, or it might be simply a matter of using different colored hangers in the quantities needed. Do the same for the floor space and shelving space, carving out space for all of the shoes, purses, hats and other accessories as needed.

Save space with closet accessories
If, between the two of you, you have a large number of ties and belts and also store jewelry and other small items in the closet, it’s best to group these items together in order to save space. Closet accessories can do you a world of good: You can buy them, have them installed when you’re getting your closets re-done, or make your own out of baskets, bins and other organizational items you have around the house.

Come up with a maintenance plan
Once you have your closet under control and have found a way to share space amicably with your partner, it’s important to keep on top of things. If you find that one of you is buying too many items and that they are taking up too much closet space, you may need to start back at square one. It’s easier to agree on a rule that both of you will follow, such as eliminating an item before bringing a new one in. You could also agree to keep sweaters, undergarments and other types of clothing that shouldn’t be hung in a dresser in the main part of the bedroom, or to switch out your shoes with the season, leaving the unworn ones in the hall closet instead of the master bedroom closet. Come up with a plan, and stick to it!

Successfully sharing storage space in the walk-in closet can be a challenge, but it can be done. Following these tips can help you go from closet chaos to a streamlined storage solution that works for everyone.

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