Which hangers to buy, which to toss, and how to build a matching set on any budget, from Dallas professional organizer Jenny Dietsch of Getting It Done Organizing.
The fastest way to make a closet look and work better is also one of the simplest: matching hangers. As professional organizers, our biggest closet pet peeves are mismatched hangers and wire hangers.
Here is what we recommend, from the hangers we love to the ones we always replace.
Start With Matching Hangers
Our top tip is to invest in matching hangers and commit to them. The goal is a closet where every hanger matches. If you can, make it a one-time project and swap them all at once, so your closet has a baseline that is easy to keep.
Matching hangers give your closet a clean, intentional look, making it easier to see what you own while keeping everything tidy. Keep the same hanger for everyone in the family, too. Different colors for different people sounds fun, but hangers inevitably end up in the wrong closets after laundry.
You do not have to buy expensive hangers. They just have to match.
Hangers to Skip (and What to Use Instead)
Wire hangers are the first to go. The wire hangers with foamy padding are even worse for your clothes. The padding breaks down over time and balls up on your clothing, and the color can transfer onto fabric.
We also steer clients away from colored hangers. Keep it simple with clear, white, neutral, or all matching black if that suits your closet. Pinks, blues, and purples make a closet feel busy.
Skip the multitier hangers that hold several pairs of pants on one hanger. They are meant to fit more into your closet, but it is hard to get the pair in the middle out, and they are just not easy to navigate. Instead, choose one slim hanger with a bar all the way around, so the same hanger works for shirts and pants. Our favorite is below.
Our Favorite Hanger: Clear Acrylic Slim
The Clear Slim Suit Hanger is our go-to for so many reasons. It has the same slim profile as the velvet hangers that were all the rage years ago, but clothes go on and off more easily, and the clear acrylic looks so much better in a closet. The hangers almost disappear, so your clothing is the main attraction.
It also does double duty. With the bar all the way around, like a pant-style hanger, it holds both shirts and pants, so you are never searching your closet for a shirt hanger or a pant hanger. Keep it easy, and keep them all the same.
Wood hangers are nice, but they are thick. A pack of wood hangers takes up roughly double the space of a stack of clear slim hangers, which means less room on your rod.
Men often do not like velvet hangers because shirts stick when they try to pull them off. A popular pick with our clients is the non-slip rubberized hanger in black. It has a similar slim profile to the clear acrylic, plus a rubberized finish that still keeps clothes from slipping.
If you do love the velvet look, a non-slip velvet hanger is still an option. For kids, clear thin hangers are a great fit, and once they outgrow kids’ sizes, move them to adult hangers. Sooner is better, since adult sizes keep clothing from falling off.
Hangers for Special Pieces
The right hanger depends on what is hanging on it.
- Men’s suits, coats, and blazers need sturdier hangers with wide shoulders to protect the shape of the garment and help it last longer. Store suit jackets and pants together on the same heavy-duty hanger. A heavier-duty acrylic hanger is a luxe option that also works for heavy coats.
- Tanks and dresses with straps do best on hangers with a small divot, so they do not slip off.
- Delicates like lingerie and silk blouses are happiest on satin or padded hangers, where a hard edge cannot snag or distort the fabric.
- Suede and leather skirts and pants should not go on clip hangers, unless you add a padded barrier to the clip to protect the material. Folding can be a better option for these.
- Beaded pieces can go on a hanger, but keep a garment cover on them so the beads do not get snagged when you are looking through your closet or taking something out.
- Sweater dresses and heavy knits can stretch. Fold them over the bar of a pant-style hanger instead of hanging them like a dress.
- Handbags do well on a luxe acrylic double handbag hanger, which protects the shape and handles of your purse.
How to Build a Matching Set on a Budget
If swapping everything at once is not in the budget, you do not have to. Upgrade one section at a time, and you will get there.
- Find a hanger you like and stick with one vendor. Hangers from different places may look similar, but the colors will not be exact matches, the drop will not be uniform so your clothes will not hang level, and the metals (chrome, matte, silver, gold) will not match.
- Invest in what you can, when you can. Tackle one section at a time: dresses first, then blouses, and so on until everything is swapped.
- Go budget-friendly. White tubular hangers are economical and a great option. The key is matching, always.
Keep It Up
Do the one-time swap, then keep up with it weekly so dry cleaner hangers do not take over your closet. As David Allen says, “If it takes less than two minutes, do it now.”
Pro Tip: Send your wire hangers back to the dry cleaner. They can be recycled or reused. Tuck the old hangers into your dry cleaning bag, and they are ready to go on your next trip.
Two more habits make it easy:
- When you take an item off a hanger, move the empty hanger to one dedicated spot in your closet, so you can always find one when you are putting things away.
- Never hang wet or damp clothing. It can cause mildew, transfer color, and damage fabric.
Ready for a Closet That Works for You?
A closet that works also has room to breathe. If yours is too full, the better fix is to have less stuff. People wear 20% of their clothes 80% of the time, so be intentional about what you keep.
If you would love help sorting through it and creating a closet system that lasts, our team at Getting It Done Organizing is always here to help, with a positive mindset every step of the way. We work with families across Highland Park, University Park, Preston Hollow, Dallas, and beyond.
Love where you live…
Jenny & The Getting It Done Organizing Team
