I'm a homes writer and I always store these clothing items hung up – for space-saving storage and crease-free garments

In all honesty, I have a lot of clothes – from jackets to jeans to t-shirts and trousers.

While this has left me with an almost constant mission to perfect my storage solutions, it has also given me clarity on which clothes should always be stored hung up. For preserving shape, preventing wrinkles and saving me time on laundry, some materials are best kept unfolded.

So, if you're in need of some closet organization ideas, grab your hangers and clear some space on a rail.

Clothing items you should always hang up

1. Dresses

If you're looking for some long-term clothes storage ideas, hanging up dresses keeps them looking good as new, while maintaining the shape of the pieces.

Dresses with heavier adornments or sequins can cause some thinner hangers to break, so I recommend investing in a strong and wooden hanger, such as the number one top-rated Honey-Can-Do HNG-01334 Wood Hangers with Non-Slip Grooved Bar available at Amazon, which features a contoured design to keep clothes crease-free, and a 360° swivel rod hook to easily hang on bars and doors.

If you're short on closet space, a humble clothes rail solved my lack of hanging space, and could be the perfect solution for your dress storage, too. I also find they are perfect for longer dresses that drag on the floor of closets, or get in the way of a second rail.

2. Linens and silks

Carolina Kazimierski, co-owner and president of Sophia's Cleaning Service says, 'I usually recommend hanging any kind of lighter fabrics like linen or silk. These are fabrics that will wrinkle if they're folded or compressed, so it's really best to hang them up to avoid needing to iron them after wear.'

For convenience, I have learned how to unwrinkle clothes without an iron if my linen trousers ever are slightly creased when I pull them out of my closet. I either hang them in my shower for the creases to drop out with the steam, or use my clothes steamer, which is the best way of getting wrinkles out of clothes.

We recommend the Hamilton Beach Handheld Garment Steamer for Clothes available at Walmart, which has 15 minutes of continuous steam and can be used on bedding and curtains, too.

3. Outerwear

It's difficult to know how to organize coats, but if there's one thing that experts can agree on, it's that they should always be stored hanging up.

This reduces creasing but also prevents crushing which can leave thicker winter coats, such as puffer jackets, looking flat. The same applies to blazers and suit jackets, which should be hung on curved suit hangers, such as the Wide Shoulder Wooden Hangers 6 Pack Non-Slip Pants Bar available at Amazon.

For occasion wear, I also use garment bags, such as the MISSLO 10" Gusseted All Clear Garment Bags available at Amazon, which can hold up to ten suits, or eight winter jackets, without wrinkling. The inclusion of the side zipper means clothes are always accessible in a hurry, without having to get all your clothes out of the closet, which is a useful way of organizing clothes.

4. Jeans

This is a new one for me, but I recently tried the viral jean hanging hack that's genius if you're short on space, and it has since doubled my denim storage.

I use velvet hangers for my jeans, such as the 10pk Flocked Hangers available at Target, which keep my jeans from slipping off the hangers, and are strong enough to hold the heavy material.

It's perfect if you're looking for a solution to organize a small closet with lots of clothes – and my jeans have never looked better. And, for any smarter pants, you can reuse toilet paper tubes for a closet hack that keeps them crease-free.

FAQs

Which clothing items should never be hung up?

When it comes to clothing items that are best stored folded, sweaters and knitted jumpers should not be hung up, as they may lose their shape and stretch. The same goes for t-shirts, which have may stretch around the neckline, so, if you are hanging them up, always put hangers in from the bottom, rather than the top.

While embellished items, such as dresses, may be hung up, it's important to consider whether they will stretch due to the weight if you do so.

Our tips on how to fold clothes to save space can help store bulkier items in drawers, or try the file folding method for a super organized dresser.

If you're struggling with a shortage of space, learn how to expand your existing closet space with six simple tricks.