"No More Wire Hangers" quote from Mommie Dearest (1981)

As professional organizers, we encounter hanger issues all the time. When organizing a closet you can find a myriad of hangers and the wire ones are the hangers that have entangled themselves around all the others. They cause shirts and sweaters to become misshapen among other fashion and clothing faux pas. But, what hangers should you use? What can you do with all the wire hangers you have accumulated? If wire hangers are so bad why do dry cleaners use them? I have set out to answer these questions so we can all rid our closets of wire hangers once and for all!

First, I will say that it is not necessary to pull a Martha and go out and buy $20 cedarwood hangers to replace all your wire hangers. The Organizers at this site would never recommend such a ridiculously extravagant approach! But, wood hangers (that can be bought at the Container Store for $6 or less) are good for holding heavy items such as wool coats, leather jackets, etc.

Upgrading from wire to plastic is just fine. And the beauty about plastic is that you can color code your closet. All my loyal readers know that I am an advocate of color coding your calendar- well, you can color code your closet too! Hang short sleeve shirts on one color, long sleeve another. Knowing things at a glance really does save you time in the morning when searching for a particular item!

Speaking of shirts I do find it important to mention that I don’t recommend hanging sweaters if you have room to store them folded or flat. That is the best way for them to keep their shape. If you are going to hang sweaters than I do recommend investing in padded hangers or using shoulder pads (which should no longer be attached to any of your clothing to protect the shape of the shoulders and avoid creating “humps” from the hangers. You can also find wider plastic hangers that are contoured down that can be good for hanging sweaters and retaining their shape.

Look for plastic hangers with notches on either side to hang dresses, tops with thin straps, etc. I use tiered hangers with clamps for hanging skirts. You can use single hangers with clamps for hanging pants. If you are going to fold pants and hang them on plastic hangers than find lay a washcloth or handtowel over the hanger first to prevent the pants from developing that tell tale crease that takes forever to iron out!

If I have inspired you to rid your closet of the yucky wire hangers, you will probably wonder what you are going to do with all of them that have accumulated in your closet over the years. A lot of people, including myself, return them to the dry cleaner. If all else fails- throw them away! Do not keep them in your closet anymore- please!

Happy Organizing!