The Joyful Sort How To: Organize A Kids Closet
It's spring break! While I would love to be sitting poolside with a cold beverage, we've got a spring and summer calendar that's booking up fast, so Spring Break 2018 has instead been a more practical combination of Columbus stay-cation and what we affectionately refer to at our house as "TCOB-in'" (Taking Care Of Business). Near the top of my TCOB list: a quick seasonal refresh of my boys' closets. I may or may not have still had a cold beverage in-hand while tackling this one, so let's do a virtual cheers and walk through a few of my favorite tips for setting up an organized kids closet!
Create a hanging system.
Fortunately, both of my boys' rooms are large enough for dressers to hold things like pajamas, socks, and underwear, so as far as clothing goes their closets are home to just tops and pants. I'm a big fan of matching hangers as a starting point in any closet and kids rooms are no exception. The ones used here are from Target's Pillowfort line and are a great buy both in terms of the price and fun color options available (great for color coding if your kiddos are sharing closet space!). From there, tops are separated into dressier and everyday use, and then into long and short sleeves. I took it a step further and color coded each section (#organizerprobs). A hanging sweater shelf from Ikea is used for pants, which are divided up into categories similarly to tops (dressier/everyday, lined/unlined, etc.). Having a hanging system saves space, cuts down on dreaded folding time, and provides a quick-glance inventory that keeps me from over-buying.
Leave room to grow and outgrow.
My boys are growing like weeds these days, which means lots of off-size and hand-me-down items that can easily pile up. I keep these Too Big and Too Small bins as an easy drop point for things like favorite pants found on clearance in the next size up or a shirt that's now not one but two sizes too small and officially ready to taken out of rotation. When the Too Small bin gets full, I set aside a half an hour or so to sort through and determine what I'd like to donate, give away, or consign. At the beginning of each season, I sort through the Too Big bin to see what we may be able to use for the coming months and start to put together shopping lists to fill in any gaps. Any special or most-loved pieces get moved to a keepsake bin in a more long-term storage area of our house.
Make it work for you!
The bottom line for this or any other organizing project is to do what makes sense for your family's routine! In our house, shoes come on and off right when we walk in the door, so we skip closets all together for those and instead opt for individual baskets in our mudroom. This not only frees up additional closet storage space, but also cuts down on digging for a rogue sneaker when we're trying to get out the door. We take advantage of that extra space for things like the boys' extra sheets, sleeping bags, and some bulkier overflow toys and stuffed animals. The laundry hamper is kept front and center in the hopes that the boys will see it and think twice about leaving dirty pajamas on the floor, though I'd say we have about an 80% return rate on that so far.
Does my four year old's closet always look like this? NOPE. He's four after all, and truthfully a little bit of a hurricane. But thanks to getting some organizational basics set up on the front-end, as-needed straightening sessions or seasonal change-outs are relatively quick and painless. That ultimately means more time for fun with my guys instead, even if it's not poolside. Happy spring break and happy organizing, friends!