Last year, I worked with The Home Edit on organizing my kitchen. I learned so much from them I begged them to come back over this year and help me with Nova’s closet. Today, Clea and Joanna of The Home Edit are here to share some easy tips with you for organizing a child’s closet (they’re professional organizers, but they’re also both moms). As soon as I started to get clothing and gifts for Nova, I was obsessed with all the cute, little things. But, at the same time, I was overwhelmed by THE QUANTITY of cute, tiny things … and we seemed to be collecting more by the day! I wanted to store them in a way that was beautiful, but also super functional and easy to keep up with.
Before I hand it over to Clea and Joanna, I want to quickly share the basics our the closet build out. Here’s the before/after.
If you are planning to stay in your home for a long time, or have multiple kids like we are, I think it’s totally worth it to build out a standard closet and make it more kid friendly. Plus, when you add up the prices of all the storage containers (plastic bins, etc.), the price may not be that different to just customize the space in a more permanent way.
As you can see in the before photo, the standard closet was going to waste a lot of space, and look a little awkward with all tiny clothes. So I scoured Pinterest (I probably looked at every baby closet on the internet one night … haha) and then sketched out something to build inside our closet. It was simple and only took one day to build.
We were able to use a pre-made cabinet for the drawers (building drawers is not easy, so find a way to modify an existing piece if you can) and then add simple shelves. We spray painted the curtain rods gold to match.
(I don’t think we have time to write a full DIY for this before my maternity leave, but you’d have to customize it to your space anyway. So if you want to build something similar, feel free to use my photo as inspiration.)
Once the shelves were built, filling them was the fun part! I will have a post coming soon with my favorite places to shop for toddler clothes and gifts … but let’s just say I had a LOT of fun shopping for tiny outfits. I have been collecting baby sunglasses here and there since we first started trying to get pregnant four or five years ago (more on what led us to adoption here). For today, though, I want to totally focus on how to ORGANIZE children’s clothing.
Clea and Joanna, take it away!
Tip 1: Babies bring out people’s extra sentimental side, so make sure their closets have a box (or boxes!) for keepsakes. Birth announcements, cards, photos, or any special trinkets can go right into the box instead of cluttering up your home.
Tip 2: Use organizing supplies that will grow with your child. Whether it’s baskets, bins, or shoe boxes, choose a size that will work in their closet for years to come.
Tip 3: Keep two storage bins on hand: One for clothing they don’t fit into yet, and one for clothing that no longer fits. Having bins for items they aren’t wearing yet will keep your hanging space from getting too tight! And having a bin for outgrown items makes it easy to store for the next child, donate, or pass on to a friend.
Thank you so much, Clea and Joanna. If you aren’t already following them on Instagram, their stories are my favorite!! xx. Elsie
27 Comments
Wow, you really organised the closet well. It looks so useful and clean now!
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com
Adorable and tidy to boot! I can’t wait to see Nova on your IG all decked out in her awesome wardrobe.
The keepsakes box tip is great. I’m definitely doing that when I have kids.
The bins for sorting new and outgrown clothes have saved my sanity. It’s a lot easier to wash the next size together to have it ready and to sort as clothes are too small. Once my bin is about halfway full, I put it away in final storage or set aside for friends with younger ones. It also keeps everything together by true size since kid’s clothes vary like women’s. You’ll definitely make use of those!
I’m definitely using this trick! 🙂
I do this too. I have a box for my child’s outgrown clothes, and once it’s full I store them away. But now that storage is full and I really need to do a purge of things I want to donate, and things to keep for the next baby.
Great organization,I am a mess
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This ls adorable! I love that ABM will probably become more family oriented now! I can’t wait to see all the projects Elsie will do with Nova.
Can you share the source for the drawers? Finding something that size is surprisingly hard!
I love Clea and Joanna! Also, one tip that helped me when you have your first babe (and you want to save outgrown clothes for future babies), once Ruby outgrew clothes, I would put them into a storage bag and label the size…so 2-2.5 years old, 2.5-3 years old etc. So you are storing them right away by size and don’t have to sort through that later. When your next babe needs them, you can easier find the age/size in your storage.
More than the organization… Totally love the Wardrobe you have collected for her.
This is so organized! I wished my closet was half as organized
Vicky
http://vickysscrapbook.com/
Everything is so teeny tiny!
Can you share where the bins on the top shelf are from? They look like the perfect size! Thanks and congrats!
Hi there! I believe all the supplies are from The Container Store.
xx!
This is a great closet for a parent! Do you have plans for how Nova will have access to her things? Around the age of 1 I think rooms need to shift around a bit so that children can manipulate the items associated with self care for themselves. Maybe a set of drawers with 4 seasonal outfits for her to choose from. Little bits of control and decision making like that go a long way to feeling at home, in control, and not overwhelmed.
Thanks for your advice.
I have been so curious about Nova’s sunglasses…I have very light blue eyes that are extremely sensitive to sunlight. I have to wear very dark, polarized prescription sunglasses; “over the counter” sunglasses aren’t dark enough. I’m wondering if it will be the same for Nova (I understand you probably don’t know yet)…Can you have all those cute sunnies darkened? I hope she gets to wear them all! Such a perfect match…a mama that loves sunglasses and a kid that has to wear them all the time!!
We have some of both, for sure. Kiddos with albinism wear sunnies indoors a lot, so it’s not always about sun protection… sometimes it’s just for comfort. So, for that reason, I pretty much collect any and all sunnies.
Obviously we will learn a lot more once she is home and we can visit an optometrist. We plan to incorporate whatever he or she recommends for Nova. 🙂
This is basically the closet of my dreams right here!
Paige
http://thehappyflammily.com
Where do you get her clothes!? I can tell they are adorable. Any favorite spots to shop?
I’m going to do a full post on my favorite shops soon! Definitely still discovering more all the time, but I’ve found some really special shops! xx
looks very cleaning and nice!
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looks very cleaning and nice!
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Where did you get your pre-made drawers from and pieces for the shelves? Was this a pre-made closet set from Lowe’s or Home Depot? I am currently trying to figure out what to do with our baby’s closet before she arrives. I’m looking for some inspo, and you said it was done in a day, so that’s what I’d like to do too! I’m ready to nest and organize haha
Where are the doors from? I am in need of nice pull out doors!
Where did you get the clear boxes for the girls sunglasses, shoes and hair bows? I love those!
Hi! They are from The Container Store. 🙂