Too many clothes in your closet? Follow this YouTube trick to free up extra space.
The scoop
On her YouTube channel, Andrea Jean Cleaning (@AndreaJean) shared a way to save space in your closet, and you only need a few soda can tabs.
"There's a little piece right here … you just want to fold it back … And then what you're going to do is … loop it around [the hook]," she says.
After looping the tab around your first hanger, Andrea says to "grab your second garment … and then you're gonna go ahead and loop this one in here … rather than having to line your items up side-by-side, you can hang them just like this in your closet."
The tab allows you to hang clothes vertically rather than side-by-side, which can free up some room.
How it's helping
While stores sell plastic space-saving racks, using a soda tab will save you money.
Soda or pop tabs are made from aluminum, which, like the can itself, are very recyclable. Requiring very little energy or pollution to recycle, "nearly 75% of all aluminum ever produced is still in use today," according to The Aluminum Association.
While aluminum is easily recycled, it's not biodegradable. Aluminum cans in landfills will take several hundred years to break down. Okon Recycling wrote, "We use over 80 billion aluminum beverage cans every year and that around 65% of these cans are recycled."
That number can be higher, and you can help. To properly recycle aluminum cans, make sure they're clean and dry — free of any leftover soda. Cans can then be taken to local recycling centers, where you can earn cash for each. The tabs can be sent with the cans or to organizations like the Ronald McDonald House Charities.
Explore new ways to recycle with our guide on smarter recycling options.
However, if you want to hold onto your soda tabs, you can also use them to hang pictures or artwork or even make unique upcycled clothing.
If you're looking to extend your sustainable practices beyond your closet, consider exploring organizations like For Days, thredUP, and GotSneakers.
What people are saying
Commenters loved the tab trick, and many had advice of their own.
"I never thought of this tip," one user said. "Great idea."
Another user suggested using canned food tabs, which are better suited for plastic hangers: "I save the tabs off of cans [as] they are a bit larger!"
"l've been doing that for years. My closet looks so organized," a user commented.
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