Your child's closet is one of the home battlefields. You say "straighten it up," and he doesn't because he can't. Children are not hardwired to take on the task of organization without a whole lot of help from adults. So divide the closet into four sections from bottom to top. Then with color cues, your child will learn to place his items where they belong. Does this Spark an idea?
Top of the Closet Shelf
This area is adult-regulated. It is too high for your child to reach, and it's the perfect place to store games with too many pieces to count. You are in control of when and how it is used. This is also an area for seasonal items, such as ice skates, Halloween costumes and Easter hats. If you can fold, box and label these rarely used items, you can find them quickly when they are needed.
This area reaches all the way to the ceiling so you have a lot more storage than you might imagine. If there are too many toys for your child, take half of them and put them up for a month and then swap them for the toys currently in use. That way, everything seems new to your child. As the toys become outgrown, save them in a basket for a couple of months before sending them on when they haven't been requested.
Top Hanging Rack
This is another regulated area. Some children change clothes several times a day, and most of the clothes end up on the floor. If this is your child, regulate the behavior by putting all of the clothing on the top rack. Leave only two outfits at his level. This rack also holds coats, dress outfits and short hanging shoe racks full of footwear you also control.
Build a Kid's Height Shelf
This is a simple regulation-size shelf that can hold bins but is installed at a comfortable height so your child can control this area. One way of organizing toys, especially for young children, is to buy red, blue, yellow and green open top bins. If the toy is blue, it goes into the blue bin. This makes picking up toys easy and fun for children who don't have to try to classify the item by some obscure parental ideal. If the toy is multicolored and thereby confusing for your child, either place it on the top shelf or designate a clear bin for that category.
Take the colored bins further by labeling them once the child can read. The sort and classify method of toy placement is actually an early math skill that will serve your child well once he enters the classroom.
Under Shelf Area
The final area is a combination of hanging rack for often used clothing and a simple two- or three-shelf bookcase that takes up a third of the width. Drying racks on the shelves work well for books. Add an 11-by-14-inch box to hold papers, coloring books and crayons. One shelf may be designated for stuffed animals or action figures. If they are small, have a box for them. Velcro boxes and bins in place so they don't migrate out of the closet.
Simple shoe racks will slide in under hanging clothes. Ensure that shoes are racked as a matched set by gluing colored stickers on the matching shoe posts. Place the same color sticker inside the corresponding shoes.
Tags: your child, Shelf This, shoe racks, This area, when they
