Home Sweet Home on a Budget: Organizing Kids’ Closets

Let’s face it:  children’s closets can get messy.  I can’t be alone in this experience.  If the kids are big, you risk the closet becoming a disastrous catch-all when they “clean” their bedrooms.  If the kids are too little to clean or don’t have many clothes to hang, then you risk the closet becoming a catch-all for all the extra things in the house that need to be stored.  Your only chance if you want to defend those closets from  chaos is to arm yourself with a good offense:  an organized closet.  

10 Ideas for Organizing Kids Closets

Creating a child-friendly closet doesn’t require hiring a professional organizer or dropping a small fortune on special shelving units.  I’ve discovered some tips and tricks and some budget-friendly ideas to help you get started.

{Better Homes & Gardens}

1.  Out of Sight, Out of Mind.  If it’s something your child wears all the time, there’s no reason to keep it out of sight or reach.  Provide a few hooks in or nearby the closet so that kids can grab these things and go….or won’t be turned off by the time it takes to place something on a hanger that they know they are going to use again later in the day.

2.  Repeat:  Out of Sight, Out of Mind.  On the other hand, if you have things (like off-season clothing) that you don’t want your child to have easy access to, go ahead and put it out of reach inside a box.  

3.  Box it Up:  Boxes and baskets of different shapes and sizes are terrifically handy for closet storage.  Whatever your shelving options are, there’s sure to be something to fit.  Dollar stores and thrift stores are a great place to find inexpensive storage options.  If you want a lot of bang for your buck, check out this tutorial for covering cardboard boxes with cute fabric.

4.  Make it Clear.  Making things easy to find is a huge part of helping kids be able to dress and put away clothing independently.  Dressers can become a disaster, simply because kids have to open the drawers and look through them to find what they want.  Try shallow, clear drawers, instead.

{Better Homes & Gardens}

5. Hang in There.  Little kids have a tough time with hangers.  Use hanging storage higher up in their closets for things they don’t wear often.  Reserve the spaces they can reach for clothing stored on shelves or in drawers. 

6. Mulit-task.  You could use that lower closet space for extra toy storage, too.  The baskets pictured above aren’t just stackable, they have wheels that make pulling them around the room during cleanup a snap!  Sometimes it pays to invest in a multi-tasking storage container like this.

7.  Pair it up.  Instead of hanging a single piece of clothing on a hanger, try matching up your kids’ clothing on one hanger when you put it in the closet.  This frees up valuable closet real estate.   It also helps young children make independent clothing choices, by choosing between several mom-approved outfits, instead of being overwhelmed by a closetful of possibilities.

{I Heart Organizing}

8.  Keep the Laundry Close.  Want to keep clothes off the floor?  Then provide a place to put the dirty ones near the place they get removed.  Wheels come in handy again on this rolling hamper.

9.  Put a Label on It.  Preferably in a Language They Understand.  Labels are fantastic for kids’ closets.  They let you, your husband, your babysitter, and your kids know where to find and put away things in the closet.  Just make sure that those labels are something your kids can read.  Toddlers and preschoolers are going to function best with picture labels.  You can find out about the cute ones pictured above here. 

10.  Shelving for Less.  Closet storage systems don’t need to cost a fortune, be plastic coated wire, or involve a cabinet maker.  You can repurpose shelves from elsewhere in your home, like the one pictured above.  Follow an online tutorial to build them yourself.  Or, make use of stacking storage containers.

I’d love to hear any ideas that have worked for you to keep closets clean and organized at your house.

Featured picture from Everything Closets.  Pinterest friendly picture from The House Creative.