Wednesday, May 4, 2011

ORGANIZE IT SIMPLY {Kid's Closet}

All five of our girls share one room (I know that sounds a little crazy and crowded, but really- they love it!).
The only thing is, no matter how hard I try to keep things organized I end up needing to RE-organize their closet at least once every few months. Actually, that's not true. It probably needs to be reorganized every month... but I get to it every few.

Does this striketh a chord with anyone?
With the seasons changing again, I had another reason to be in there- pulling out the bulky sweaters and unpacking spring and summer wear. And I think I even found a way to keep the closet from getting so out of order.

EVERYDAY CLOTHES Since I was in there anyway, I decided to change the organization a bit. For everyday clothes I decided to add these daily organizers (hanging cubbies) for each girl.

My thought is, they will have an outfit a day all clean and ready to go. As I put away laundry I can load the cubbies with what I want, then I have a helper who hangs up the rest in the other closet (to follow). It really helps me to easily see what each girl has and doesn't have. In my mind, an outfit a day is plenty of clothing. Beyond that we just have more than we need. These cubbies help me keep the bare minimum.






You will see that Hailey realized I was about to take a photo and zipped right in to model her fancy attire- a bright hat with single matching mitten; homemade doll apron and an "It's my Birthday" button just in case someone is thinking about handing out presents. Thank you Hailey! :) The cubbies are from WalMart and are under $7.

The hairbows and headbands are organized into sturdy vases and a mirror from the thrift store hangs where the girls can finish their outfits.



SUNDAY BEST The other closet now holds their church outfits, their backpacks, hats and jackets. I had previously kept the two older girls in one closet and the younger three in the other, but this simplifies things for me.







 

Pictured above, Hailey's Sunday purse which carries her little books and do-dads found at the Dollar Tree Store.


I'd love to hear your creative kid's closet ideas!

May you be blessed,

13 comments:

  1. These are great ideas. My girls are 14,12, and 10 right now--and I still think it would work! I've been threatening for years to limit them to one outfit a day. :)
    Hailey is a DOLL!

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  2. Thanks Shane and April.

    You know, I always wonder if Michael Jackson got the single glove thing from a toddler. Seems like we see that style a lot around here! ;)

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  3. I've been putting off organizing closets. Four girls share one closet and three boys share another. It's not a pretty sight in the girl's room! I need to do a major clean out, though...perhaps this weekend? Thanks for the inspiration!!

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  4. So pretty! Hailey is such a ham. I keep the boys' clothes separated by hanger color. Being so near the same size and having clothes passed down without me knowing, a different hanger for each boy keeps me in the know. :)
    I made little laminated tages for Sadie's closet, that are tied with a ribbon to a hanger (like the tag size separaters at the store). They say play dresses, good dresses, play tops, good tops ... this way she knows what she can grab and wear and I don't have good dresses that become farm/play dresses after one wear.

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  5. Hey Rebecca! I have been going through the girls clothes as well. I decided to hang up a clothes bin thing as well. I also surfed around a couple forums and found what I "need" for each girl and no more. I am purging the rest. I came up with about 7-10 outfits for each girl and somewhere between 5-10 dresses for each girl. Of course because of hand me downs some have more than others. It is plenty. I have two sweaters for each girl and a pair of sandals, shoes, and dress shoes. I would like to find a pair of crocs for the girls to have as well. I do have 2 bathing suits for each girl just because of cheap sales but really one is enough. I am still in the process of sorting through toys. :-D
    Hope all is well.
    Kelly

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  6. Thanks for sharing! I desperately need to do something about this in our home. I also have 5 children (2 boys, 3 girls) in one room at the moment and there is no closet in their room! As we live in a small, older style home, closet space is very limited. I'm always on the look out for ideas! Of course, seasons are changing here too, but I'm pulling out the bulky jumpers and jackets :)

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  7. LOVE that the girls all share a room. We have the space, but would rather our daughters (and sons for that matter) share. So much relationship is grown in those moments together. Bravo for the limited clothing, and lovely ideas!

    For purses, we simply hang the handles/straps over regular clothes hangers. Keeps them in easy view and off the floor.

    Thank you for inviting me to 'visit'. My husband recently visited you at Presbytery and returned to AZ with your business card in hand. How nice to 'meet' you! :)

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  8. Hello friends, please forgive me if you left a comment and it did not get published!!! Blogger did some updating and while it did I could see comments but not approve them. When I went back to approve them, they were gone. So sorry! I appreciated your ideas and if you have time to leave them again, things seem to be fixed. :) Love, Rebecca

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  9. Hello Kelly! Isn't purging huge? And there are others than can use our excess, so why not pass it on, right? Congrats on making the TOS review team friend! Looking forward to your reviews!


    Hello Amanda! No closet? Wow! Do you make use of armoirs and under bed storage? When we lived in a camper for 18 months, we had little in home storage as well, but we set up hanging space in a storage container- like a garage- for overflow. All the church clothes, jackets etc. went in there. I'd love to hear how you manage that. Blessings Sister!


    Q- Hello! So wonderful to meet you! Our family is already praying for you. My husband and I really enjoyed meeting your husband at Presbytery. I think you have my e-mail address. Please keep us posted on your prayer needs and know I am here if you want to chat! :) Blessings to you!

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  10. Just did a big purge of the boys closets. Recently found a family who has older boys, and I am off today to pick up a big bag from them! Yippee! And now I have a big bag to donate as well. we also use those m-f storage solutions. Certainly makes getting dressed easy in the morning.
    Fun Post! :)
    Gabi

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  11. Presently, I make use of half of the linen press and a few highboy style drawers. The girls dresses hang with hubby's shirts in the small closet in our bedroom. However, after seeing this post, I am tempted to grab a few of those hanging cubbies and rearranging the storage area we have in the back room. We are currently rearranging a lot of the house (and culling - again!) to be better organised for Lydia's arrival in July. So, now is a good time to think about it!

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  12. The closets look great, though I thought they looked good before too!

    I just went through the kids clothes too. Maybe I'm a mean mom (or just a mom of boys?), but I took all clothes but two everyday outfits out of their room. They have to wear an outfit until it is actually dirty THEN it can be laundered. "Nice" clothes hang in my closet where I can see if they have made it through the laundry and have been ironed if needed. The girls' "nice" clothes are in my room too just so it is all in one place.

    Less clothes = less laundry and I'm all about keeping things simple right now!

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