Organise by the way you get dressed
Most of us don't think in categories, we think in situations: work, school run, going out, cold and wet, Sunday. Try zoning the rail that way rather than by garment type. A workwear zone with the trousers, shirts and knitwear that go together. A casual zone. A small "proper evening" section at one end that you don't have to wade through daily.
If you prefer the classic approach — all trousers together, all shirts together — at least sort each category by colour within it, so your eye can find the navy without touching every hanger. Short items (shirts, skirts, folded trousers) grouped at one end frees up the space beneath for a shoe rack or a lidded box, which is usually the easiest storage you'll gain all day.
Hang what creases, fold what stretches
Knitwear, jersey and anything heavy should be folded or rolled; hanging drags the shoulders out of shape and nothing ages a jumper faster. Shirts, dresses, tailoring, anything linen or silk, go on hangers. Switch wire hangers for slim velvet ones if you've got a rail crush — they take up maybe a third less space and stop necklines slipping.
Fold vertically in drawers so you see the whole row rather than archaeology of the bottom layer. Jeans fold beautifully this way. So do T-shirts and pyjamas. Use drawer dividers or small boxes for underwear and socks; without them, a drawer reverts to one undifferentiated heap in about two weeks.
Seasonal rotation when you've no loft
You don't need a second house. You need two or three zipped fabric bags or lidded boxes and a high shelf. At the change of season, pack away the clearly out-of-use pieces: the swimwear, the summer dresses, the linen. Wash everything before it goes in — moths go for anything with traces of body oil or food on it — and tuck in a cedar block or a lavender sachet.
Keep a small transitional group accessible for the odd warm week. And label the boxes properly: "summer dresses and linen" beats a mystery bag you'll have to open in March on a chair.
