HGTV's Nate Berkus Shares A Smart Tip For Keeping A Shared Closet Organized

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When space is limited, sharing a closet may be the best thing to do between lifelong partners, siblings, and close pals. However, this can easily get exhausting and even become a point of contention, especially when both parties don't have time to organize and put things back where they belong after rummaging through the wardrobe in search of an OOTD. If you ask Nate Berkus, there's no excuse for this setup not to work — provided you know how to divide the closet properly. For the HGTV star, "divide" doesn't just mean assigning separate areas to both parties. Berkus, who always shares the best closet organization tips and tricks, also suggests using different-colored hangers.

"Assign a hanger color to each person. That's what Jeremiah and I do," Berkus wrote on Instagram while responding to an inquiry about his best advice for designing a shared closet. In his caption, he stressed that his hack can make homes feel more organized. Assigning hanger colors gives an easy-to-follow visual clue, ensuring users only grab what belongs to them when pulling items from the shared closet. This lessens the time it takes to sort through the clothes hanging on the rack, thereby streamlining the space.

Nate Berkus' tip of assigning hanger colors is a good start when organizing a shared closet, as it promotes order and accountability. Each person can clearly identify their clothes — and how much space they are taking up in the joint space — just by looking at the hangers. What's good about this hack is that it's easy to pull off if you already have hangers in different colors and styles. 

You don't have to stick to just one color per person. Try using two. For example, hang your tops on pink hangers and your bottoms on purple ones, while your closet mate could use blue and green. A multi-colored pack, like the HozyFrozy Multi-Color Pack of 50 Velvet Hangers, can come in handy for this approach. Prefer a more neutral arrangement? Opt for black, white, gray, and wood hangers. Better yet, you could just spray paint your existing ones. Regardless, be sure to keep the same colors grouped together to avoid a chaotic appearance.

You can level this up even more by following Berkus' three-step rule for an organized and clutter-free closet. This involves sorting clothes and other items by color, size, and how often they get used. "It's a system that works every time," he shared on Instagram. And it's easy to see why. Grouping and arranging similar things together not only delivers an aesthetically pleasing visual but also promotes a genuinely functional space that simplifies the process of getting dressed each day.