2016 is on record as the year I finally got my horror show of a closet (which is technically an entire spare bedroom) under control. What was once a Mad Max–style wasteland of jumbled clothes that I hardly ever wore is now a shimmering dreamscape of perfectly organized ensembles. When you can actually see your clothes, you’re more likely to wear them. All it took was a few dozen trips to Goodwill — and 600 of these Huggable Hangers that my mother, a dedicated Home Shopping Network watcher, turned me onto.
Designed by Joy Mangano, the entrepreneur Jennifer Lawrence portrayed in Joy (and for which she took home the 2016 Golden Globe for Best Actress), these hangers are the solution to tiny closets everywhere. They take up half the space of those tubular plastic monstrosities from college, allowing me to store twice the clothes in the same amount of real estate. Their grippy, velvet surface also means a permanent end to things constantly falling on the floor. I’m so smitten with the way my closet looks now that I’m constantly inviting guests in to take a peek.
I managed to fit 600 garments into what is technically only room for 300 by utilizing Joy’s cascading mini-hooks to create a daisy chain of hangers that makes the most of underutilized vertical closet space. Huggable Hangers can also be made to hold skirts or pants with the addition of these adjustable clips. (Or just do what I do when I run out of them: use clothespins for the same purpose.)
If you decide to take your closet the full velvet-hanger route, accept no imitations. I made the mistake of falling for a cheap knockoff brand at a big box store, and they are total junk. The metal hooks would constantly pop off and the cross bars would snap under the weight of multiple garments. I can load six skirts onto one Huggable Hanger, however, without fear. They come in a rainbow of fun colors, and I actually wish they were a little less sturdy — because I accidentally bought my biggest set (100+ hangers!) in an awful forest green shade. I may be stuck with them for life.
If you’d like to test fewer before committing, they’re available in a ten-pack, too.
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