This $0 Hosting Hack for Anyone Without a Coat Closet Is So Smart, I Had to Steal It

While most festive gatherings and dinner parties tend to happen around the winter holidays, I’ve always preferred hosting in the spring. The weather is a little warmer, I can open up the windows, and my decor naturally matches the season’s pastel hues. Hosting, however, has always been somewhat of a challenge as an apartment-dweller, regardless of the time of year.

Although my current apartment is larger than my previous one, I still find myself searching for “small space hosting hacks” when perusing TikTok to maximize my apartment and make sure my guests feel comfortable on every level. While scrolling one day, I stumbled upon a useful hack that I didn’t even know I needed and seriously wondered why I hadn’t thought of it sooner.

My husband and I have gotten into the habit of hosting board game nights over the last couple of months, and it wasn’t until I saw this hack that I realized all my guests were either leaving their jackets on, throwing them over the couch, or placing them on the back of their dining chair. In the video, Chelsea Fagan (@faganchelsea) lays a sheet over her bed to let guests place their jackets, coats, and/or bags, creating a makeshift coat closet (or coat bed?). 

Fagan — who, in addition to being an author and cofounder of The Financial Diet, also often posts on her social media about hosting in her New York City apartment — explains that once her guests have taken their things and left, she can simply wash the sheet, creating a mess-free and convenient way for guests to temporarily store their belongings without getting her bed dirty, too. 

I tried this hack for our most recent board game night, and my friends were initially hesitant (my body would also reject the notion of outside clothes and items on the bed). But once I explained that I’d be washing the sheet they were just as impressed with this concept as I was, and were happy to leave their things on my “coat sheet.”

For anyone without a coat closet, this hack is definitely useful and an excellent way to get use out of an empty room in a small space during a dinner party or game night. Because my coat sheet wasn’t soiled, smelly, or wet (this hack might not work if it’s raining heavily before your event), I rolled it up and left it in my hamper for a couple of days and waited until laundry day to wash it. The cleanup was a total breeze, my couch and dining chairs were jacket-free, and my friends enjoyed the night knowing their belongings were safe and sound on my bed.