5 Steps for Organizing a Closet

It’s the most wonderful time of the year…the time to clear out and organize the house and make everything feel fresh and new!  Keeping my kid’s closets clean and organized is one of my biggest challenges..anyone else out there have the same problem?  They are always growing which means clothes are constantly coming and going.  Toys, books and well…if I’m being completely honest…trash, gets shoved in every nook and cranny whenever I ask them to “clean their room.”  Worn out shoes and treasures like rocks and old artwork take up the rest of the space.  No wonder I want to just just close the doors and not look inside! 😉  Well, it was time for that to change, especially in Ashley’s room.  She seems to be my “collector” to put it mildly, and her mom might be a bit of a clothes horse, 😉  so her closet was in desperate need of a make-over.  I’m happy to report that I created and tested this system of “5 steps for organizing a kid’s closet” with her as my guinea pig over the last few months and it seems to be working.  I did purchase a closet system for her room.  There are SO many great DIY systems available at stores like Lowes and Home Depot that you can easily customize your closet to fit the needs of your child in a weekend.  Here is what I designed and what I have found to work.  Hopefully it will work for you too!

Step One: Clear it Out!

I mean everything. Take everything out of the closet and vacuum the floor, wipe down shelves etc.  You want to start with a clean surface.

Step Two: Organize by Category

Now for the fun (and time consuming) part.  Start by creating floor space, bed space etc. for piles of stuff.  Make a “Keep” pile, a “Trash” pile, and a “Giveaway” pile.  Sift through each item that came out of the closet and put it in one of those piles.  Another important part of this process is to clear anything out of the closet that doesn’t belong.  I don’t know about you, but I am guilty of storing extra holiday plates, linens etc. in my kid’s closets.  It’s time for those to go and to dedicate this space to your child’s belongings.

Step Three: Create Zones in the Closet

I designed Ashley’s very normal 6 ft. closet to have zones for each of her things.  This makes it easier for her to see where things belong and return them to their place when she is done with them.  A section of three bars on the left side of the closet hold coats and sweaters at the top, skirts in the middle, and tops on the bottom.  The middle of the closet is dedicated to adjustable shelving.  The right side of the closet is a section of long hanging for dresses and long skirts, with smaller shelves on top for books.  By creating a designated space for each of these things, she can easily put things away and keep it organized herself.

Step Four: Use Non-Slip Hangers

I don’t know why it took so long to invent these (wish I had been the one to think of it!) but they are a life saver!  Yes, they are a little bit more expensive than plastic hangers, but boy they are a life saver!  Flocked or velvet hangers can be found just about everywhere these days, on Amazon, or at HomeGoods to name a few.  They come in every color under the sun and keep everything in it’s place.  No more shirts slipping off of hangers and piling up on the floor.  They are extra great for little people because they don’t always hang things just right…know what I mean?  Now it doesn’t matter, they just won’t slip.  Along with being non-slip, they are also extra slim, which helps maximize the space in your closet and allows you to hang more items.

Step Five: Add Bins for Extra Storage

I designed the adjustable shelves in the middle of Ashley’s closet to hold baskets and bins.  The baskets are a great place to hold folded pants, leggings and t shirts, toys, art supplies and dolls.  They act like another dresser and hold a ton of things out of sight.  It’s also a great way to add a little personality to the closet design with colorful or patterned bins.  HomeGoods is a great place to fins all shapes and sizes of bins, that’s where I picked mine up.

You can see that her bins are a mess inside…but they are out of sight, so I don’t have to look at the mess! 😉

By creating a clear place for everything it makes it much easier to find things, and put them away. It becomes a habit to put shoes where they belong, hang shirts on the shirt rack, etc. I hope that these 5 steps for organizing a closet help you to feel empowered to conquer that messy space in any room!

Tammy

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