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Home » Organizing » Reach In Closet Organization for Kids

02/25/2016 · 17 Comments

Reach In Closet Organization for Kids

Organizing

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Post Contains Affiliate Links - You pay the same price, I get a small commission. High Five!Have you got a baby or kiddo with an out of control closet? I recently had the chance to organize a baby’s closet, and had fun thinking of affordable ways to add flexible storage that will grow right along with baby.

I shared the before photos and my plan a few weeks ago, but here’s a quick recap if you missed it. It’s a pretty standard double door closet, that already had a great amount of hanging space.

Closet Organization for Kids
Baby's closet before makeover

There were a few big problems that all boiled down to stuff that didn’t belong in the closet being in the way of things that needed to be there. During my first visit, we sorted through the closet and removed all the non-baby items. Some were able to be donated, and other items went to the attic. We also talked about what needed a place in the closet that didn’t currently fit.

Here’s the list of what we needed to add.

  • Extra wipes & diapers
  • Shoes
  • Socks
  • Books
  • Toys
  • Space Heater and/or Fan (Seasonal)
  • Storage for Sentimental Items
  • Donation Basket

With all that in mind, I measured the space and came up with a plan that would work great now, but leave lots of flexible room as baby grows into little girl.

Baby-M-Plan-Labeled

And here is what it looks like now!

This is the baby closet organization of my dreams! I love that all the storage solutions keep working through the toddler years and onto school.

There are a lot of things I love about how this turned out, but one of them is that there was ZERO construction, painting, etc. Everything is non-permanent and flexible,

I knew I wanted to use the back of the closet doors to add easily accessible storage, and I had one of those rare light bulb moments with a vision of one door becoming a library. I wasn’t sure HOW, but I was obsessed with figuring it out!

I LOVE this idea for kid's book storage. Using the space on the back of a closet door was so smart. More baby closet organization ideas are in the full post. Click for details!

The solution was way easier than I expected. I bought this pantry organizer!  They come ready to hang on the closet door, but I found that it didn’t stay as tight to the door as I wanted. It swung when we opened and closed the door. Luckily, wire utensil Command hooks perfectly hook into the holes and keep everything secure. It’s an added cost, but I wouldn’t recommend doing this project without them.

Secure hanging pantry organizers with Command Hooks for extra stability.

I used the braces that came with the organizer to keep the books from flopping every time the door moved. For the very top section, we were out of braces, so we tied a wide ribbon across the books. It works just as well!

For the bottom sections, I used super cute mint green plastic baskets from Target to hold the smaller books. Sometimes you get really lucky and bins fit PERFECTLY. Happy day!

Wait until you see how these books are mounted on a closet door. Why didn't I think of this sooner?

Inside the closet, we added an IKEA TROFAST unit. Toy storage galore! The large TROFAST bins are also great for things like extra wipes & diapers that don’t fit in the changing table. This little girl is just getting to the age of accumulating toys, so for now we are leaving the bins unlabeled. As she gets older, the toys may get divided out into labeled categories.

On the upper closet shelf, I added some marbled mint milk crate bins from Target. They are being used for those sentimental items that baby has outgrown, but mom wants to keep.  Side note: I REALLY want to redo my office closet with all this mint cuteness.Oh, baby! These storage ideas for a baby's closet make my organization loving heart so happy.

Another big change in the closet was a hanger swap. Uniform hangers make the space look less busy, and the velvet slim hangers save space and keep clothes ON the hanger. We ordered a pink polka dot version from Amazon that are ADORABLE. Reviews say these work great up through kids size 6-8, so the family will get years of use out of them.

As we did the hanger swap, we also sorted the clothes by size. Everything the current size went on the bottom row, with bigger sizes up top and then winter gear on the opposite side of the closet. If you just have one hanging rod, check out this tutorial for super cute size dividers. 

Oh my gosh, these polka dot little girl's hangers are ADORABLE. Perfect for a baby's closet.

On the right side of the closet, we reused an existing wire shelving unit and filled it with larger versions of the mint Target bins. These are great for clothes that are outgrown and needed to be sorted for donation/passing on to others. Now if something doesn’t fit anymore, it gets tossed right into the bin.  Extra blankets also live in one of these big baskets. SO MUCH STORAGE! Add storage to a baby's closet with an inexpensive shoe organizer. Click for more closet ideas that will grow right along with baby

As I’m sure you noticed, we didn’t let the second closet door go to waste. I found an over the door shoe storage unit that I like SO MUCH BETTER than the usual kind. The openings are deeper, so each one is essentially a little shelf. You can get the same one at Target or Amazon.  The openings are the exact size to hold those same small mint bins I used for books on the other door. And inside the bins there are lots of little baby socks!

Add storage to a baby's closet with an inexpensive shoe organizer. Click for more ideas that will grow right along with baby.

I was so honored to help this family change a spot of stress in the house into a spot that works for them and makes their busy mornings a bit easier.

This is the baby closet organization of my dreams! I love that all the storage solutions keep working through the toddler years and onto school.

Baby Closet Organization Shoppable Source List

Closet Door Book Organizer – Amazon or Target
Command Hooks for Book Organizer – Amazon
Velvet Kid’s Hangers – Amazon
Small Mint Bins – Target
Large Mint Bins – Target
Marble Mint Milk Crate Boxes With Lids – Target
Closet Door Shoe Organizer – Amazon or Target

And here’s one final pinnable image that shows the before and after in one place. What’s your favorite part?

This is the baby closet organization of my dreams! I love that all the storage solutions keep working through the toddler years and onto school.

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melissa

Melissa George

In 2013, Melissa founded Polished Habitat to share her passion for intersecting style and function to make everyday life more beautiful and less stressful. She does this by sharing easy home organization tips, home decor tutorials, and creative ideas to help readers think outside the box, no matter their budget. Her work has been featured in print in Better Homes & Gardens and Room to Create Magazine, and online by HGTV, House Beautiful, Buzzfeed, & more. In 2018 & 2019, Melissa was named as a Style Maker by Better Homes & Gardens. In 2019, Polished Habitat was shortlisted for the Amara Blog Awards Best Interior Styling Blog - International. Read more...

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Comments

  1. Kim says

    02/25/2016 at 5:11 pm

    Just wow!

    Reply
  2. Sarah Vogel says

    02/26/2016 at 3:04 pm

    I love it ALL! Am sending this post on to my daughter who has 3 girls and TONS of clothes and shoes….inspirations and ideas!! Thank you!!

    Reply
    • Melissa George says

      02/26/2016 at 3:25 pm

      Oh good! I hope she finds some of the ideas will make their mornings easier!

      Reply
  3. Anni says

    02/27/2016 at 12:48 pm

    My favorite part is everything, but I even had my husband come look at how you did the doors. 🙂 Lots of inspiration for us, as we’ll be doing two kid closet makeovers this summer. Thank you!

    Reply
    • Melissa George says

      02/27/2016 at 1:25 pm

      So glad it was good timing for you! And I love that it hit the ‘show the husband’ threshold because I do the same thing at our house with ideas I really love!

      Reply
  4. Jessica says

    03/02/2016 at 7:12 am

    I thought I had all my kids closets organized—-NO WAY, I think I will need to steal some of your tricks. This is great!

    Reply
  5. Andrea says

    03/04/2016 at 2:30 pm

    This is EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!!!! You have given me SO many ideas! I am super bummed that the extra small mint bins from Target are no longer available online or in stores by me. IF ANYONE HAS ACCESS TO THESE BINS, I WOULD LOVE 7 sets. PLEASE HELP! Thanks! Andrea

    Reply
    • Melissa George says

      03/04/2016 at 2:41 pm

      Oh no, I’m so bummed they are out of stock online already too. I’ll keep my eyes open in case any get returned to my Targets.

      Reply
  6. SARAH says

    03/22/2016 at 9:00 am

    Holy cow! Such an improvement! I am dying over those mint baskets you used.

    Reply
  7. andrea says

    06/21/2016 at 6:46 pm

    This is beautiful and inspiring. wondering which render program didi you use to design the plan?
    thanks!!

    Reply
    • Melissa George says

      06/22/2016 at 9:35 pm

      Here’s an Amazon affiliate link right to the one I use http://amzn.to/28YLvI3 . It’s not totally intuitive and I found myself searching their forums a lot in the beginning, but now that I passed the learning curve it’s so worth it. Really powerful for the price.

      Reply
  8. Danielle says

    03/06/2017 at 2:29 pm

    Do you know what size those bins are that you have in the shoe rack? I got the shoe rack (all because of your site!) and I was going to see if I could order some online.

    Reply
    • Melissa George says

      03/09/2017 at 9:27 am

      Hi Danielle, they were the “extra small” size. Hopefully they’re available in a different color now, because they fit perfectly!

      Reply
  9. Erika says

    08/26/2017 at 2:36 pm

    What is on top of the shoe organizer, it seems like a canvas top shelf? The link for it looks different on Target and Amazon’s website.

    Reply
    • Melissa George says

      08/26/2017 at 2:58 pm

      There is a canvas flat area at the top, but I don’t think you could safely store anything on it. Maybe they changed the design so people wouldn’t try?

      Reply
  10. Natalie Kabel says

    11/25/2017 at 2:08 pm

    LOVE it! The bins are no longer available, what are the dimensions of the bins so I can get some like it? We are doing the book organization for my new son’s nursery 🙂

    Reply
    • Melissa George says

      11/27/2017 at 1:44 pm

      Hi Natalie, I’m so excited you’re doing the book idea for your son’s nursery! It’s one of my favorite projects ever. 🙂 I found the bins in a nice gray on Target’s site, so hopefully it will work with his color scheme! If not, the exactly dimensions are also listed in the product listing. Here’s the link: http://rstyle.me/n/cu5ta9b5wxf I’d love to see a picture when you are done!

      Reply

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Welcome!

In 2013, Melissa started Polished Habitat to share her skill of mixing decor & organization to add style & function to everyday life at home.

Her work has been featured in print in Better Homes & Gardens and Room to Create Magazine, and online by HGTV, House Beautiful, Buzzfeed, & more.

In 2018 &  2019, Melissa was named as a Style Maker by Better Homes & Gardens. In 2019, she was also short-listed by the Amara Blog Awards for Interior Styling, International Division.

Need to reach Melissa?
Email: Melissa @ PolishedHabitat.com

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