Stump the Organizer! How Do I Store and Organize Hats?

Here is this week's excellent question: " I have many hats. Of course the usual baseball caps and winter hats. But also many very nice hats for special occasions. Their boxes take up so much space! What else could I do?"

A hatbox is a dust-free way way to store a hat so that it maintains its shape. Unfortunately hatboxes are bulky and opaque so you can't see what it holds. If you have a really fine hat, a hatbox may be the safest way to store it. Take a digital picture of the hat which can then be attached to the side of the box. Store hats that you don't wear frequently on a high shelf. It is possible to nest hats in a hat box. Just remember to attach pictures of all the hats to the box.

I once organized the walk-in closet of a fashion-savvy elderly woman. She could not climb step-ladders, but her housekeeper could. We used the digital pictures to create an index of my client's extensive hat collection. The index was hung up like a poster in the closet. Each hat box was assigned a unique letter that was cross-referenced with the picture on the index. It was easy for my client to tell the housekeeper which box to remove from the high shelf.

Knit hats and berets are best stored in a drawer because they easily stretch if hung. A cedar block will prevent your hats from becoming a moth's lunch.

If hatboxes are just too bulky look to store fixtures for a solution. After all, a millinery store has lots of hats to store and display. A floor hat rack from Display Warehouse holds twenty hats in about a two-foot footprint.

The Jokari over-the-door cap rack holds eight caps on easy-to-access hooks. A loaded rack takes up very little room so you can put several on your door. Organize.com carries the rack – as well as some lovely hat boxes. Organize.com also carries the Stratford Hook. The Stratford Hook is a special coat/hat hook that will support the crown of a hat so that the hat lies horizontally on the hook. Several of these hooks on a wall could create an artistic display of a hat collection, and even further your enjoyment of your hats.