More than 8 out of 10 Americans believe their home is not organized enough.
If you’re a mother, you know better than anyone else in your household how much work it takes to keep things clean. However, you also know that one of the messiest parts of the house is your kids closet. No matter how many times you organize it, toys and clothes still end up all over the place.
The average woman spends 2.6 hours per day on household activities, which include cleaning and organizing. Therefore, she deserves a bit of a break.
Keep reading to learn 6 new ways you can get your kids closet nice and tidy, and make sure it stays that way!
1. Magnetic Strips for Small Toys
While larger toys take up a lot of space, smaller toys come with their own set of problems. For starters, stepping on them isn’t exactly a pleasant experience.
Toy cars always end up scattered across the house. But forcing your children to put them where they belong is a lot easier in theory than in practice. Some kids need a little more incentive.
To make cleanup more fun, screw a few magnetic knife strips into the walls of your kids closet. This way, kids can just snap all their favorite cars right against the wall rather than throwing them in a box. You can even make different shapes and letters out of the strips.
However, be careful before investing in too many materials for this project. You want to make sure your child’s cars actually stick to the magnets. Some brands of toy cars contain zinc and aluminum, both of which have non-magnetic properties.
2. Colored Drawers and Storage Bins
Clothes hangers keep our closets well-organized. Unfortunately, not all kids are fans of them. Typically, their shirts, underwear, pants, and socks end up all over the place.
To fix this problem, try painting their wooden drawers different colors. You can put their pajamas in the red drawer and socks in the blue drawer, for example.
Since 65% of kids are visual learners, this may help your child remember where each type of clothing goes. Plus, it also adds some vibrancy to your kids closet.
You can also label a separate set of drawers with each day of the week. There, you can your children’s daily outfits for school.
If you don’t have wooden drawers, consider using colored bins instead. Hangorize, for example, has an entire collection of colored storage bins.
3. Buckets to Store Arts and Crafts Tools
Kids love to express themselves through art. Encouraging them to do so is great, as children who engage in arts 3 hours per day perform better in school.
However, it can be difficult to keep track of all their pens, crayons, and markers. Instead of having them use crayon boxes, opt for small metal buckets. If you have any empty rods in the kids closet, you can hang the buckets on them using simple sign hooks.
Label each bucket with a sticker. For instance, you can have one bucket for chalk, another for glue sticks, and so on.
Just make sure you hang the buckets low enough so your kids can grab a hold of them easily. Otherwise, they might revert back to their old habits.
4. Bookshelf and Bungee Cords to Store Plush Toys
Is your kids closet full of stuffed animal toys?
If the answer is yes, you’ve probably tried several different organizing solutions. While you can always opt for a basic storage bin, there’s a much more creative and fun approach.
For this, you’ll need a small bookshelf that can hold all of your child’s stuffed animals. If it features multiple shelves, go ahead and remove them. Doing so will make the next step easier.
Drill about 6-8 holes on both the top and bottom edges of the bookshelf. Then take bungee cords and insert one through each hole, and tie a knot at both ends to fasten them. You can even let your child choose the color of the cords.
Once you’re finished, your child will have their very own stuffed animal zoo.
5. Plant Baskets for Quick and Easy Storage
If you would rather not buy a new bookshelf, or drill any holes, you can use plant baskets to store stuffed animals. These baskets also make it easy for kids to toss in any of their books, action figures, dolls, or blocks.
Some plant baskets are woven, whereas others are metal. However, the type you should focus on are the metal ones, since some of them are completely flat on one side. This will allow you to hang them up on the wall of your kids closet.
If you have a smaller closet, use only one basket. While they come in different sizes, they can still take quite a bit of room as they protrude from the wall.
6. Laundry Bags Providing Unexpected Fun
Kids of all ages have a tendency to leave their dirty laundry laying around. But when everything is on the ground, it’s often hard to distinguish the clean clothes from the dirty ones.
If you have a hook on the outside of the kids closet, consider hanging a laundry bag there. For best results, choose an ever-open laundry bag.
For one, a laundry bag on the door takes up much less space than the average damper in the closet. Also, kids will feel tempted to try to throw their clothes from the other side of the bedroom, turning the process into a game rather than a chore.
Final Thoughts on Organizing Your Kids Closet
Using some of the life hacks outlined above can help you alleviate some of the stress associated with an unorganized closet.
If you run out of space, get a towel bar and attach it to an empty space in your kids closet. Shelf brackets are another excellent option.
Also, try keeping a cardboard box on the top shelf, where it’s out of the way. Any time your child outgrows a piece of clothing, simply toss it in the box. When it’s time to donate clothing, you can just drop off the box at your local organization.
Also, feel free to check out some more useful tips and life hacks on our lifestyle blog!
