I started with my daughters' closet first. I thought it would be fun to show you some of the ways - past and present - how I have organized my kids' closets. Some of the ways worked good, and other ways not so good.
When we first moved into our house, I set up my daughter's closet like this. Some of the things that worked were the hamper in the closet, the extra closet rod, and the hanging shoe storage. At the time, she was 2 1/2 and had a hard time with those drawers in the dresser. You see, this closet is ON TOP of a set of drawers:
So, being that little was hard to climb up in there. The hooks are still there and they work great. At age 8, we have now thinned out the amount of clothing and shoes she has - she is the ONLY granddaughter on my hubby's side {with five grandsons} so everyone likes to get her clothes, which is nice.
Anyway, once I got her closet system {which this is right before we put the closet doors back on cause it doesn't stay this "perfect" looking}, it had a lot more storage that was much more useable space than before. The boxes with lids was a big fail - don't put lids on kids boxes cause it's too hard for them to put stuff away. The hamper I got was just OK - I later swapped it out for a different smaller, more durable one. The adjustable shelving was why I got the Elfa system - cause I've rearranged it as her clothes have gotten longer.
You can see this is now working for her the best. I've moved everything around and she's now old enough to reach up and get the open containers in and out, or just pop the stuff into them {no lids}. They are the Ikea Trofast containers. I even fit her huge Barbie Townhouse in there! Remember that I've also now got her drawers MORE organized and folded her shirts so they line up neatly - so she can grab things out without ruining the whole pile of folded clothes.
Unfortunately, I can NOT find any {before} closet pictures of my son's closet in his room. But, I did find one of his closet emptied just before we put his new closet system in - where it's freshly painted. So, I made a mock up of what it had on it. Inside was one long closet rod and some shelves - which we made the best use of, putting games, toys, and shoes on them and kept them as tidy as possible. They worked pretty good.
It had these three sliding doors {old wood ones} and it was impossible for him to get to something on one side or the other very easily. You know, you slide the middle back and forth but can never get to the other side fully. So, when we installed his new closet system last year, we decided to just take off the doors completely.
That's because he's proven to be able to keep up with his messes and is a good cleaner! {That's not to say it looks perfect all the time, but he's done pretty good at age 12+ to keep it looking decent most of the time}. So, you can see I had it designed {which is free} and even after the design I changed my mind and we put it in differently. But, that's why I like these closet systems cause I could change my mind! I also decided that the second hanging area for him was unnecessary - he's a boy with {maybe} ten shirts/pants fancy enough to necessitate hanging up. So, I saved the bottom rod so that IF he ever wears dress shirts {should he get a desk job in high school?} I can have more hanging space, but for now his hamper is down there.
My son, here, is so proud of his new closet that was just installed. He looks so small here - he's grown a LOT in the last year and a half! What works in this closet is display area - he LOVES having a place to put his Legos he just made.
The drawers underneath hold Legos and Knex parts that he can pull out and even take the basket out and carry across the room. The hamper is the perfect size. The drawers for his clothes are great and his shelves for his shoes work well - not nearly as many shoes as sister!
Even if you can't have a closet system of some sort, you can take some of the ideas from this to help you figure out ways to help organize your kids closets - or even your own. And, if you want MORE inspiration for kids' closets, make sure you follow my kids' closet Pinterest board! It's going to give you even more ideas!
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