We have reached my favorite part of the process: clean up. When I am in the midst of a project, I spread out and the clutter explodes before the project is complete. It really does get worse before it gets better when I am organizing. However, the final product is so worth the few days of disaster.

In organizing my children’s clothing, I have addressed preparing (Step 1), purging (Step 2), packing (Step 3), and placing (Step 4). The final step is preserving the unused items for another time.

STEP FIVE: Preserve

By the time I have placed all the “new” items in the closet and dresser, I am ready to clean up my upstairs hallway and return it to a clean, empty space.

Though I am the one who organizes the clothing items, my husband is definitely involved. Just need to give a shout out for my fabulous hubby. He helps move the totes to and from storage, label the totes, and pack up the donation items. What a great guy! 🙂

Filled Totes

All the filled totes remain stacked in the hallway until the laundry is complete. As I fold the loads of laundry, I check to be sure I have packed away all smaller-sized clothing. When the laundry is complete and all the items have been added to the correct tote, I will let Paul know that I am finished with those totes. He will check to be sure all totes are labeled, carry them to our storage closet, and place them on the shelves.

Empty Totes

Usually I will have a couple of empty totes from the clothing I am currently using. The empty totes are stacked and ready to be taken to the garage and added to the empty storage totes. When I organize the clothing again in the spring, I can locate these labeled totes to refill.

Donations

All the items in the donation pile are packed in plastic bags and taken to the garage. Usually the items stay in the garage until I plan a trip to the donation container. But now that we have a neighbor with children younger than my three, Paul delivered all the bags to them. This situation was a win-win situation since they could use the items, we did not need to store the bags, and I did not need to make a trip to the donation center.

Car

With the newer clothing available, I chose one outfit complete with socks, shoes, and a diaper, packed these in a bag, and placed them in the trunk of the car. You never know when you (or someone you know) will need that extra outfit.

Supplies

As Paul moves the totes to their locations, I gather up the remaining supplies (i.e., sharpies, labels, plastic bags, etc.) and return them to their home. I then dust the hallway ledge and run the vacuum.

At the end of my five-step process, the smaller-sized clothing is out of sight, the new-sized clothing is clean and placed in the closet and dresser, and the room and hallway are clean. The project takes a few days to complete with lots of interruptions in between, but the final product is worth the time spent organizing my children’s clothing.

As you continue using time wisely, remember to break your project into small segments that can be completed in short amounts of time. By plugging away a little here and there, you will be thrilled with your final product. Keep up the great work as you continue organizing!

Question: Where do you store your children’s clothing? Please add your answer to the comments.

Finished Closet

Have you finished updating your closets with your fall and winter clothing? I am almost completely done. The clothing for my youngest daughter and my son are complete.

Where my daughters receive hand-me-downs from their cousin, my tall son, who is about the same size as his cousin that is 2 years older, does not have an abundance of clothing items. Besides under garments, socks, and tights, my daughters’ closets and dressers are fully stocked.

To keep up with my growing son when hand-me-downs are few, I keep a close eye on sales, especially at the end of each season. In fact, I just ordered my son more clothing items during The Children’s Place sale since his fall/winter wardrobe was quite lean.

Though I am currently working on my oldest daughter’s closet, I have completed these steps for all of my children’s apparel: Step 1 – Prepare, Step 2 – Purge, and Step 3: Pack. The next step I am currently working on is Step 4: Place.

STEP FOUR: Place

Beginning this step with a semi-empty closet and dresser, I located the bin with the appropriate label. For my youngest daughter, I needed the 18-month to 2T winter items. Upon locating the tote, I unpacked the items one at a time, placing them either on a hanger for the closet or in a drawer of her dresser.

Closet

For items in her closet, I organize by color and type of clothing. The bottom rod includes her long-sleeved shirts, overalls and outfits, long-sleeved onesies, turtlenecks, shirts with jackets, and sweaters and sweatshirts. The top rod includes her short-sleeved shirts and dresses.

1. Each of these sections is organized by hanger color:

Bottom Rod:

• Pink hangers: Long-sleeved shirts
• Purple hangers: overalls and outfits
• Pink hangers: long-sleeved onesies
• Green hangers: turtlenecks
• Clear hangers: shirts with jackets
• Pink hangers: sweaters and sweatshirts

Top Rod:

• Clear hangers: short-sleeved shirts
• Green hangers: dresses

2. Each of these sections is then organized by clothing color in order of the rainbow:

• Pinks
• Reds
• Oranges
• Yellows
• Greens
• Blues
• Purples
• Browns
• Blacks
• Whites

Now this type of organization may be too organized for you. For me, having all the clothing in order makes putting laundry away a breeze. The hanger is already in its place, and I just need to play a simple matching game: match the clothing item with its correct hanger.

In using time wisely, this system has served me well. Laundry is not a daunting task because every space is already organized and ready for the items to be replaced. Having a designated place for each item is my best tip for using time wisely.

Dresser

My daughter’s dresser has 6 drawers which I have designated for different items:

1. Socks, tights, and under garments
2. Smallest sized clothing, i.e. her 18-month outfits, pants, and pajamas
3. Largest sized clothing, i.e., her 2T outfits, pants, and pajamas
4. More space for 2T clothing items
5. Empty – As she grows out of items, I place them in this drawer. When it is time to repeat this process in the spring, I will have a head start on purging her wardrobe. Having a place for smaller items that is out of sight helps keep her room clutter-free and organized.
6. Next sized clothing – If I purchase additional items in the next size, I will add these clothes to this drawer.

Shoes

After growing out of her size 4 shoes, I placed the size 5 shoes into her changing table drawer. These shoes were in another tote labeled “girls shoes sizes 1-5.”

Donations

If I find items that I do not love or would not place on my daughter, I add it to the donation pile.

At the end of this fourth step, my daughter’s closet, dresser, and shoe drawer have been filled. Knowing what she has helps me know what items she is missing. Being the second girl in our family with my older daughter’s hand-me-downs, her wardrobe is usually complete, like it was at end of this step. Next week, I will conclude the fifth step in my “organizing my children’s clothing” project. Until then . . . happy organizing!

Question: How do you organize the clothing in your closets? Feel free to post a picture with your answer.