I think I need this more than my children. – Anisa
Children have a variety of clothing choices, from school clothes to play clothes, and it can easily stack up and overwhelm the closet space they have. Add to that the speed with which they grow, and it’s no surprise that you find yourself drowning in piles of clothing, unsure about what should be stowed away or kept.
Don’t fret. Making your child’s closet easy to navigate can be achieved with just a few easy steps — you just need to get everything sorted and neatly arranged by clothing type. Getting ready for school or other events need not be such a hassle once you create a system where both you and your children know where everything is.
Step 1: Purchase hangers, pull-out baskets, and other accessories
Depending on your child’s closet space, you may want to consider purchasing a decent collection of hangers, pull-out baskets, and other organizing accessories (like extra shelves and rods). These allow you to customize and organize the space according to your child’s clothing collection.
For example, pull-out boxes or woven baskets are great ways to organize clothes by season. Label these accordingly and you’ll have an easy time switching your child’s wardrobe to suit the season. Winter jackets, cardigans and sweaters can be stowed in these compartments, and then taken out for easy access when needed. This instantly reduces the clutter in the closet.
Step 2: Create piles
Enlist the help of your children and empty out their closets. Starting from scratch makes things easier to organize. It also allows you to sort through the clothes your children own. Get them to help you pick out the items that they see themselves wearing months down the road and give the rest to charity. Once you have all the clothes you want to keep, create piles. Separate the clothes according to their uses so it’ll be easier to arrange them in the closet. You can also create piles according to season. Seasonal items such as jackets, winter coats, thermal underwear, and sweaters can be grouped into a separate pile and placed in properly marked baskets for storage.
Step 3: Hang or fold
From the piles, decide which you want to hang or fold. Blouses, button-up shirts, and those that are worn to school or other events should be hung on hangers. Jeans, shorts, and tights can be folded. Folding these articles of clothing allow you to stack them up, creating more space for other items. Play clothes can also be folded and placed in the bottom of the closet in pull-out baskets for easy access since those are the clothes that children usually reach for the most. Get your children to help you place hangers or fold the clothes in preparation for the next step.
Step 4: Create sections
Before you start piling the clothes back into the closet, designate certain areas of the closet for certain types of clothing so arranging everything will be easier. Create sections for home or play clothes, school clothes, seasonal items, clothes for special occasions, and socks and underwear. Identify these areas with your children, ensuring that they can access each section without difficulty. Make sure you also leave enough space for your storage baskets so that seasonal clothing items are properly stored.
You may want to also think of leaving a space in the closet specifically for your children’s most worn article of clothing. This allows them to get to it quickly. School and play clothes fall under this category. You want your children to get ready for school in a hurry, so specify a place in the closet for those clothes so they know where to look in the morning.
Step 5: Fill the closet
Make a fun afternoon activity out of this and get your children to fill the closet as they see fit — of course, within the limits of the sections you’ve agreed upon in the previous step. For example, they may want to arrange their clothes by color or size. Give your children space to exert their personality and taste. Since they’ll be the ones who’ll be looking through the closet every day, allowing them to place the clothes in the order that they want makes it easier for them to find the clothes they need.
Step 6: Decorate
Finally, for an added touch of your child’s personality, allow them to decorate their closet. From the labels on storage baskets to the colors of their hangers, give your children the freedom to apply their own creativity upon the space. Let them cover the closet door with stickers if they want to.
Organization doesn’t have to be a chore. Go ahead and have fun with your children picking out items for their closet and discussing how they want to organize their closet. By giving them the chance to express their personality, you’re granting them ownership upon the space. This results in a closet that they will take great pleasure in keeping neat and tidy.
Jennifer Lutz blogs about home décor, organization, and more at blog.christmastreemarket.com. Jennifer recently wrote this article about organizing and revamping your kids’ closets: http://blog.christmastreemarket.com/2013/09/your-kids-closets-organized-and-revamped/.
