4 No-Fold Clothing Storage Solutions for Messy People & ADHD Homes — Minimize My Mess (2024)

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If you or someone you know has more clothes on their floor than in their wardrobe …it’s time to rethink clothes organization

Anyone can tidy up a bedroom, but some of us really struggle with maintaining it & before we know it there’s a ‘floordrobe’ where the floor was supposed to be.

I’ve always been messy but I’ve learned to accept it and understand it better since my ADHD diagnosis.

This entire website is about finding and trying tricks and workarounds to make life easier and tidier for messy people & ADHD homes.

This Clothes Organization post is perfect for you if:

• You’d love to know how to organize clothes without folding them

• You need a solution for clothes on floor

• You’re looking for hacks to put laundry away quickly & easily

• You need new organization ideas for clothes because traditional methods aren’t working

• You want a realistic & sustainable solution for your messy bedroom

1) Hooks are your friend

Someone who struggles to keep clothes tidy may be referred to as messy, lazy, or a slob …but I like to think of us as being very efficient with energy use :)

So the KEY to a successful clothes organization system for us messy people is to keep things ridiculously easy.

That’s why I like to add hooks to vertical surfaces wherever possible.

Hanging something onto a hook or throwing it onto the floor has the same low-energy vibe to me.

You can literally throw clothes on a hook and then, ta da - no floordrobe! …your floor is clear.

• Over door hooks are great options for renters who can’t drill holes in to walls

• These minimalist or decorative wall hooks look great even if they don’t have anything on them

• Have plenty of entry way hooks to make hanging up your coat and accessories super easy, even after the most exhausting of days

• Add hooks to the inside of your wardrobe / closet so you have spots to store clothes when you don’t have the energy to hang them up on hangers

• If someone in your home loves baseball caps as much as my hubby does, we use these all purpose hooks because we already had them, otherwise I would have gotten specialty hooks like these

(You can browse all example items mentioned in this post here)

2) Create a capsule wardrobe

Creating a capsule wardrobe was a huge help for me as it took away so much overwhelm and drastically reduced the sheer volume of clothes I was trying to look after.

A lot of people think that capsule wardrobes are just for fashionistas - not us regular people.

But I have to disagree! A capsule wardrobe is always my number 1 recommendation to anyone who is struggling with stress, exhaustion, overwhelm, mess, or too much clutter.

Clothes usually make up the majority of mess in our homes (most of us have no idea how many clothes we need or want - we just keep buying and buying because we think it will make our life easier).

Capsule wardrobes make such a drastic and positive change on our lives (here are 25 capsule wardrobe benefits), and with these resources, it will only take you 2 hours:

• Step by step capsule wardrobe guide

• Capsule wardrobe calculator (to work out how many clothes you need)

• Fillable capsule wardrobe list template

Achieving such a big win in just a short amount of time sparks something a bit magic - I call it the simplicity snowball - and before you know it you’re looking for more and more ways to simplify your life and home.

Capsule wardrobes even work wonders for kids!

Clothes organization is a breeze once we have the *right* amount of clothes (for us & our lifestyle).

3) Consider a clean clothes laundry basket

I don’t know about you, but my clean clothes like to - umm - air out for quite some time before being confined to the wardrobe, haha!

No matter how easy my clothing storage is (spoiler alert for clothes organization tip no.4 - it’s ridiculously easy!), I still don’t put clothes away the second they’re dry.

I used to form a clean clothes mountain that would be shifted around from sofa to bed to floor - causing visual clutter chaos wherever it went.

After implementing a capsule wardrobe, I loved how all of our dirty clothes all fit nicely in the dirty laundry basket, and I wished there was a tidy spot I could temporarily store the clean laundry until I had more energy to put clothes away.

Then I remembered that our home only needs to make sense to us, so now we have a clean laundry basket in the bedroom.

Barely any of our clothes wrinkle, but if it’s something that needs to be hung up, I just lie it on top of the other clothes to stop it getting crumpled.

We use one similar to this, but with the bag removed - that way we can see things easily, there’s lots of air circulating, and we can often pull smaller items through the gaps instead of taking everything out.

(You can browse more example clean laundry baskets here)

Personal update: We are continuously reviewing & improving our home organization and routine, and some recent changes have eliminated the need for our clean laundry basket 🤯

We moved everyone’s clothes in to one central family closet (see video at the end of tip 4), stopped using the tumble dryer, and now air dry everything right next to the family closet (there’s a super powerful ceiling fan above it so clothes dry in 6-8 hours)

Now clothes get put away straight from the drying rack (…I was going to call it a clothes horse, but then I got paranoid that my Mum made up that name and no one else calls them that 😂)

What is Grab & Go No Fold Clothes Organization?

Grab and go storage is a clothes organization method that is especially designed for us messy people.

It’s definitely the most polarizing thing that I write about, but I find that the people that don’t like it, aren’t the ones that need it …so that’s ok.

• For those of us that have tried and failed to maintain a tidy bedroom, free from a sea of clothes everywhere, this system is a GAME CHANGER

• It’s also a great system for kids that struggle with folding and hanging clothes on hangers - grab & go storage is so easy for all ages.

I got the idea for grab & go no fold clothes storage from my misspent youth eating junk food, drawing inspiration from how the crisps (chips 🇺🇸🇨🇦) were stored in the corner shop.

They were kept in cardboard boxes with holes cut out of the front so that the contents were contained but visible, and quick and easy to grab.

How I used to store clothes

During my minimalism and decluttering journey, I’d learned to love Marie Kondo style folding.

Who knew that our hands are actually magical little irons and that clothes can stand upright by themselves?!

BUT no matter how cute my drawers looked, I could never sustain it and our clean laundry would pile up on the couch.

Or my toddler would undo all of my hard work in two seconds flat.

How we store our clothes now

Nowadays, our things are stored one of two ways:

1) Hung up because they crease, or

2) lovingly shoved into a grab and go container - this works for clothing that either doesn’t crease, or it doesn’t matter if it’s creased (e.g. pjs)

Someone called this ‘Throw & Go’ clothes storage recently, and it sums it up so perfectly!

For example, Sean’s jeans get hung up to keep them crease free, but my stretchy skinny jeans don’t crease so they are in a grab and go box.

• This saves so much time and energy

• Putting away the laundry is a breeze …and dare I say it, even a little fun?!!

• It also saves me a lot of stress - I don’t know about you but continuous procrastination and visual clutter weighs down on me heavily.

How to prepare for Grab & Go Clothes Storage

Minimize your clothing

Grab and go storage is not the most efficient use of space (if you want a lot of clothes in a small space, your best bet is Marie Kondo style folding).

We would not have the room to be so gloriously 👏🏼 lazy 👏🏼 with grab & go no fold storage if we had not already pared down our clothes using the capsule wardrobe method.

The containers should not be full - so that it’s still easy to rummage through and grab what you need.

As mentioned above, capsule wardrobes are my number one recommendation, but if you’re looking for other ideas, here are 17 tips on how to be more minimalist with clothes, and 21 rules for when to get rid of clothes.

If you’re feeling curious about minimalism in general (it’s amazing for us messy folks), you can learn more about what it is here and find a list of resources here.

Categorize your clothes

Start a draft list of clothing categories to sort your clothes in to.

They should be quite specific, as there’s less visibility than traditional storage, and you want to easily grab what you need, e.g. work shorts, work trousers, work short sleeve tops, work long sleeve top, work hoodie.

Take a look at your closet / wardrobe

Depending on what type of container you choose (some options stack and some don’t) and whether you already have shelving in your closet, it may be worth adding a shelving unit.

I’d recommend shelves where you can adjust the heights so you don’t waste any vertical space.

We leave extra space above some of our grab & go containers with larger items like jumpers, hoodies, coats, etc., so it’s extra easy to put things in and take them out.

Repurpose what you have, or head to Facebook marketplace or your favourite thrift store to get some shelves for your grab and go containers.

Used shelving units are ideal for this purpose, and as your grab & go clothes storage is usually being kept behind closed doors, so aesthetics are less of a priority.

Make sure to measure the space twice before you spend money (speaking from experience)

What containers should I use?

The key to grab and go clothes containers is optimum efficiency / laziness.

You want to be able to grab & go, so try to AVOID:

• Drawers

• Anything with a lid

• Containers you need to pull off the shelf to access

I’ve included every stage of our grab & go clothes storage evolution so that you can find what works best for you.

We started with cardboard boxes (crisp inspo style) and now mostly use stackable baskets.

(You can browse all example items mentioned in this post here)

Option 1 - Repurposed cardboard boxes

• You might already have what you need (if you’re a geek like me and save boxes just because “it’s a really good box”), but they might not be the prettiest.

• All you need to do is cut out a u-shape (carefully) to easily access clothes inside.

  • The “lip” at the bottom of the “U” stops the clothes from falling out.

• You can make them stackable if you leave the tops on, and have boxes that are similar sizes.

• I would recommended that you start off with cardboard boxes until you know that this system works for you.

Option 2 - Thrifted baskets

• Wire baskets are great because you can easily see what’s in them & there’s still lots of air circulation around your clothes

• I always find a lot of deep freezer trays that look similar to the below photo.

• They’re handy if you have deep shelves, but you sometimes have to pull them out slightly to reach everything.

• It takes a bit longer to buy what you need if you use thrifted baskets

• It saves you money & you get to convert your wardrobe gradually to see if you like it or not

Option 3 - Stackable bins with an open front (our favourite)

This is what we use

• We’ve now replaced all of the above with stackable baskets like these …see tips below before you consider buying any!

• We’ve been really lucky and found a bunch of them at thrift stores over the years

• They eliminate the need for shelves as they can be stacked on top of each other in the tall hanging section of most closets.

Stackable Bin Tips

• Open front stackable bins come in various shapes and sizes so I recommend you stick with one brand for consistency.

• Different brand baskets are not compatible, so cannot be stacked on top of each other.

• I prefer the white ones because it makes it easier to see my - mostly dark clothes - if you mostly have light coloured clothes, you may prefer darker bins.

• If you’re shopping online for them, be sure to double check the measurements as some of the open front stacking baskets that are sold are really tiny and wouldn’t work for most clothes.

  • Most of our open front stackable bins are around 17 inches wide.

  • 19 inch wide bins work better for bulky items like hoodies

Extra large options that we’ve found

We have one column of extra large open front bins for Sean’s bulky work gear & hoodies.

We’re based in Canada and we loved these Taktix 40L storage bins from Canadian Tire, and it looks like the US equivalent will be something like these ones.

These are both designed to store tools so don’t forget to check that section if you’re wanting a larger and more sturdy option.

Wire bins

If you’d rather not use plastic, here is an example wire version, and a darker wire bin example, with a built in label.

Wooden bins

If I was more concerned about what the inside of our closet looked like, I would treat myself to wooden stackable boxes like these.

And there’s also slim line versions which would be perfect for smaller items like underwear (the door is retractable so it can stay open):

Fabric bins

Fabric bins like this would also work well. These attach to each other at the back so you could store them with the door open to keep them open and accessible.

Here is an example extra wide option for the fabric bins.

What clothes should I store in grab and go storage?

Everyone will be different but here’s a list of things we use grab and go clothes storage for in our family (it would probably be quicker to list what we don’t store in them at this point!):

• Sean: work t shirts, work long sleeve tops, work hoodies, work bottoms, lounge bottoms, shorts, hoodies, underwear, socks

• Me: skinny jeans, jumpers, lounge tops, lounge bottoms, tights, underwear, socks, bras, t-shirts (I loosely roll any that are more prone to creases)

• Little Willow: shorts, bows, pjs, sleep sacks, seasonal, trousers, short sleeve top, long sleeve top, casual dresses, cardis, rompers, socks and shoes.

Organization ideas for clothes

• We keep everyday wear front and centre so it’s easy to grab

• Out of season stuff is kept more out of the way - either up high, down low, or behind a bin if it’s a deep shelf

• Willow’s stuff is low so she can help pick out her outfits

• Everyone’s swim stuff is thrown in to one container as we usually only go as a family, so it’s easy to pack a swim bag for us all at the same time

• I move boxes around based on season - so when it’s warmer, Sean’s shorts are closer to the middle than his trousers are

• Sean is taller than me so he has the higher shelves

• Sean’s work stuff is all kept together so it’s easier to find when he’s still half asleep

Finishing touches & questions

Label

Don’t forget to make labels for your grab and go clothes storage boxes.

• Decision fatigue is real and having labels saves you time and energy.

• Even labelling obvious things helps our brains so much.

• You can use words or pictures - whatever works best for you / your kids.

• You can get a fancy label maker, or you can use painters tape and a sharpie like we used to.

Review & revise

Your last step is to review and revise.

• Do you need to split any of your clothing categories because the grab & go clothes storage bin is too full?

• Do you have too many or too few clothes in any of your categories?

• Do you like the order of the boxes?

• Does this save you time?

• Can you think of any other ways to simplify your clothes organization / storage?

One in, One Out

An added bonus of grab and go is that it’s a limiting container.

So if you buy two new sweaters and they don’t fit in to your sweater container, it’s a good indicator that it’s time to pick your favourite sweaters and let go of the others.

This helps me avoid getting back to the levels of clothing clutter I used to have.

FAQs

What about wrinkles in the clothes?

It’s not an issue for us but it would depend on your wrinkle tolerance and the types of materials in your wardrobe.

We specifically buy clothes that don’t wrinkle, but we’re pretty casual so it wouldn’t be the end of the world for us if something needed to be worn for a few minutes before slight wrinkles fell out of it.

The only things we hang up nowadays are formal wear (even Sean’s t-shirts & jeans have a basket now, we just loosely roll them to keep them smoother).

Will people think I’m strange for not folding my clothes?

Yes.

Do I think that should stop you?

Absolutely not!

My Granny still irons and folds her knickers …if I told her this is how we store our clothes, she might disown me 😂

But luckily it doesn’t really come up in conversation much, and she’s not often hanging out in my wardrobe - so we’re still besties!

• You don’t have to justify how you run your home to anyone.

• Your home doesn’t need to make sense to anyone but you and your family

• Your home solely exists to look after you, you do not exist to solely look after it

What if I love folding clothes and don’t want to stop?

I love that for you!

Keep at it and enjoy :)

Conclusion

Grab & Go no fold clothes storage made me realize that doing things how I’ve always done them, especially if they’re not working, is just silly.

Now I love coming up with innovative solutions for everyday problems.

Give these clothes storage ideas a try and let me know in the comments whether they helped.

Was this helpful? There’s loads more to explore:

• My passion is minimalism that’s accessible and welcoming to everyone. If this resonated with you, here’s more about how I went from messy to minimalist.

• We messy folks have a great sense of humour and aren’t afraid to laugh at ourselves - check out these 83 fabulous messy people quotes next to put a smile on your face :)

• Simplifying your home doesn’t have to be a giant project - learn the art of slow decluttering with this free micro-project generator for a quick and easy alternative