How to Organize Clothes in Deep Drawers

If you were to ask anyone with a bent toward organization how they feel about deep drawers, they would probably frown, sigh, or start their answer with, “well, it depends…”. Deep drawers are invaluable in some instances, so we cannot dislike them, but, more often than not, they cause organizers great anxiety over all the wasted space.

Growing up, my bedroom drawers were too shallow to be of any use for my clothing except for underwear and socks. Now, I’m not really complaining because some people have to macgyver underwear and sock storage because they don’t have a dresser at all. Moreover, over time, I learned that deeper is only better when you know how to make the most of the depth. I’m going to take you through all the tips and tricks I have amassed for organizing clothing in deep drawers.

Split the Drawer into Seasonal Layers

If your drawer is deep enough to be separated into two functional layers, then buy yourself some stackable bins and grab your seasonal clothing.

The idea is to store your exclusively winter clothing beneath the exclusively summer clothing (and vice versa) until you have a need for the next season’s items, at which point you will reverse the layers.

Personally, I only wear long-sleeved shirts in winter, so I would keep these below my short-sleeved shirts. But if you happen to mix and match during both seasons, then you can split more definite items. For example, you can keep scarves, gloves, and beanies in one bin and bathing suits and swimwear wraps and covers in the other.

You will still treat the top bin as a drawer, and as such, the bins should be open on the top, either in addition to or instead of the side. You can use something as simple as the product pictured below.

Alternatively, you can get some bins custom-made for your drawers. Either way, always take measurements before you make a purchase to ensure that the storage bins fit perfectly inside your drawers.

Non-Seasonal Split

Of course, you can have stackable bins for items you use simultaneously or all year round. But you have to be willing to take one layer off each time you need something beneath it.

Make sure you know yourself very well before making this decision. You don’t want to start stuffing everything in the top bin because you don’t feel like lifting it (or you don’t have the time to lift it) to replace the clothing where it belongs. Another potential result will be that you never wear the items in the bottom bins.

Use Magazine Holders for Sweaters

When I think of storing clothes in deep drawers, my mind always goes to sweaters. They are large and bulky, and to be able to line them up so that the folded (and neatest) end is facing up is ideal.

In this way, they use the vertical space of the deep drawer instead of having to be folded smaller and taking up more horizontal area.

However, the problem is keeping the sweaters upright when you take one or more out of the drawer. Without a solution to this problem, this method of making the most of your deep drawer space will be unsustainable as the sweaters will quickly become untidy.

Don’t worry! I do have a solution to this problem, and it’s super simple: magazine file holders like the ones pictured below.

One sweater per file holder, and you are golden!

Use PVC Pipe for Rolled Items

Rolling your clothing and standing the rolls up on their small end is a great way to utilize the vertical space of a deeper drawer. However, with this method, you face a similar problem to the falling sweaters.

Once again, I’m not just going to give you a problem without a solution. You can easily and cheaply purchase some PVC pipes, cut them into tubes that complement the depth of your drawers, and then store each rolled item of clothing in its own little PVC compartment.

You can get piping with larger and smaller diameters to match the size of the rolled-up item. If you place a “smaller roll” in a wide pipe, then it can easily slide down. Furthermore, matching the width to the clothing items helps you to make the absolute most of the drawer space.

Some tips to make this method work best for you:

• Use a nonslip liner, something like the Gorilla Grip Original Drawer and Shelf Liner (amazon link), inside the drawer under the pipes to prevent them from slipping.
• Make sure the PVC is cut levelly on the bottom so that there is no wobbling or rocking.
• File the cut edges of the PVC until they are smooth to prevent threads from catching.
• Paint the pipes so that they look a little more decorative and a little less industrial (unless you are happy with this look).

Create False Bottoms

You can slit the drawer into a functional upper portion and a purely storage area by installing a false bottom into the drawer.

You can watch the below video (or one of the many others available) for a quick and easy way to create a false bottom. I would not, however, recommend the handle they decided on for your clothing drawer!

A couple of quick caveats for this method:

• Only use this method if your drawer is not deep enough for two functional bins.
• If you have a lot of deep drawers, I only recommend this approach for one or two of them.
• Only use the hidden space to store items that you need infrequently or are specifically trying to hide (jewelry, gifts, important documents, diaries, etc.).
• Use bins for the items over the false bottom so that it is easier to gain access to this space; removing the bins is much easier and less untidy than removing individual items of clothing.

Use Drawer Dividers as Mini Hanging Racks

You can use drawer dividers to make your own miniature hanging rack in really deep drawers.

Now, I freely admit that this is not a widely applicable solution, but for the few of you out there that will benefit from it, I wanted to include it in my article.

You will insert the dividers along the width of the drawer parallel with the narrowest side of the drawer. Insert them higher up and at regular intervals, as regular as you require; the more dividers, the more items you can fit in the drawer and the more efficient the space is utilized.

You will then hang the items over these dividers like you would on a hanger. Use this method for pants and skirts that you have no space for in your closet but which will get very wrinkled if folded properly; even a half or third fold is better than a roll or full fold for some items.

You can also use this method to hang your bras that cannot be folded and stored properly due to the padding.

Related article:

Sources

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/5045859/how-to-organize-very-deep-drawers-on-antique-dressers

https://www.hometalk.com/34182293/q-all-of-my-drawers-are-too-deep-hard-to-organize-clothes