Planning a child's closet can be tricky business. For most people, raising a child is tiring enough and after running around trying to keep up with them all day long, it can be exhausting to go through hundreds of tiny pieces of clothes and toys in an attempt to have an organized closet for them.
So, to make your life easier, here are 7 creative ways of organizing your kid's closet which will be less tiring and more fun.
1. Empty The Closet:
If you have decided to finally organize your child's messy closet, the first step should be to empty it completely. Take out everything and make different piles for various types of clothing, accessories, toys, books, or anything else. This step allows you to visualize exactly what is going to go back into the closet space. It also lets you get rid of clothes that your child may have outgrown (unless you want to keep them for another younger sibling or future sibling). We need to empty the closet because often we don't even know what is in there since it's been hidden at the back or under another huge pile of clothes. You may even find some items which don’t even belong in the closet, for example, your own clothes.
2. Go Small:
When organizing your kid's closet, use small sized drawers or storage bins. This will make it easy for your child to find what they need when getting dressed. This benefits you because the faster they find what they need, the less of a mess there will be for you to clean up later. When keeping clothes in these small containers, make sure the piles of clothes are not too high. This way your kids won't have to sift through large piles to get to what they want.
3. Labels:
A fun way to involve your child in their closet's organization is to create a label for each drawer or each shelf of the closet. This will make it easy for the child to tidy his or her closet by themselves. If they are still learning how to read and write, this will make for a fun and educational activity. Label the types of clothes in each area and if multiple children are using the closet, then label shelves or boxes by ownership, for example, "Lilly's shirts" or "Dan's socks".
4. Hang It Up:
For clothes that cannot be kept folded, you can use children's hangers to retain shape. The hangers should be kept at a higher level as this is usually an area which the parents can reach and the child doesn’t need to.
5. Color Coding:
If several children are sharing a closet, use colored bins or small boxes as a way of labeling items in a cupboard. If a brother and sister are sharing, for example, all of her belongings could be in pink boxes while his could be in blue ones. A fun alternative is to paint shelves in their respective colors. This will also make it less time consuming to put away clothes after they have been washed and generally when tidying up the closet.
6. Get Creative with the Kids:
No one wants a bland, boring and plain closet so why not get the kids involved as well and give their space a mini-makeover using their input. Any cardboard boxes that contain accessories can be fun to paint, or the back wall of the closet can be painted in any pattern the child chooses. When you involve the child in the personalization of the closet. It's also a great idea to ask them to tell you how they want to organize the closet, they might just surprise you with some great ideas. The inside of the closet door can be a fun place for your child to get creative with some paint.
7. Double Rod System:
When you are faced with a walk-in closet with no shelves and only hanging space, give this great method a try. Install one rod at the adult height which can only be used by you for hanging out of season clothes. Then install a second rod at a much lower height for the child to be able to reach his or her current clothes. On the floor space keep any toys and shoes. Easy and clean!
When it comes to organizing your kid's closet, creativity is key. Their closet is no different from your own and requires the same basic principles when going through it. Regularly organizing the closet will keep it from overflowing and getting the children involved in the process will make them more likely to want to keep it tidy and clean.
Bio of the author: Korie Cantor is a writer who writes about living and lifestyle. She possesses a great sense of style and loves to share her thoughts about fashion and it’s latest trends. Follow her on Twitter: @koriecantor
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Jeannette Paladino
These are tips that adults can use, too, for organizing our closets -- and suitcases. In the book called "The Intelligent Woman Traveler," the author recommends "divide and conquer." By that she meant divide your items by category into different bags or containers in your suitcase. Then you'll have like items all in one place so that when you open your suitcase everything doesn't fall out in one big mess. I've followed that advice ever since and it really works well.
Sushmita
Hello Sabrina,
At the moment I don't have kids, but that doesn't mean the excellent tips you shared are of not use to me!
Sabrina
That's right! We can all use these great creative tips. Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
William Rusho
Wonderful tips. I like about making a rod lower to the ground for kids. Too many products are designed for regular adults and not for kids. Thanks for sharing this with us.
Krystyna Lagowski
These are great tips for organizing all kinds of closets, not just for kids! I love the colour coding concept - you could use that to differentiate between seasonal clothing, or to organize accessories. The double rod idea is terrific too, maybe for skirts/pants and tops? I may just actually get my closet in order!
Jeri
I love the double rob idea and have seen it put into practice a few times. I've never had to organize a kid's closet, but in college I cleaned the house I lived in exchange for cheaper rent. After doing laundry, I would then hang my "landlord's" clothes up. She had so many clothes the wooden rod actually broke after I'd been living there for a while. I guess that's one definite indicator it's time to clean out the closet 😉
RoseMary Griffith
Love Ken's closet. I have a younger sister who was like that growing up--wait, she's still like that. HA HA! Passed this along to friends with kids. You might have figured out I'm already pretty neurotic about these things. Double rod, shoe bag, containers...
Marquita Herald
All great tip Sabrina but the double rod really caught my attention! Definitely have to give that one a try. Thanks!
Phoenicia
Useful tips as per usual on how to manage children's belongings.
My children accumulate drawer fulls of paper, art and wardrobes full of clothes. I have to declutter on a regular basis otherwise it all becomes overwhelming.
Sarah Soboleski
I love the double rod system. If you want kids to put their clothes away they have to be able to access and reach the hangers! And I saw in a magazine recently these neat peel and stick wall decals, like apples and polka dots in fun colors. Might be easier and cleaner than painting inside the closet.
Doreen Pendgracs
Your tips will work for all of us, Sabrina, even those of us without children. My husband has started labelling the drawers in his portable shelving units and it's really helped him stay organized.
Janet Barclay
Many of these great tips would work well for adults too!
Erica
I like the idea of the double rod system in the closet. That is a really smart way to handle out of season clothes. As a kid, I remember helping to build shelves in my walk-in closet when we moved into a new home. I was 8 years old and it was fun to get to take part. But alas, it was also always a mess once I moved in there.
Seana Turner
I love the idea of having a fun paint color inside, or something creative and fun. Kids don't usually get excited about closets unless they are a place to play! Maintenance, of course, is pretty important with children... and this is one case where less really is more. Most children don't care about extensive wardrobes:)
Ken Dowell
Yikes! I won't go near my son's closet. Not knowing what is in there? You got that right. But I can't imagine motivating my 12-year-old to label the stuff in his closet. I'll just give him a hundred labels that say "junk."
Gingi Freeman
This is a GREAT post.. today is my daughter's third birthday, and I am already nervous about bringing home MORE toys.. am planning a mega closet overhaul tomorrow!!
Donna Janke
Good tips for organizing a child's closet. Involving the child is a good idea to give them ownership. Depending on the age of the child, they may lose patience with the entire process so timing their involvement at key points may be necessary. Labels and colour can make putting away fun.