Over the past year, we’ve slowly freshened up most of the rooms in our house, starting with the main areas (living, kitchen, master bedroom) and moving to the smaller yet equally important (powder bath and pantry.) It’s funny how those seemingly less impactful spaces make just as much of an impact on my mental state. Clearing the clutter in our pantry has made my mornings, noons, and nights so much more enjoyable when I’m prepping meals. And the satisfaction I get from organized spaces certainly extends to today’s projects: Phoebe’s and Henry’s closets! This was a project I’d been putting off for a while and their disorganized and dysfunctional closets had been weighing on my mind. The end result was two very cluttered spaces. So, I finally decided to conquer them and, with the help of the team at California Closets, the result is nothing short of amazing. The other day, I walked into Phoebe’s closet and just stood there with a smile on my face. So, today not only am I sharing the stunning afters with you all, but I also want to talk through some of the kid’s closet ideas that took our spaces from woeful to truly joy-sparking.
When designing our kids’ closets, the goal was to minimize clutter so that getting dressed in the morning (and winding down in the evening) would be as stress- and clutter-free as possible. With elementary school-aged kids who can get themselves dressed, these kid’s closet ideas keep clothes and accessories within easy reach. We’re working on developing age-appropriate responsibilities around here, so keeping their clothes organized is a great way to encourage independence.
As you guys know, I’ve worked with California Closets on several projects in the past—most recently our pantry and mudroom—and I knew I wanted to work with their team to create the most organized, efficient spaces in the kids’ closets, too. After chatting through the options, we decided to go with The Everyday System, which is an adaptable and moveable solution that helped us find much-needed space in these closets that had felt a bit cramped. Even though their closets previously had built-ins, when considering kid’s closet ideas that would work for our needs, turns out that a more modular storage solution like this will be able to grow with my children and last them until they leave for college!
Scroll on for kid’s closet ideas and storage solutions to keep clothes and accessories within easy reach.
First, get strategic with a smart kid’s closet design.
Of course, it would be awesome to have a professional crew construct every organizational space in our home, but sometimes that’s just not on the cards. That’s why I was pumped to discover that California Closets recently launched their first-ever online design tool that allows you to configure and customize The Everyday Collection online, easily and conveniently. For my fellow design junkies, trust me when I say: you will be addicted to this tool. You measure your space, input your details, take inventory of what you need to store, and the tool help to create your custom storage solution. Then you can tweak as needed and place your order for all the parts to be delivered straight to your home. I’m still blown away by how built-in this system looks, without requiring any construction (making it a perfect solution for renters, too.)
Create a closet that will grow with your kids.
The Everyday System has hidden tracks that allow for tons of adjustability. You can move shelves up and down as needed, and storage rods can be adjusted to different heights so they can be repositioned as your child grows. Unlike the built-ins that were previously in this space, this system has loads of flexibility to adapt to our ever-changing needs.
You can never have too many drawers.
As I’ve gained more experience in designing spaces for storage and organization, I’ve learned: always go for more drawers. Keeping clothing folded in short stacks in shallow drawers makes them so much easier to keep streamlined and neat. The Everyday System has soft-close drawers that fully extend so you can see to the back and you can truly feel the high quality of their construction.
Shelves have their place, too.
Open shelving is great for books and toys, as well as baskets and bins to corral them. Since my kids’ rooms can quickly get cluttered (it’s amazing how much stuff they can acquire in the span of a few weeks), it’s nice to have an extra spot to keep overflow toys and stuffed animals so that their rooms can stay clutter-free, too.
Make the most of upper storage space.
Just because your kid can’t reach the high shelves doesn’t mean you can’t use this space smartly! I use the upper shelves of my kids’ closets for out-of-season clothes, extra bedding, and bulky items like sleeping bags. In Phoebe’s closet, I added a stool so that she can reach the upper shelves and rods, too.
Accessorize with textural bins and baskets.
I love the warmth that woven baskets bring to both kids’ closets. And they work overtime as major organizing tools! Phoebe has lots of little items that can easily clutter up her bedroom: think notes from the tooth fairy, so many pairs of tiny earrings and necklaces, and doll accessories. We’ve got a bin or a basket for each of those categories so that everything in her room has a home and we can make quick work of clean-up at the end of the day.
Small closet ideas for kids.
Henry’s closet is a walk-in, yes… but it’s also pretty small with an awkward layout, thanks to a door that swings inward. I worked with the California Closets team to create a modular solution to maximize every square inch, and thankfully his closet feels so much bigger and more functional than it did before. He actually has an empty drawer just waiting to be filled! The key to mastering a small closet for kids (or adults) is to keep it streamlined. Start by purging out-grown clothes, and store out-of-season items in a bin on the highest shelf (or in attic storage!) A modular closet system like The Everyday System can house shoes, hats, toys, and accessories. And when it comes to clothes, you can think about your specific needs to decide if you need more long hanging space, low rods, more drawers, etc.
Other ideas for a small closet? Use the back of a door for extra hooks, add vertical storage for accessories, and consider painting one wall in a bright accent color to give it some extra oomph!
Keep it easy.
My kids are always on the move these days, so creating storage solutions that are easy to maintain is a must. Otherwise, they throw everything on the floor or stuff it in a drawer, and… we’re back to square one. In each of their closets, I added hooks for hanging up bags, jackets, and hats so that they can quickly drop them without them landing on the floor. A big open basket is a perfect catch-all for dirty laundry—it can literally be tossed in. And keeping their most-often used items in plain view at arm’s length fits our grab-and-go lifestyle—and makes it easy to return everything to its spot at the end of the day.
Do you guys have any kid’s closet ideas that have helped you streamline and stay organized? Drop them in the comments!
