Don’t be too quick to heap all the blame for messy closets on your kid’s shoulders. The culprit may be the closet itself.
If a closet’s only features are a solitary shelf and a clothes rod beyond a child’s reach, the setup defies neatness. Inaccessible things can frustrate a child to the point of giving up on being tidy.
Overhauling kids’ closets to encourage order relies on good organization as much as good habits. Keep the lessons and learning tools simple if you want positive results.
Taming the mess in kids’ closets has as much to do with your attitude as theirs, says child development specialist Susan Isaacs, author of “How to Organize Your Kid’s Room” (Ballantine Books, out of print but available through many libraries).
Parental attitude, she explains, contributes to solving the problem of disorder. “Instead of trying to change a child, focus on changing a child’s room,” Isaacs says. A mother of three, she offers tips for creating order in a closet.
Sizing up space
Step 1: List everything in the closet by category. Find out what your child can reach easily so rods can be re-hung at their level if necessary.
Step 2: As you clean the closet, put what is staying into categorized boxes to deal with later. Put cherished items infrequently used in an “exchange box” for periodic rotation but storage elsewhere.
Step 3: Now that the closet is empty, break it down into manageable sections with adjustable shelves or storage units. Before you invest in either, measure the dimensions of what you want to organize and plan the sections around them.
Step 4: Once the closet is reconfigured, work with your child to put items back. Frequently used items should be close at hand; other things should be within step-stool reach if possible.
Step 5: Go over everything so your child is comfortable with the arrangement.
Seeing is the key
Installing sufficient shelves, rods and containers doesn’t guarantee a neat closet. But these and other organizers–such as bins, compartmentalized bags and rolling carts–can help.
To find good, inexpensive options, go no farther than the nearest hardware or discount store. Check current catalogs with kids’ supplies such as Solutions, Hold Everything, Hand-in-Hand and Lillian Vernon. All offer colorful, practical designs that stack, hang or otherwise hold childhood paraphernalia.
If there’s a key to encouraging neatness in a child’s closet, it’s see-through or see-into containers.
“If kids can’t see their stored items, getting at them is work for them,” says Palo Alto, Calif., professional organizer Beth Blair, a chief contributor to the kids section of the book “Organizing Options: Solutions From Professional Organizers” (Bay Area NAPO, $14.95).
For folded clothes, Blair suggests plastic, stackable, open-front bins. Folding as many clothes as possible, she points out, frees up hanging space. Besides girls’ and boys’ dress clothes, most children require rod space only for robes and coats. What does hang should be on rounded plastic hangers.
See-through grid baskets hold Blair`s three young daughters’ small necessities, including slippers, socks and tights.
Containers are categorized and placed low so they can find things easily and put them back. Keeping the containers on a metal shelf unit helps prevent them from toppling.
Unconventional containers
Once clothes are put away, perhaps there’s space for other belongings. Consider these alternatives to conventional closet containers:
– Hardware organizers: Those with tiny, see-through drawers are ideal for small trinkets.
– Plastic cleaning caddies: Made with a handle and deep wells, these easily accommodate cassette tapes or art supplies.
– Utensil dividers: These compartmentalized holders make good jewelry, hair ribbon and barrette containers.
– Woven baskets: Ones with handles are ideal for transporting items, such as rubber stamps and markers.
– Plastic dish basins: Miniature cars and action figures store well in these containers, which have lipped edges that make them easy for a child to carry. Label the outside with peel-off letters or a picture of what’s inside.
– Boxes: Because shoe boxes and other cardboard boxes hide what’s kept in them, they can thwart efforts to keep order. If you must use them, remove lids or side flaps–unless they’re to be used for special treasures a child prefers hidden from sight.
Tricks of the organizer trade
To further tidy up kids’ closets, trained organizers offer several tips:
– Use colors as visual cues to help kids identify what goes where. Color can signify individual ownership, actual contents or specific storage location.
– Choose containers fitted to what will fill them. To determine size before buying, sort each type of item into grocery bags.
– Keep board games in their own boxes, but don’t stack too many or they’ll be hard to retrieve. Try hanging adjustable shelves closer together with fewer games on them.
– Add a second shelf across the top of the closet for “cold storage” such as out-of-season clothing, old memorabilia and extra bed linens.
– Keep two laundry bags or baskets in the closet–one for lights, one for darks. This helps kids to sort dirty clothes as they undress.
– Use the closet door for hanging pocket shoe bags or other organizers.
– Don’t expect kids to be neat if the rest of your home is topsy-turvy. As experts stress, what you do impresses your kids more than what you say. But no matter how simple or specialized you make your kids’ closets, don’t be too rigid in your standards for their upkeep.
“Teaching consistency, not perfection, is the goal,” Blair says. “I’d rather have kids every week willingly put clothes away imperfectly, than do it perfectly and hate the job.”
FINDING WAYS TO KEEP IT ORGANIZED
Parents eager to combat kids’ closet clutter may be interested in the following:
– Hold Everything has a clear storage tray with movable dividers. Meant for jewelry, it’s ideal for childhood treasures ( 69-525220 for $18). Call 800-421-2264.
– Hand In Hand has bins in two sizes ( 29773 for $7.95; 31690 for $12.95); and free-standing laundry bags ( 31179 for $24.95; 31495 for $29.95). Call 800-872-9745.
– Lillian Vernon has four multicolored bins that hang on a closet rod ( 766A70 for $17.98); “color me” storage boxes with animal designs ( 632A70 for $7.98); and a rolling nylon closet with pockets ( 326C70 for $59.98). Call 800-285-5555.
– Solutions has a set of three clear sock boxes ( 5547 for $12) and a standing shoe cabinet with tilt-out drawers for 20 pairs of shoes ( 60279 for $129). Call 800-342-9988.
– Evironments sells a set of five clear tote bins without lids ( 675-099 for $30). Other organizers include a wooden puzzle case with 11 adjustable shelves that also holds projects or games ( 426-075 for $29.50). Call 800-342-4453.
– Kids II sells a slip-resistant step stool in primary and jewel tones with easy-to-grasp handles and non-skid feet ( 2216 for $15, including shipping and handling). For a local source, call 404-751-0442.
– Rubbermaid has the Cart Wheels 3-Bin Cart ( 2428 for $24.99). For a free catalog, write Rubbermaid Consumer Service, 1147 Akron Rd., Wooster, Ohio 44691.
– The Container Store sells various storage systems and accessories, including an over-the-door accessory basket ( 256560, $9.99). Call 800-733-3532.
