6 Steps to Organizing Your Kids’ Clothes

As a mom of 3, I can easily say that keeping kids’ clothes organized can be chaotic! I feel like sometimes they have more clothes than I do—I mean, where does it all come from?! (I ask as I pick new outfits for them every time we go to Target 😂). The most important thing for organizing kids’ clothes is creating and maintaining a SYSTEM. Follow these easy steps to clear the chaos and get your kids’ closets and drawers routine-ready.

1) EMPTY

Empty your kid’s closet and drawers completely - make sure you take inventory of what items they have and what items they use and love the most.

2) PURGE

Once you know what they have, figure out what they don’t need: what items are too big or too small? Which of the too-small items are okay to be donated or ready to be stored as keepsakes?

3) CATEGORIZE

Once the clutter is cleared, take what’s left and categorize based on like-items, how you will store them, and how accessible they need to be for you or your kids.

Separate hanging clothes for a system in the closet.

HANGING CATEGORIES FOR BOYS:

• Jackets & sweatshirts

• Nice shirts (separate long sleeve / short sleeve) 

• Nice pants (separate jeans / khakis / dress pants) 

HANGING CATEGORIES FOR GIRLS:

• Jackets, sweaters & cardigans 

• Nice shirts (separate long sleeve / short sleeve / sleeveless) 

• Dresses (separate long sleeve / short sleeve / sleeveless) 

• Rompers 

• Bottoms (separate jeans / skirts)

Separate folding clothes for a system in the drawer space.

FOLDING CATEGORIES:

• T-shirts (separate long sleeve / short sleeve / sleeveless) 

• Pajamas 

• Sweatpants/leggings

• Socks

• Underwear

• Activewear (dance / sports / swim)

PRO TIP

Save space by storing out-of-season / holiday-specific / clothes to grow into in labeled bins at the top of the closet, and switch when needed. 

Always keep a labeled bin or two on hand to place donate or keepsake clothes when they start growing out of things.
 

4) SPACE PLAN

Ask yourself these important questions while planning your kids’ closet and drawer systems:

• What needs to be most accessible for your children’s routines?

  • If they have sports multiple times a week or swim often, make sure those items are more accessible.

• Are your children old enough to get things themselves?

  • If yes, make sure that they can see and reach what they need easily and store unneeded items out-of-reach.

• What items can be stored in labeled bins at the top of the closet or on available shelving?

  • Create a system for storing keepsakes, grow-into clothes, or out-of-season items.

5) PRODUCT

After coming up with a plan for each space, implement product where needed that will make your systems easier to use and maintain.

CLOSET ESSENTIALS:

DRAWER ESSENTIALS:

6) LABEL

Keeping a system in place is much easier when things are labeled - place labels inside of drawers, on closet bins, on hanging dividers, etc.

Make sure while maintaining the space to change the label if you change the items! You may have a labeled space in their drawer in the Spring for tank tops, but you can replace that label with long-sleeved shirts come Fall when you move tank tops to the out-of-season bin.

LABELING ESSENTIALS: