When I moved to LA, I finally had enough space to have my very own step ladder. It’s a small 4 ft one and it’s just the right size to do my projects around the apartment. It’s also fairly light which is great but it is a bit bulky to store. So to minimize the closet space it takes up when I’m not using it, but still make it easy to get to, I came up with a very quick inexpensive solution to hang it on the back of my closet door.

I made the hanger using things I already had.

I used a scrap piece of 1″x 3″ pine board that I had left over from a project, screwed 2 hooks on the front of it and L-brackets (left over from some IKEA bookcases) on the back of the board. Then I screwed the brackets to the top of the door, leaving the face of the door hole free.

If there isn’t enough room between the door frame and the door to accommodate the thickness of the brackets, you can make your own brackets using 5″ x 7″ aluminum flashing sheets like I did for my over-the-door organizer in my tool closet.

This system works really well for me and I especially love the fact that my ladder is stored out of sight yet I don’t have to rummage around my closet to get to it.