Six Steps to Organize Kids Closets Fast

It’s springtime! The birds are singing, and the kids are playing outside. We have more time and energy to do different projects around the house. As every parent knows, the first place to declutter is the kids' closets! Kids' closets are usually places we need to visit regularly since children grow and tend to grow out of their clothes quicker than adults. We hope. =) Here are six steps to organize kid's closets.

Jump to:

• Determine the amount of time it will take.
• Get kids involved when they are most awake.
• Start with these areas and create a game.
• How to decide on what to get rid of
• Group the items again!
• Find a new home for each item.

Determine the amount of time it will take.

Each closet is different in size, and the amount of time it takes to go through everything in the closet also varies. Cleaning out a small closet could take two hours; larger walk-in closets could take up to six hours. On average, each closet would take about four hours of your time. You can split this time into different days or all in one afternoon. It usually takes a  few hours to purge and a few hours to organize.

Get kids involved when they are most awake.

Always include the children when organizing their closets. They need to not only try on clothes from last season but also see where you are putting them.

Start with these areas and create a game.

Have a race with Mom or Dad. How fast can you fold and place all the underwear in a drawer? How fast can you gather all the shoes (Affiliate Link) in one area? Run around the house and pick up all the shoes (Affiliate Link). Now, how about all the pants? Sort them by color quickly. The quicker, the better. The kids will stay focused for short periods of time, so to keep them motivated, make games quick and easy. Below are some items you can use to make a decluttering game.

• Undergarments
• Pants
• Shirts
• Dresses/Skirts
• Sweaters
• Shoes (Affiliate Link)
• Hats (Affiliate Link)
• Hair Accessories
• Jewelry (Affiliate Link)
• Jackets
• Toys (if any)

How to decide on what to get rid of

Go through each of these above sections and get rid of each piece of clothing if…

• They are faded.
• They are worn Anywhere on the garment. Look at the knees of the pants, around the collar of shirts/dresses, and the jackets' cuffs and liners.
• They are too small for the child.  If they are in good condition, donate or give away the garment.
• They are stained. Check the chest area of shirts and the thigh area of pants.
• They shrunk in the dryer. Or if an item that matches the item that shrunk or was damaged, like a pair of pants or a dress, can't be used with anything else.

NOTE: List the clothing you must purchase for each child.

Group the items again!

Now, it's time to group like items. Yes, grouping the items again into the above groups and revisiting them is key (Affiliate Link) to an organized end result. You may even find that you missed something and must purge more things. Yay!

Find a new home for each item.

The home could be a drawer, hung on a hanger, or in a bin.  Wherever you decide to put the group of articles, make sure all of the items fit in the space with a little bit of extra room for new items.

Well, there you have it. I hope this inspires you to help your kids organize their closets in a fun and light way. It doesn't have to be a serious chore. Make it fun, and they will enjoy the time they spend with you! Please leave a comment below to let me know how you get your kids to organize their closets.

Read more about closet organization!