Children’s clothing tends to become household clutter, especially when it’s not sorted periodically. To maintain order, take stock of the clothes in a child’s dresser and closet often. Donate outgrown items and make use of long-term storage for the clothes that will be passed down to younger siblings. Designate a place for dirty laundry to keep it from cluttering the floor.
Sort Children’s Clothing Each Season
Children grow fast, so it’s a good idea to periodically sort clothes. A convenient time to sort is when the season changes. To save space, the clothes for the previous season can be moved to the top shelf of the closet or put in short-term storage in the attic or basement. To do a thorough sort, the authors of Cut the Clutter and Stow the Stuff (Yankee Publishing, Inc. 2002) recommend removing all the clothing from the dresser and closet and evaluating each item. Discard clothing that is worn out or badly stained. Separate everything that is outgrown but still in good condition.
Unless the outgrown clothes are being saved for a younger sibling, donate them to a friend in need, put them in a garage sale or donate them to a thrift store. Deal with them immediately so they won’t add to household clutter.
Long-Term Storage for Children’s Clothing
Clothes that will be passed down to a sibling that hasn’t grown into them yet can be stored in plastic containers. Plastic keeps out insects and moisture that can damage fabric. Clear containers are helpful and make finding and retrieving the clothing easy.
If clear containers are not an option, be sure to label the outside of the clothing containers. To simplify, keep clothing of like sizes together. For instance, store all the baby clothes in one container and all the size 2T clothing in another.
Maintaining a Child’s Dresser and Closet
A child’s dresser and closet can get messy quickly. Keeping clothing properly sorted will help children find their own clothes when it’s time to get dressed. To prevent the space from being a disorganized jumble of clothing, try to keep clothes sorted by type. Put all the t-shirts in one drawer, pants in another and so on. Consider using small plastic bins that fit inside the drawer to keep socks and underwear separate and tidy.
A child’s closet can be outfitted with a low bar to hang items within the child’s reach. Use child-sized hangers for small children’s clothing, but switch to full-size hangers once the clothes are bigger than a size 6 or 8. Anything larger than that will fall off the small hangers.
Keeping Children’s Laundry Off the Floor
Children often have trouble putting dirty laundry in the proper place. It ends up on the floor, making for a cluttered room. To encourage a child to pick up dirty laundry, make it as convenient and easy as possible. Hang a laundry bag from the back of a closet or bedroom door. Or, if there’s room, place a laundry basket on the bottom of the closet floor.
Children’s clothing can be a source of household clutter, especially when outgrown or worn clothing is allowed to accumulate. It’s helpful to sort clothing each season and move items that are being saved out of the closet and into long-term storage. Help children take care of clothing by organizing the dresser and closet and creating a space for dirty laundry.
Source:
- Baird, Lori (editor); Cut the Clutter and Stow the Stuff; Yankee Publishing, Inc. 2002.
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