How Big Should a Closet Be?

How do you know if you own too many clothes? With capsule wardrobe and haul content overwhelming social media algorithms, it always seems that your closet isn't the perfect size. You either have too many trendy pieces or not enough. What is the sweet spot?

Here is what I personally ask when I want to go shopping: Do I have the space?

For me, this is easily measurable by the amount of empty hangers I have in my closet. In all honesty, I have no idea how many hangers I own, but I have commited to not buying any more. And this is important, as they do occasionally break. My pink "shirt hangers" are how I display all my non-exercise tops, jackets, blazers, and seasonal dresses/jumpsuits. I have a dedicated few metal "multi-set hangers" for workwear bottoms and a have a collection of metal "slide-hang hangers" for my jeans, everyday pants, and summer shorts. I fold my lounge and active- wear. These are limited to three baskets. I have two closet storage areas for clothes -- in the guest room I have a single hang closet that I use to hang dresses I will likely wear that season as well as all-season workwear like suits, trousers, skirts, and blazers; and the main closet is double hang and holds seasonal tops and pants. I share this area with my partner. In all fairness, he has additional closet too, which he chooses to display his hockey jersey collection.

I also, change out my clothing once a year. Shorts, cropped jeans, sleeveless tops (besides basic tank tops I use for layering), summer dresses, light workout clothes, sandals and all but a swimsuit or two will get packed away in a month or so and I'll put out my sweaters, coats, scarves and gloves, heavy lounge and active-wear, and my boots for the colder season. Out of season clothes, in addition to "occasion wear" like my fancy floor length dresses and heels I only wear to weddings and the like, are stored under the bed in storage bags to avoid damage.

Okay, now that I've explained my closet situation, back how I decide if my closet is too big. I take inventory of my hangers and space. Due to the lightweight quality of summer clothes, I often find that I run out of hangers, while in winter, I find my closet gets too cramped before I can fill all my hangers. The rule: If I have extra hangers, I am allowed to buy something that fits the hanger, and if I don't have enough hangers, I have to downsize. Now, this gets a little dangerous as I could always downgrade clothing to occasion wear, athleisure, or out of season clothing to make room -- this is cheating. Avoid this. The system is flexible though.

Because most of my hangers have double duty, it gives me some options of what to purchase if I have the space. For example, in the summer, I could opt for a cardigan, sweatshirt, or a blouse.

This system works well for me because it is something that does require an insane amount of tracking and can be done for any closet size or budget. If you move and your new place has a different size closet space, you can add or subtract the numbers of hangers available to reach your goal. If you want to be more strict, you can choose slightly different hangers for jeans vs. pants, etc. to bifurcate them. If you want to be more relaxed, you can find multifunctional hangers that fit both tops and bottoms, to give you more flexibility. This is also a great option for those on a budget, because it encourages a one-in one-out type of system. If you want to shop for a new item, you have to sell an item in your closet to make room for it.

What system do you use to keep your closet from growing exponentially?