How To Organize The Kids’ Closets…

Where to put everything and how to keep it all organized is the ongoing question in my children’s rooms. With four kids comes four sets of clothes, shoes, books, toys, games, and laundry. It’s a challenge pairing up all of those socks, sorting out dresses from skirts and shorts from pants. But nothing is more frustrating than picking out an adorable outfit from the depths of my child’s closet, only to discover that she’s outgrown it before she ever had a chance to wear it! We forgot it even existed, trapped in the black hole that hides inside many a closet.

After similar experiences, I have found that we are all happier when the kids’ wardrobes are tidy and organized. And it’s especially fun to maintain a well-organized wardrobe when you can make a decor statement out of it.

Unique wallpaper accents, fun hangers, light wicker baskets and colorful draperies can encourage any child to keep their room in shipshape. I love the patterned wallpaper garnishing the closet in the pictures below. I’ve added wallpaper to my daughter’s closet and even behind bookshelves to add pop and color to the room. There’s nothing more fun than opening a closet door to find a lovely floral gracing the walls inside… it makes getting dressed all the more fun.

Notice in this closet, from Susanna Salk‘s Room For Children, there are no doors to conceal the inside. This style isn’t for everyone, but it works when you’ve got a gorgeous turquoise and sunshine yellow wallpaper adorning the interior.

For a more traditional closet I like the bottom picture, from Domino Mag, with full-length doors that prevent unruly clothing piles from spilling out into the room. But when the doors are open, the lovely floral wallpaper allows the closet to join the room’s decor.

For those of us who appreciate the concept of an open closet, a simple patterned curtain offers a happy medium between full disclosure and a little privacy. I like this idea because if things aren’t so organized in the closet one day, just draw the drapes and voila! The room on the left, another one from Room for Children, proposes an easy way to store all of those books, toys, movies, games, etc. The violet curtains on the right, from Libby Norman’s book Creating Children’s Rooms, suggests a simple and unique alternative to the hallway coat closet.

From Small Rooms for Kids, by Kleine Kinderzimmer, the beaded covering below offers a stylish take on an open closet. For the older girls’ rooms, these dangling strings of multi-colored beads are easy to install and add a fun pop of color to any morning routine. The locker idea on the right, also from Salk, is ideal for kids who share a room.  Creating different compartments divides up the area and gives each child a space of their own.

Here are some examples of a classic combination look: minimal and natural. I am attracted to the simplicity of these rooms, and the multipurpose aspects of these closets. I wish I knew about this when my kids were younger… a closet and changing station all in one! The closet on the left, from Judith Wilson’s Babies’ Rooms, suggests combining these two fixtures in a child’s room. If you need more room for a play area, tucking away a dresser or changing area in the closet is a practical solution. Like the room on the right shows, from Creating Children’s Rooms, the changing station can be creatively weaved into smaller spaces; it doesn’t always need to be part of the room decor.

One thing you’ll notice in a lot of these closets: elegant and simple baskets or boxes that are clearly labeled. It’s the easiest way to store shoes, toys, hair accessories and other little trinkets that often end up on the floor. I love how simple they can be, from using only two or three like in the photo below from Babies’ Rooms, to using many on a wall, as in the right and bottom photos, from Alexandra Tumbas Photography and Small Rooms for Kids.

In the nursery, these baskets are ideal for storing all of the baby essentials. To take it a step further, try carrying this idea from the closet to the room. Create a vintage storage system by taking old drawers and painting them in fun colors for stowing away books and booties. The photos below are from Babies’ Rooms.

Getting creative with your closet organization can be a great way to play with fun patterns and bold prints without committing to them in the rest of the room. I hope the ideas in this post offered some out-of-the-box solutions to help organize your kids’ closets!