Have you spent time organizing your closet yet this year? If not, I have another closet organization hack for you that is going to solve aaaallllllllll of your problems. Or maybe at least one. And you might already have the fix sitting in your home. Do you own a rectangular utility tote?

If you are still stuck with just one rod and shelf in your closet, you have my sympathy. It is much easier to organize when you have plenty of adjustable shelves, but don’t let that stop you. You can still use more of that space in between the shelf and the ceiling. I have a great new use for those rectangular utility tote bags that were made so popular by the Thirty-One brand. You might have these, but you might also have these large rectangular utility tote bags from other sources.

Do you have a closet shelf piled high with stacks of clothes? You might remember that I like to use the 2×2 rule to organize.The 2×2 rule is to stack only 2 items high, and 2 items deep, so getting to the things on the bottom and back of the shelf isn’t be difficult. That’s so you don’t end up with stacks that look like this…or worse.

Well, we can’t build in more shelves in just the few hours that I’m there, so that we can stack only 2 sweaters and 2 pair of jeans high, but we CAN figure out if more shelves would help to organize your closet. By creating some defined stacks using the rectangular large utility tote bag, we approximate the way that we might be able to organize in an optimized closet. These large utility tote bags have a rigid liner, so they stand up nicely, and even allow us to use the very top to store the hats.

Now, let’s be clear, it’s still tough to get to the stuff on the bottom of each stack, and we did not use the 2×2 rule. But because these large utility tote bags provide structure around the stack, if you pull something out of the middle or the bottom, you don’t have to fold everything again from scratch.

Also, we completely cleared the floor of this closet in just a few hours. Sorry I don’t have before pictures on this one, but trust me that this was NOT a walk-in closet when we started, if you know what I’m sayin’. So, no, the folding job above is not perfect, but it’s a lot better than piles on the floor.

Most homes that I’m in have plenty of bags. Tote bags. Shopping bags. Gym bags. Backpacks. Thousand dollar purses. And most of those bags are sitting there empty. If you have the good fortune of having some nice bags, especially these rectangular krush canvas tote bags, please don’t store them so they are actually part of the clutter. USE THEM. Store stuff in them. Make them work for you.

If you need other ideas, check out this rectangular canvas utility tote bag holding off-season shoes. You’ll like this project, because there’s a trip to the wine store in it for you. 😉

If you go searching for some of these bags, you can find them online using any of these terms:

rectangular krush canvas tote bag

canvas utility tote bag

large utility tote bag

rectangular utility tote

But before you buy anything else, make sure that you aren’t overlooking cube bins, laundry baskets, wicker baskets, suitcases or anything else that you already own that could do the same job.