Over the Door Clothes Hanger

Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Pros:

• Small
• Inexpensive
• Door closes with it on (at least on my door)
• Removable, not screwed in

Cons:

• Not attractive to have in prime living space

Review:

The older I seem to get, the more old-fashioned I seem to become.  My husband has moved to shaving with an old-fashioned safety razor and the soap and brush – preferring that to the standard razors used today or even an electric razor.  Then there’s how I do some ironing every week (yes really, or at least that’s the goal) – and with putting in that effort, I don’t want them getting wrinkled before getting into his closet.  (And I am not running each item upstairs after finishing it.)  Therefore I went in search of an over-the-door clothes hanger – in my mind’s eye, I was envisioning something I cannot even find online.

I was fortunate to have a gift card to The Container Store and figured I could find something there.  When I looked around, I put the Valet Rod into my cart and started to continue with my shopping excursion.  It was larger than I’d wanted and this is what it looked like:

Over the Door Valet Rod (The Container Store)

Then something else caught my eye – a smaller and less expensive option – a smaller “valet” rod.  This was a better choice – less expensive, but also smaller and more suited to my uses.  A larger version would have simply taken up space and potentially tempted me to use that space.  (Have you ever noticed that when you have the space, you fill the space?) Also, this style could easily be taken down when not in use.

Smaller Over the Door Valet (The Container Store)

After I got the over the door clothes valet home, I was thrilled that it fits over the door and we can still close the door – too often these over the door gadgets make closing the door a challenge.  I am NOT saying this will be the case with everyone since all our doors are different (and we have an over the door ironing board holder which does not fit as well for closing the door).

I found many different styles exist for this specific purpose. Some looked like you’d need to use only certain hangers, while others require permanently attaching it to a door or wall. There’s also a less attractive one, at least to me.  I also appreciate that the spacing provided with this valet would offer it as an option for a place to hang clothes to dry.

1 Style Clothes hanger (organize.com)

2nd Style Clothes Hanger (Bed, Bath, & Beyond)

3rd Style of Clothes Hanger (organize.com)

Here I return to the idea of space needed – ideally, we choose and use tools that help us simplify and support us.  A small grooved bracket provides a limited space tool for specifically what I need.  It encourages me to empty the clothes promptly – here it is before I take them upstairs.

My over the door clothes hanger filled with freshly ironed clothes before taking them upstairs

It’s easy to buy a valet – one like this or another – to “make” more space for hanging our clothes.  This makes it too easy to just add rather than sort and purge our clothes.  Remember, tools are supposed to help support and simplify our lives.  If you need a tool to hold some clothes temporarily – like where to put your outfits for the coming week, or ironing, etc. – consider one of these over the door clothes hangers.