Coat hangers: as bad as a string of lights

February 24, 2023 3:38 AM

What is the best way to move a bunch of coat hangers without facing the massive tangled mess?

I need a quick easy solution that doesn't involve a ton of effort. Is there a way?
Please tell me "This is the way."

posted by mightshould to Home & Garden (17 answers total)

Best answer: While they're all still hanging on the rod you want to move them off, bunch them all up, then use masking tape to bind the bunch together at strategic points: one binding round each shoulder and one at the bottom for those that have bottoms.

After the move, hang the whole bunch on its new rod and only then tear off the masking tape.
posted by flabdablet at 3:43 AM on February 24, 2023 [21 favorites]

Wrap a string of lights around each bundle of hangers and you solve both problems at once! Twine and zip ties are also options for bundling, but tape is probably easiest.
posted by SaltySalticid at 4:07 AM on February 24, 2023 [2 favorites]

Basically what flabdablet said, but you can also put them in a grocery bag after taping them up.
posted by kevinbelt at 4:14 AM on February 24, 2023 [1 favorite]

Dangit. I was so excited to share the masking tape trick with you, but I’ve been beaten to it! It goes even faster if you first organize the hangers on the rod by type, so thin wire hangers can be bundled super efficiently, the fancy ones with clips get kept together, etc.

Brown paper grocery bags should be able to hold a couple hanger clumps. Just slide them in sideways so the long sides are pressed against either narrow vertical side of the bag. You can tape the handles together so the hangers don’t escape during transport if you want to be extra about it.
posted by Mizu at 4:28 AM on February 24, 2023 [3 favorites]

I've moved so many times in my life, and never more than a few naked hangers. I leave all my clothes on them and then move them in situ.

My method is that while everything is still hanging up I shimmy a garbage bag up over a section of clothes from the bottom up. A standard kitchen trash bag will fit about 20 items. Garbage bag up, pull the drawstring handles out. One handle up and over the hangers, loop the excess around the hanger hook. Other handle up and over in the opposite direction. Then I can stick the whole bundle down inside a box. In my experience these bundles stay together with no shifting and no need for tape or anything else.

When I get to my new place I can just lift the hanger bag bundles out of the box and hang them straight into the closet to be unbagged later. No fuss, no re hanging, no fold creases on any of my clothes. It's my best moving hack.

And if you're gentle unbagging, the trash bags will make it out fine for re-use.
posted by phunniemee at 4:38 AM on February 24, 2023 [14 favorites]

A lot of dry cleaners will have boxes meant to accept hanger returns. Just one of these will accept a very large pile of hangers, and a nice person who asked politely could probably buy one of these boxes for a modest price.
posted by ivanthenotsoterrible at 5:42 AM on February 24, 2023

I wrap some twisty things from bread bags around the straight vertical part below the hook when the hangers are still on the rod, then I take those bunches to the cleaners and leave them there to be re-used.
posted by Mid at 6:23 AM on February 24, 2023

I was able to give a bunch of hangers away on NextDoor.

I'd be concerned that tape would leave a residue. I've used rubber bands and collected them in small groups.
posted by FencingGal at 7:11 AM on February 24, 2023

I'd be concerned that tape would leave a residue

That's part of the reason why I prefer masking tape, whose primary purpose means it's been specifically designed not to.

The other reason is that a waxed paper tape is really easy to tear off - no need to faff about finding an end to unpeel after inevitably forgetting to fold one under.
posted by flabdablet at 7:42 AM on February 24, 2023 [1 favorite]

I don't trust masking tape. When I package hangers, I use wire or twine to bind them. If you're using wire hangers, just go to a thrift shop after you move and buy plastic ones, cheap, and you're recycling plastic. They also don't get as fouled up as wire hangers.
posted by theora55 at 9:26 AM on February 24, 2023

Use plastic wrap instead of masking tape. It sticks to itself and doesn't leave residue.
posted by blnkfrnk at 11:02 AM on February 24, 2023

Mod note: Several comments removed. Please follow the Ask Metafilter guidelines and stick to asking the stated question, along with refraining from replying to other commentators, thank you!
posted by Brandon Blatcher (staff) at 11:33 AM on February 24, 2023

I also moved clothes on hangers. Just layering them in sections in a box and alternating how they lay. Or putting trash bags around a banded section.

But I’ve done extra hangers too. Rubber band them together in handfuls around the neck. Then if you have a proper sized box you can stack them which is hook side into the bottom corner, leaving the long flat bottom side up on the first layer. Then the next layer goes long bottom side down, hook side up thus filling the rectangle shape out. That is the most space efficient. But you can also just put them onto boxes once they’re grouped together.
posted by Crystalinne at 12:11 PM on February 24, 2023

Bind hangers into bundles using two pieces of twine or string or cord: one at the bottom center, one at the top next to the vertical piece.

Use a clove hitch knot, which binds tightly against outward pressure, will keep the bundle snug as it gets moved around, and is very easy to remove.
posted by hovey at 1:17 PM on February 24, 2023

Stretch wrap on a hand roll is easier to apply and remove than masking tape and you'll find a million other uses while you're moving. The good ones have a handle that spins--the trick is to spin as you unroll and then squeeze the handle to stop the spin when you want the wrap to stretch.
posted by hydrophonic at 10:24 AM on February 25, 2023

This is the perfect problem that removable zip ties were invented to solve. Bundle up 5-10 hangers with one or two of those and you're good to go. And you won't have a bunch of plastic to dispose of at the end of your move!
posted by pdb at 12:13 PM on February 25, 2023

Response by poster: I used packaging tape, which I already had purchased for boxes. A wrap around the top and one around the bottom worked well.
posted by mightshould at 3:41 AM on March 15, 2023