Blog Post

Kids Closet Organization Ideas

Mike Merritt • Dec 20, 2021

Unlike an adult closet, you are posed with unique challenges when trying to organize your childs' custom closets– namely their size and the size of their clothes (just think about all those teeny-tiny socks you have to keep track of). Aside from clothes, shoes, and toys, these spaces can easily be overcome by clutter.

Fortunately, keeping your kids' closets clean and organized is an obtainable goal, if you follow these tips:

Provide Room to Grow
Categorize and Catalog
Contain Clutter
Channel Your Inner Child
Fill in All Available Space

Keep reading for great suggestions to use when organizing your child’s closets (and some that can easily be adopted for yours as well).

Provide Room to Grow

Whether you are using a professional service to build custom closets or you are doing your own DIY version, flexible storage is essential. Kids' closets should be designed to change and expand as they grow. This is easy to do with adjustable hanging rods and shelves that can be raised as children get taller.

In What Accessories Are Available for My Custom Closets, the experts at Closet Solutions & Organizers note that sliding baskets are particularly popular for kids closets because they allow you to keep everything from clothes to toys organized and accessible.

Categorize and Catalog

Unlike adults, children are constantly growing – oftentimes in spurts. It may seem like they go to sleep one size and wake up the next day and nothing fits. That’s why many parents like to keep a few varied sizes on hand, especially with babies and toddlers. Using clothing size tags, like the ones you see in the department stores, allows you to plan for their growth. It's also a terrific way to keep things organized, especially if you like to take advantage of sales & purchase larger sizes.

When creating an organizational system, you want something simple. For hanging clothes, sort items by color or style. For example, you can keep shirts in one section and pants in another. You might even want to subcategorize, dividing sections into short-sleeve and long-sleeve shirts, jeans, and dress pants. If you keep it simple, your child can help out by putting away their own clothes after laundry day.

Another great organizational tip that comes from the home design experts at HGTV, is to create a pint-sized #OOTH (outfit of the day) station. You can use a hanging organizer to store your child’s clothes for every day of the week. Place each day’s shirt, pants, underwear, socks, and accessories on a separate shelf. This will make getting dressed for school a snap! You can also apply this clever idea for after-school activities as well. Instead of school clothes, put your child’s sports uniforms and activity supplies in each cubby.

Contain Clutter

Bins and baskets are a wonderful way to control clutter in your child’s room. An organized closet should have space to stash a few of these. You can use assorted colors to signify distinct categories, such as blue bins for books and red bins for toys.

If you are using baskets and bins to store clothes – and this is a great idea for items that don’t need to be folded neatly such as pajamas or smaller items like socks – be sure to use labels so that everyone knows what is inside each container. If your child is not old enough to read, use pictures instead. Find images of socks and t-shirts in magazines or online – or better yet draw your own! With easy-to-recognize pictures, even tiny tots can help at clean-up time.

You can avoid a great deal of clutter by constantly purging your child’s closet. Home design blog Grace In My Space, recommends doing this every few months, especially when your kids are little and growing quickly. When sorting through their stuff, separate it into what can be donated and what should be thrown away. Charitable organizations are always in need of gently-used children’s clothes and toys.

Channel Your Inner Child

When organizing your child’s closet, you will want to get down to their level – literally. Froddo, a European children’s shoe company with a great parenting blog, suggests squatting down or getting on your hands and knees to see things through your child’s eyes. This will help you decide where to place adjustable hanging bars and shelves and make sure that bins and baskets are easily reachable.

Fill in All Available Space

While your children are still small and can’t reach the higher shelves and racks, take advantage of the extra vertical space in their closets. Don’t be afraid to commandeer the top shelf to store out-of-season clothes or extra bedding (think bulky comforters and spare pillows).

The key to organizing a child’s closet – or any closet for that matter – is to use all available space. Wall-mounted hooks are ideal for keeping frequently worn jackets as well as school backpacks and sports bags within easy reach, yet out of the way.

Don't forget about the closet doors either! A hanging shoe organizer can store more than just sneakers. The little pockets are perfect for holding small toys, including Barbie dolls or small trucks. Another option is to use the plastic pockets to store accessories such as scrunchies and hair bows, belts, or even child-sized baseball caps.

Conclusion

Just like any other space in your house, you want your child’s closet to be clean and organized. This is not always easy to accomplish, considering kids are mess-makers by nature. The key to keeping their spaces under control is to utilize adjustable hanging rods and accessories, sort their wardrobes in a way that makes sense to them and to you, provide plenty of storage options to corral clutter, get rid of stuff that doesn’t fit, and make sure that everything is easily accessible. And don’t be afraid to adopt some of these organizational ideas for your own closets – they’re not just for kids!