Living Without a Closet

For the past two and a half years, I have stored all my clothing and accessories in unconventional ways. As soon as I stepped into this apartment and saw that closet space was absolutely non-existent, I made do with hanging everything on rolling racks. That got a little old (and crowded) pretty fast and I felt like I was living in a little boutique, slowly drowning in my own possessions. Taking back my apartment by getting creative with my storage options became the challenge. How to keep things mostly out of sight but still accessible? I came up with an assortment of solutions.
This dresser from CB2 has been my main "closet" for some time now. Storing clothing in a container like this is hardly revolutionary, but things get a little more interesting in just a moment. The top drawer holds all my underpinnings, the second holds dresses and skirts, the third drawer holds jeans and trousers and the bottom drawer holds t-shirts, more sweaters, and blouses. I have no iron or ironing board, but keep a garment steamer under my bed and steam things before I wear them.
I found this vintage sideboard a few years ago, and always used it for keeping books, DVDs and junk like that. I cleaned out the two top drawers and divided it up with shoe boxes. Pins, brooches, sunglasses, bracelets and belts are in the top drawer.

Scarves and necklaces are in the other.

There was not much to do about the shoe and bag situation. I got a tall, cheap bookcase from Ikea and some extra shelves. The shelving is adjustable, which allowed me to pack in the shoes and tilt everything down for easy viewing.

Flats and heels live together in color families.

Clutches live in this corner.

All black shoes and pink/flesh colored shoes sit on the next to last shelves. All my boots live on the very bottom.

This clothing storage navel-gazing came about due to the fact that I am moving to a new apartment in two weeks. An apartment with two walk-in closets. Living in my current place has taught me a thing or two about creative storage solutions and how to utilize every inch of space to maximum effect. But it won't be squandered on more square footage or closets I can skip through. I know what it's like to live without - the gift of two big closets is something I'll never take for granted.