Organizing kids' closet... tips, anyone?

[WindyCityMom]

I'm willing to [embarrassingly] admit that my kids live out of laundry baskets.  These laundry baskets usually reside in our dining room  and frequently end up "exploding" all over.  Not to mention it is a terrible time trying to find things!

I don't like storing things in their closet because it's cramped.. there's one rod, the closet is about 3.5 feet wide and about 2.5 feet deep.  We have our little air conditioners stored in the bottom of her closet.  There are two big boxes of outgrown clothes and baby toys that we are saving.. those reside on the top shelves.  

So I have about 1 rod to work with, about about 3 feet of space under the rod because of the things located on the floor of the closet.  Maybe I can puzzle and stack the AC's differently... there is a lock on the closet so I don't worry as much about the girls' getting into it and hurting themselves.

Right now, the girls' winter wardrobe consists of long cotton dresses and cotton yoga pants that go under.  I can hang the dresses- but what do I do about the pants?  And what do I do with socks and underwear?

Also... their summer clothes.  I can hang the shirts and dresses.  But what about the shorts?  Where do I put bathing suits when that time comes? 

And when this new baby comes... oh man.  I don't even know what I'll do with his or her clothes and diapers!  

But for now... how should I be organizing their closet?  

[yeahwhat]

Why not hang most of the clothes, then get something like this http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/10154558/ for the items that can't be hung up. (You can get similar items anywhere, not just ikea).

[laohaire]

Well, the usual solution is a dresser, but I assume there's either a space or money constraint (or maybe both).

If it's a money constraint, you could keep your eyes open for a dresser for very cheap or free. You know the usual suspects - Craig's List, Goodwill, friends of friends, whatever. For this to work, you would have to be patient and just put it out there that you are looking. And accept that it will probably take months, but it will surely come.

If it's a space constraint, I think under-the-bed boxes would be a good way to keep clothes neat, out of the way, and in very definable places. And if there was no space under the bed, either, I still think the same kinds of boxes might be doable because you can stack them and they look reasonably neat - as opposed to an open laundry basket that you constantly have to rummage through to find whatever. But, while those boxes are fairly cheap individually (I dunno, $6 each?) it can add up to get 6 or whatever at a time. If it were me and I chose to do this, I'd probably buy one (or two) a month. You can still enjoy the increasing benefits - the first box will be a good place to put undies and socks and they will be organized. The next month, you've got your yoga pants squared away. And so on. You might really need only 2, 3 or 4.

Another idea - a pillowcase can hold undies and socks, and can be hung from a hanger that holds skirts (or using clothespins). If closet space permits (I know it's small, but I don't know how much clothing you're dealing with) you can get those hangers with clips (or use regular hangers and clothespins) and hang pants from them too, fairly securely.

Shoeboxes can do the work of under-the-bed boxes, and have the bonus of decoration possibilities (paint, glitter, stickers, etc) by the kiddos. Don't know where I'd get those, but it could be another "keep eyes open for containers" approach.

[SomethingAnonymous]

I'm not a fan of walmart or plastic- but these have worked great for us as cheap dressers. We got some at a garage sale once for $2 each. 

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sterilite-3-Drawer-Wide-Cart/16415880?findingMethod=rr

Even if you cant find them cheaper - $18 isn't too bad. I like how they are easy to move around and rearrange a room if you want to.

[mumkimum]

For awhile I sewed up something similar to an old-fashioned clothespin bag  (kinda like the link, but bigger opening) to store dd1's undies and another for tights to hang in her closet. 

Depending on the amount of pants you want to hang - you could try folding them over a regular hanger (with the bar across on the bottom - if you use an adult hanger, you might be able to hang 2 pair of kid pants on one) OR try to find a multi-tiered pants hanger.  

Might you be able to put a shelf (diy kind with blocks/boxes/brick and board across the top, or even a box upside down) over the AC units - then you could fold some clothing and set it on top for the time those need to be stored in the closet.  Or store a few things in a smaller basket on that shelf.

I store our kids swimsuits bunched up in a mesh bag (like a delicates washing bag) on our top closet shelf.  Sometimes they just get stored in there in the 'pool stuff' bag (kept near the diaper bag/my purse elsewhere in the house). 

[Wolfcat]

Originally Posted by WindyCityMom 

But for now... how should I be organizing their closet?  

My first suggestion is to stop using the kids' closet as storage. It doesn't sound very big and there are two-going-on-three of them.

Secondly, get dressers, or plastic bins, like Something linked (see the quote below). Since kids clothes are naturally short, you can put something like that in there without eliminating the use of the bar altogether.

Another option is to get a box storage shelf like this or this or any of these. You can use them with boxes, like these or these, to build your own storage as needed, in or out of the closet. (We got some of the boxes with a 9-square unit for his toys. The boxes can be gotten at Target for $10-25 each, depending on style-LOVE IT!)

For the kids' closet, they have a shared closet that had been turned into shelving - no bar. So we got these for their clothes. It works great!

Originally Posted by SomethingAnonymous 

I'm not a fan of walmart or plastic- but these have worked great for us as cheap dressers. We got some at a garage sale once for $2 each. 

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sterilite-3-Drawer-Wide-Cart/16415880?findingMethod=rr

Even if you cant find them cheaper - $18 isn't too bad. I like how they are easy to move around and rearrange a room if you want to.

[chel]

I vote for bins.  I use those hanging shelves but even with an older child things constantly spill out.

Under the bed bins would be nice to prevent the kids from messing with cloths throughout the day.  Bins are great even when kids dig through clothes things still are contained.  With a pretty basic cotton knit wardrobe things don't wrinkle much.