The following is a guest post from regular contributor, Rachel at Useful Beautiful Home.
Unfortunately the pictures for this post were misplaced and unable to be retrieved. Sorry for the inconvenience.
No two closets are the same and we all have different clothing storage needs, especially when it comes to children. However, I find there are a few similarities most of us have in common, with the main one being that a young child’s closet is constantly changing as he/she grows. That said, I’ll show you the basic organizing method I use in my daughter’s closet for the clothes that don’t currently fit her, whether too big or too small.
Organizing a Child’s Closet:
Last time I was here, I wrote about how I arranged my daughter’s closet to fit her preschool needs (HERE). This arrangement was designed specifically for her independence and included only the clothes that fit her properly. Here’s a picture of the bottom half of the closet…
After creating a child friendly arrangement at her eye level, I had three closet-related problems left;
- Storing the items that are too big/the upcoming seasonal clothes in view.
- Storing the clothing designated for a local children’s consignment sale.
- Keeping specialty clothes of out reach until needed.
I’m a “deal shopper” and tend to buy things in advance while on sale. Therefore, I needed somewhere to keep the clothes that are too big for her or are for the upcoming season. However, if I stash them out of sight, I tend to forget about them and they never get worn. So, I made room for them to hang on the upper level until it comes time for them to move down below.
The second problem I had was dealing with the clothes she outgrows (I keep some of her clothes, sell some at a seasonal consignment sale, and donate some). The clothes I want to sell also hang on the upper level, to the far left side of the closet. If I were to fold them away in storage bins until the sale, then I make twice the amount of work for myself since they need to be rewash or iron again before tagging them. Instead, I wash/dry/iron as usual and then hang them out-of-reach. It cuts down the work needed to prepare them for consignment later.
My third problem was creating space for specialty clothes. Things like Christmas dresses and flower girl dresses get hung up high so my daughter and her friends don’t play dress-up with them when I’m not looking. 🙂
So, here’s a quick diagram of how it all gets arranged in her small reach-in closet…
The boxes on the shelf are for loose items that don’t hang well on hangers (shoes, shorts, tights, etc.). My consignment sale is twice a year. Therefore, the clothing doesn’t build-up much past what you see here. All of this is ready to go into the upcoming Spring sale.
You may notice the “KEEP” box in the picture above. I toss things in here as a quick-fix when I find something too small for my daughter and I want to pass it along to my next child. Ultimately, items in this box collect and go into a larger storage system I have in our attic (more on that organizing method later). I added this smaller box because I’m always finding random items (like a pair of socks) I want to keep but aren’t worth getting into the attic until more things have accumulated. After the “KEEP” box fills, then I transfer the items into the attic storage.
Speaking of those chevron containers, I made them from previous bulk diaper boxes.
I couldn’t find any containers for a decent price, so I covered three Pampers boxes with self adhesive shelf paper. For the cost of the adhesive paper, I have three large containers that fit the shelf perfectly.
I have one last tip for storing outgrown shoes… zip top baggies! For the longest time, I could not figure out why my daughter’s closet smelled funny. Her dirty hamper stays outside the closet, so I knew that wasn’t the source. Then it dawned on me, I had a few of her outgrown shoes in the boxes. I pulled them out, zipped them inside a closed bag, and problem solved. 🙂 I reuse these as the shoes get moved out and new outgrown shoes go into the boxes.
I separated the upper level hanging clothes with small plastic dividers you see in the picture below. Mine happen to be from The Container Store. However, if you’re crafty, you can find many DIY options online. Laura pinned a clever DIY closet divider on her Pinterest Board called Organized Closets (HERE).
I think that about wraps up this post. Here’s one last view of the whole closet. There may be a few miscellaneous details I didn’t mention, so please feel free to comment/ask!
In the professional world, I’m a nurse by trade. But, around our house, I’m known as Mommy to our young daughter. My two worlds collided and began shaping into a blog. Useful Beautiful Home represents the hours I’ve dedicated to managing my household as efficiently as possible. I offer you motivation to keep your home healthy, organized, and welcoming. My goal is to share what I’ve implemented in my home to inspire you with fresh ideas and to encourage you to keep up the good work in yours!
Sheila says
Thank you for admitting up front that we all have different closet needs. Many people seem to propose that theirs is the best system for everyone. This is a very useful and creative solution. I love getting new organizational ideas, and I think you’ve hit upon a marvelously workable system. However, I must admit that comments like: “So, here’s a quick diagram of how it all gets arranged in her SMALL REACH-IN CLOSET…” make me laugh hysterically. Do you seriously see this as a SMALL closet? REALLY? We live in an older home and my daughter’s closet is perhaps 1/3 this size and oddly situated behind the door to her room. Having that much space in her closet would be heavenly and far easier to organize than what we have! So many of us can only dream of having that much space to work with. No wonder you enjoy organizing!
Rachel says
Sheila, thank you for sharing your comments and thoughts! YES, you’re correct, my daughter’s reach-in closet does not look small, depending on it’s comparison. We’ve lived in 4 homes and 3 apartments over the past 10 years, each with it’s own unique organizing challenge. One of our older homes didn’t have a bedroom closet at all, so I got creative using an armoire from Ikea. Another had no pantry in the kitchen. The point is, I understand there are many closet differences a reader audience represents. Unfortunately, I can only write from my own perspective, which is self-limiting. I assure you, I have NO intentions to cause a reader frustration!!! I’ll be looking for future opportunity to write about small closets! I honestly enjoy organizing any space, regardless of it’s size or challenges. 🙂
Sheila says
Trust me, you may inspire reader envy but not frustration! Any frustration is with the oddities of our house. It was amused laughing, I promise. This is a beautiful arrangement and a very practical application. And while I don’t have a closet this large to work with, some of your suggestions might work for a friend who does. I’ve already emailed her a link. She will especially love the hanging dividers!
While I enjoy having things organized, some areas, like my daughter’s room, seem to need constant reconfiguring. My daughter’s lack of closet space necessitates having to go through every season and doing the remove and pack away then unpack to wash/dry/hang the new season’s clothes. I thought your solution with keeping the sale items hung up was brilliant! Many people don’t think about the aspect of the time you’ll spend preparing then when you unpack them. Since I do it every season, I recognize how much time and effort that will save. (And every season I’m grateful that my son’s closet is larger and I only have to do that for one kiddo!) Keep the great ideas coming! 🙂
Rachel says
Thank you for sharing so openly. And thank you for passing this post along to someone who may also appreciate a few closet suggestions. Glad to read I bring you inspiration, not frustration! 😉 Thanks again, Sheila, it’s been a delight!
Amanda says
Really useful ideas, thanks for sharing. I use some boxes that I put under the bed. I collect there the off season clothes and shoes and some of the toys. Now I have got an idea how to arrange the wardrobe.