Portable Closet Guide

Are you looking for a portable wood closet? I can see from my search logs that many people end up on this site looking for such an item. The problem is there’s not many closets made of wood that can be considered portable. Instead, you generally only find portable metal closets because using a light metal keeps the unit lightweight, and thus easily portable, and yet sturdy and strong at the same time.

So what about the rest of us looking for portable wooden closets?

In this article I will look at some solutions for such an item, with an emphasis on keeping it wooden yet at the same time, relatively portable. This gets us into the territory of the armoire, which originally meant any kind of wooden storage cabinet, and now usually refers to wooden wardrobe closets.

Unfortunately, for someone looking for a portable wooden closet with wheels, you’ll probably have to settle for having to pick it up. None of these below have wheels.

The Mountain Lodge Ebony Door Chest ($300)

Here we have a very elegant looking lightweight wooden storage unit that could easily be used a portable wooden closet. It’s got 2 drawers and 2 shelves and an ebony finish. This wooden armoire would work great in any guest room for storing personal items. By South Shore. It’s hard to tell from the photo but this unit stands approximately 4 feet tall. The upper area could be affixed with a rod and have enough space to hang shirts and pants, and the drawers below would work good for socks and underwear.

Atlantic Furniture Manhattan Two Drawer Armoire ($700)

This is a beautful solid hardwood two drawer armoire. Portable? Well, it’s not got wheels, but it’s going to be relatively light weight compared to antique armoire furniture and other heavier armoires. This is the problem hinted at in the introduction – that wood makes the closet heavy, and thus not very portable! But this is close. Here we have a unit with beaded inserts, grooved slide inserts, crown moldings, and french dovetails. There’s two drawers near the bottom and a two door set up at the top, which opens into an adjustable shelf, and a closet rod. It’s also set up to place a TV inside if you wish, which would probably push this into “somewhat portable” to “definitely not portable” once your TV is inside!

Mission Style Light Cherry 3 Door Wardrobe Armoire ($700)

Here we have another wood closet in the style of the armoire. Is it portable? For a solid wood design, it’s as portable as you can get!

I’m a big fan of the design on this unit. Take a close look at the photo here and you can see there’s 2 drawers in the bottom right and then 3 doors to open into two separate shelving areas for hanging clothes. What’s cool about this is that the one of the left is slightly longer than the one on the right, taking up the entire height of the unit. At the bottom of this shelf there’s a small area for shoes (as featured) or any other type of small closet item.

This unit is not something you’d want to be moving around like a real portable closet, but for a wooden unit, it’s light weight enough to move as needed.

Black 3 Door Wardrobe Closet

Featured here is another furniture item that’s technically an armoire and not a portable closet. But weighing in under 100 pounds makes this sort of portable, right? Hmmm…For that $200 price tag you get a really solid looking black armoire, with 3 drawers at the bottom and the upper half dedicated to a hanging wardrobe or a TV if you’d prefer. If you are researching a wooden portable closet and are budget conscious, this $200 unit is a pretty good deal. Available at Target.

Portable Wood Storage Cube

Now we are really cheating and getting into different types of storage items, but this would be of interest to many people looking for a wooden portable storage closet. These cost only $20 from Target and are easily moved about the house. They give you two shelves for storage, and of course room on top for placing some simple items like a lamp or some books. Simple, easy, and cheap. Measures 1 foot by 1 foot.

Are you looking for a metal portable closet? Here we will take a look at the portable closets on the market that are available made of metal. This typically means not that the entire unit is metal – not like a metal storage box per se, but more in the sense of the frame itself being made of metal. What are some portable closets with good solid metal frames?

Metal Closet Organizer ($120)

First up we have what Target bills as a metal closet organizer with a gray cover. For our purposes here, and for people looking for a portable metal closet, this definitely works to that end. This is essentially a set of metal shelves on wheels with a zippered cover. It’s got 8 shelves and the zipper cover options make’s it particular convenient to use as a closet, where you can either decide to cover your clothes or leave it open for easy access. This is one of the most expensive metal portable closets out there, coming in at about $120 from Target. For that $120 price tag though, you see that review after review states this closet is truly a strong and sturdy storage unit, and yet moving it with the attached wheels is easy to do. It’s also an item that many felt was easy to assemble.

Honey Can Do Portable Storage Closet ($33)

Here we have a great portable storage close from Honey-Can-Do. While you can see that it’s got a cloth overlay, the frame itself is made of metal. Adorned with wheels, this storage closet is small enough to easily manuever, but big enough to hold a reasonable amount of clothing inside, as shown in the picture, from the included closet rod, as well as shoes on the bottom over the metal framework, and additional items sealed in the top compartment, which functions as a sort of closet attic space for extra items!

The best thing about this Honey Can Do closet? It only costs under $50. In fact, this portable closet is way under $50, coming in at just $33 at Target. For that you get a closet that stands 68 inches tall, 30 inches length, and about 20 inches deep. Need something similar but bigger? Keep reading!

A Bigger Honey Can Do Portable Storage Closet ($50)

Here we have another metal framed portable closet outfitted with a nice cloth overlay, sealing your items up on all sides. Note the zipper function for easy opening and closing. What’s nice about this metal protable closet is that you don’t see the metal! Additionally, you get two areas for holding clothes as well as a nice shoe rack built into the side. Honey Can Do knew what they were doing when the put this storage closet together and priced it at just $50.

This unit stands 68 inches tall, 60 inches length (twice the previous unit above), and about 20 inches deep. Featured here is a nice light brown town design.

Mini Metal Shelving Unit For The Closet

Okay, we are cheating here – I don’t think this was intended to be used as a kind of metal portable closet, do you? Yea, I didn’t think so. But let’s make a deal: if you don’t tell anyone, I won’t either. Deal!

So here’s a simple metal shelving unit, equipped with three shelves, that’s easy to move, and thus portable. It doesn’t have wheels but it’s small and lightweight (about 6 pounds). And most importantly for what you’re looking for, it’s made of metal, more specifically, commercial, chrome-plated steel shelving, actually. It costs under $25. Works perfect as sturdy metal shoe rack or metal shelves to set deep into the closet for storing folded clothes, boxed storage, and other items that can easily be grouped together into a storage rack.

What are your options when it comes to needing extra storage at home, but also wanting to keep that storage something you can move around and use in different parts of the house? Any local home store, such as Target or Home Depot, has a myriad of products when it comes to home storage options. In this article, let’s take a look at a few of those options and highlight what we think works and doesn’t work with each one.

1. Storage Ottamans. We love clever storage items here, and a nice storage ottoman definitely tops the list for functional, clever, and decorative storage all at once. You can easily move an ottaman about the house with no problem, and inside it, you’ll find a decent amount of storage capacity. A favored use of such items is for storing toys and games in the living room. It’s a great way to have these fun items on hand without them cluttering up any living space when not in use.

And of course you can also put your feet up on them too and relax!

2. Portable Closets. Portable closets are products that basically function as a closet, allowing you to hang clothes and store folded items into smaller shelves, but the trick is that the whole unit is on wheels and can easily be moved about the home. A nicer portable closet will be equipped with a built in shoe rack and even a bin for your dirty clothes. Very cool. These are great for adding extra closet storage in any room, be it your master bedroom or the guest room.

3. Laundry Sorter. Most laundry sorters are also equipped with wheels, like a portable closet. They give you a good way to sort and organize the laundry while doing the laundry, as opposed to having to do it in a simple laundry basket or on your bed. This is another item that could be repurposed into other things as well. What ways can you think of to use a laundry sorter?

4. Wicker Storage Baskets. Storage baskets are by definition a good item for storing your belongings and are portable at the same time. The problem is many storage baskets are plain looking and while certainly capable of holding items, they’re more suited to storing under the bed than out in the open. The wicker storage basket looks really nice though and is going to add to your homes decor, not detract from, it while also providing storage space. Another perk is that you can use more than one of these around the home and they’d all match, especially if you have wicker furniture elsewhere in the home.

5. Coat Racks. These items are easily portable, as they weigh just a few pounds, but most likely you’ll find they work best by the door and that’s where you’ll want to leave them. Having a coat rack will immediate give you additional space back in your closet, as it won’t need to store all your coats any longer. A coat rack also just makes it more convenient to come and go from the home with your coat, and also gives guest an obvious area to place their coats when coming into their home without having to deal with going into the hallway closet.

You don’t have to just use a portable closet for the same reasons that everyone else does! Here we’ll take a look at 5 creatives uses for portable closets outside of what most people think of using them for.

1. Add A Portable Closet to the Dorm Room.
The student in your life will appreciate this. A portable closet can provide some desperately needed space for someone living in a cramped dorm room, sharing a closet with someone else. The dorm room portable closet is a no brainer! Added benefit: a keg can easily be placed on top of the portable closet for easy access and serving. (Kidding!)

2. Use a Portable Closet in the Vacation Home.
A couple I know bought a small mountain cabin outside of Boone, North Carolina. The place was fantastic and they love it, but one problem that quickly became evident was the lack of closet space and storage space in general throughout the cabin. The couple ended up purchasing not just one but two types of stand alone portable closets – one, a small portable wooden closet for the main living room for holding books and DVD’s, and the other, a portable closet system for the bedroom for clothes.

3. Use a Portable Closet for Pool.
If you’ve got a pool you must address the issue of storing towels for visitors and guests coming over to hit up the waters. A good solid, metal framed portable closet works great in this regard, being resistant to reasonable outdoor weather conditions and allowing you to easily store both the clean towels and designate a section for throwing used towels to get washed later.

4. Using a Portable Closet for The Hot Tub Room.
Same thing goes for having a hot tub. Everyone wants to visit and everyone needs a towel. Installing a portable closet rack in the room for towel storage makes it easy to keep towels on hand for the hot tub.

5. Use a Metal Portable Closet for Storing Work Equipment.
This example relates specifically to storing tools that need a sturdy home. A metal portable closet can hold tools easily in this regard. Now, something like this is going to get heavy if you put heavy tools in it, but if you get a metal portable closet with wheels you not only solved the problem of where to store the tools but also just made it very easy to transport them.

6. Use it as a Portable Kitchen Closet
Some kitchens just do not come equipped with the proper storage space for holding what you need in a modern day kitchen. A small portable closet can easily become a portable kitchen closet – all you have to do to is buy it and place it in the kitchen.

If you’ve got a portable closet that you’re using in a creative way such as these, let us know by adding a comment with your story!

In looking at all the different options related to closet storage, one comes across many similar terms used to describe both similar and dissimilar items. One area of confusion comes across in the terms describing a portable closet, like the kind discussed on this site, and then what’s formally known as an armoire, or wardrobe closet.

A wardrobe closet is made as very nice, solid items, just as much a piece of furniture with aesthic appeal as they are an item with utiliarian purpose i.e. storing clothes! This is in obvious contrast to the portable closets discussed at Portable Closet Guide, which are light weight, mobile items, and certainly not a big piece of wooden furniture like most antiques armoire furniture can rightly be described as.

So what does it mean when an item for sale is described as “portable wardrobe closet“? Usually, it’s much more of a portable closet than a wardrobe closet. The differentiation can be seen starting with the materials it’s made out of. If it’s solid wood, it gets a few points on the armoire scorecard, but if it’s anything else, it’s more likely to fall in the portable closet family. I think the real kicker though is to look for what makes – it doesn’t make it – actually portable. A solid wood closet described as portable wardrobe closet isn’t very portable if it’s got no wheels, no handles, and weighs 40 or 50 pounds, even if it does stand just about 3 feet high. But that’s probably as close as we can get to a middle ground between the two, and for some people, that’s just the item they were looking for.

This really gets into what it is people need the closet for. If the function needs to be something more useful – i.e. it holds clothes but doesn’t look pretty, or at least, jaw dropping – than a portable closet is a better solution. If the function is to have a solid wooden closet that looks great and holds clothes, a wardrobe closet is the solution.

One of the most interesting experiences for a freshmen college student is the upheaval of leaving home and suddenly sharing a dorm room with a stranger. It’s not nearly as common in todays generation for siblings to share a room as it was for their parents generation, and for many people, this is likely the first time they’ve had to share their personal space with someone else.

Not only are they suddenly living out of what very well may be a smaller room than what they had at home, but someone else is living there too! An unfortunate side effect to this can be a serious lack of closet space for both roommates.

An easy and economical solution to this closet storage space issue is to buy a portable closet for the dorm room. Now, obviously, this means it’s going to take up some amount of space that’s there, but in order to make more space, you’ve got to leverage the space that you’ve got to work with. And this is exactly what a portable closet will do!

A portable closet in this setting will provide the student with additional storage space for their wardrobe, including shirts, sweaters, pants, dresses, and depending on the design of the portable, room for socks, underwear, bras, and even dirty clothes (think of it as a built in hamper or laundry bin).

Portable closets are lightweight and designed to be – you guessed it – portable! This means they’re perfect for a college student who is living in a dorm now but likely will be moving into a apartment with some friends or fellow students in a year or two. This portable closet will not be wasted – it will easily be moved into the new apartment, and function exactly in the same way giving the student more room for clothes!

For the years between 18 and 25, students tend to move. And they tend to move a lot. This means the portable closet will get a lot of use in these children’s bedroom, no matter if they’re in a dorm, renting a whole apartment, sharing a bedroom, or renting just a room in someones house or a small studio apartment.

If there’s someone in your life whom you’re trying to think of a gift for and they fall into this age range, a portable closet is a great gift that will benefit them for many years, no matter where they’re living!

Portable closets offer a variety of uses from supplementing a spare bedroom for a guest to giving you and your significant other an extra closet without having to remodel the house. Let’s take a look at common uses and reasons for buying a portable closet for the home.

You’ve run out of room in your pre-existing closets already. This is likely the primary reason most people start looking into getting a portable closet. If you’ve already gone through and tried to organize your closet, and you find there’s still a distinct lack of space for your items, then getting a portable closet is a great add-on for your wardrobe. It can be placed in a your bedroom or a spare room, and hold your items securely and make them easily accessible – like those pink boots you bought last year but haven’t seen since they got lost in the battle for space in your current closet!

The office has turned into a spare bedroom but it’s not got a closet. Many homes are built with an office room, which could easily be a bedroom but there is one distinct part missing – a closet. Adding a portable closet to the room solves this problem. (We will not be adding any portable bathrooms though!)

Giving the guest room a usable closet for guests. Often, the closets in any guest rooms have a way of filling themselves up, seemingly on their own accord, with the owners own clothes and other random items that gravitate towards closet space. Instead of trying to find room for this stuff, it’s easier – and elegant looking – to place a nice portable closet in the room. This way, guests can unpack and hang their clothes, shoes, and other items in the portable closet without ever messing with or needing to see the real closet in the spare bedroom.

The laundry room needs a little organizational assistance. Certain portable closets work great as an item to use in the laundry room. For instance, when taking clothes out of the dryer, where do you hang them? If the closet is far away, it can be easier to simply add an ultra-mobile closet to the laundry room, immediately fold or hang the clothes out of the dryer, and then wheel or move the portable closet to another part of the house.

There are surely other reasons people use a portable closet. What are yours? Feel free to add a comment below and share your suggestions and experience!

One point that anyone who owns a nice portable closet will agree on is that once you have one, you never regret having the extra space to organize, store, and protect your clothing!

Portable closets have come a long way in offering all kinds of features and benefits that seriously rival a real closet. In fact, a portable closet is in some ways superior to a real physical closet! How so? The top of the line models don’t just offer space to hang your clothes but they make use of the space to organize not just your clothes, but also your shoes, ties, laundry, and other closet items! This would be akin to all closets being built in with a closet organizer, which, would be great, but it is not the case!

With that in mind, let’s take a look at the features being offered now in a solid portable closet which make them stand out above the rest.

A convenient way to hang clothes. This one is a no-brainer. Of course a good portable closet will offer an easy way to hang your clothes!

Protection from dust, bugs, allergies. Many portable closets are designed to protect the clothes using a vinyl cover, or similiar material, to keep dust, dirt, bugs and other insects away from your clothes. This is especially important if clothes are being relegated to the portable closet for long term storage.

Breathability. Since portable closets often end up being used to store clothes for months or even longer, it’s important that if they are covered or in a “closed” closet system, that the clothes are able to “breath”, and by this we mean that there is some level of air flow which prevents the clothes from becoming musty or otherwise just gross. Portable closets now offer designs which will protect and cover your clothes but allow them to stay clean and fresh.

The ability to store shoes. Many portable closets now offer a side hanging shoe rack, which allows for shoes to be placed vertically on the side of the closet. So get those Vans men’s shoes off the floor and into a rack!

Room for dirty laundry. Now we are getting into the features that truly make a portable closet like a real closet. The ability to store your (dirty) laundry in a compartment is a great add-on feature, one which guests whom are using the portable closet as a “real closet” will certainly appreciate!

Being truly portable. Lastly, despite the marketing name of “portable closet”, some models are not really all that portable, especially once loaded down with clothing and other items! A great portable closet will be able to easily hold up to the weight of jeans, sweaters, and so on, and be able to move easily through the use wheels or offer hand rails of some sort for easy pick up and transport around the house.

Why would I need a portable closet?

Good question. Mainly for the extra space, don’t you think? We’ve addressed this question here by taking a look at the most common usages and reasons for a portable closet.

How portable are portable closets?

Ironically, this varies with the model. If you need a portable closet that you will, say, take with you traveling, then something small that unfolds and then allows for clothes to hang by adding a bar into the design will be much more portable than a full scale portable closet on wheels that is more suited for a spare guest room. Most portable closets are light and weigh only a few pounds. However, once they are packed with clothes, the weight will make a big difference in the portability. If you are only using the closet around the home, weight isn’t really an issue so long as the closet is equipped with wheels and you need not take it to a different floor of the house.

What is the price rang for portable closets?

Like most products, there is a huge price rang for items sold as portable closets. On the most simplistic low-end, you can purchase a simple portable closet for hanging clothes for $20-30 US. For a full scale portable closet that offers many features of a real closet, expect to look into the $100 range. For portable closets that you’d want to see as a nice piece of furniture, consider the cost to start at $100 and go up from there.

What about my shoes? Also, what about socks and underwear? Dirty laundry?

Nicer portable closets will actually have spots to organize your shoes, create a sock and underwear drawer, and store your old laundry. Lower end models are more likely to just allow you to hang clothes. The best compromise between the two is a portable closet which allows for hanging extra clothes and also storing extra shoes, as these two items – shoes especially – can easily create a mess if there is no place to properly store them.

Where are some good places to purchase a portable closet?

Shopping for one online from Amazon.com is the most popular option. The only problem with this is that you obviously cannot see it in person! Big box stores such as Target carry a few models (and the prices aren’t bad), but for the real deal, try going to a home improvement or interior design shop, talk to the clerks, and take a look at a few models. This will give you a great idea of what’s out there and at what price range. It will also be a lot easier to assess the quality of the closet in person than over the internet.

This FAQ is a living document. Add your questions via the comments section below and we will address it for you!

Have you run out of space in your closet? Seeking a way to organize your things without throwing anything out or installing any closet organizers? If this describes the current state of your closet, enter… the portable closet! Portable closets offer a way to store everything you’d normally store inside a closet in a convenient, attractive closet that is lightweight and portable. If you’re not familiar with these items, let’s take a look at what a portable closet usually offers.

Portable closets are typically pffered in either a smaller square design (one in which you could just grab onto the sides and pick up and move the entire thing) or a bigger design, maybe 5 or 6 feet tall and 4 feet wide. The bigger designs are typically equipped with wheels in order to make them easily portable from one spot to another.

On the economic and simple end of the design, a portable closet will just store an extra rack of clothes. These designs will usually just be a closet rod inside a portable box, with or without a cover. The more elegant solutions pretty much recreate everything you’d store in a closet in a simple to use and organized fashion. What sort of items would you store in these types of portable closets? Suits, sweaters, shirts, socks and underwear, bras, ties – but not just this. The nicer closets offer shoe racks for dozens of pairs of shoes, drawers for socks and undergarments, and even a place to store your dirty laundry. At this level of design, the portable closet is truly deserving of the word portable and closet!

The cost of these items varies considerably. It is possible to get a simple one for a very small amount of money – say, $25 to $30 dollars, making for very cheap storage. If you’re willing to spend a bit more, you can get a closet that’s portable like the one mentioned above. In the upper price range of $100 plus, you also start getting into features like true breathability and covers, protection for long term storage, wooden frames, and a stylish design that makes the portable closet not an eyesore at all but rather an intuitive piece of furniture.

Common uses for portable closets tend to sway on the side of needing extra storage more than anything else, and beyond this, to provide a closet in a guest room or to an office that’s been converted into an extra bedroom.

If you’re new to the site – and you probably are, as this site is new! – stick around and take a look at our reviews and commentary on different portable closets. In the future we’ll feature more content based around reviews and tips and benefits of specific models. Always feel free to add your input by using the comment form below each post.