When a child can reach everything in the closet, she can select her own clothes and put things away easily. The bedroom may be neater and the child gains independence. Redesign a reach-in closet to eliminate wasted space, create designated sections for everything, and place clothes and storage bins within reach. With the right design, the closet will adapt as the child grows and the bedroom will stay more organized. Hanging shelves are removable and can work as well as built-ins. Hooks on the back wall hold flat items in formerly wasted space. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Remove everything from the closet and paint it white. Paint the floor in high-gloss white as well to reflect as much light as possible in the space.
2. Place out-of season or seldom-used items in clear, plastic lidded bins and store them on the top shelf over the clothes bar. Even though you can see the contents through the plastic, you may want to label everything so stored items are easy to find.
3. Install hooks on the back wall of the closet. Hang winter coats in plastic or vinyl dress bags flat against the wall in summer. In winter, use the flat hanging space for light jackets or other summer gear.
4. Hang an extender bar from one half of the clothes rod in the closet. Buy hangers all one color and style to hang clothes on the top bar and on the bottom bar, which is easy for the smallest child to reach. Paint a low step stool to match the room decor and tuck it inside the closet for access to the top clothes bar. Make sure your child is old enough to use the step stool safely, however.
5. Hang canvas "shelves" that reach to the floor on the other half of the main closet bar. Place clear plastic drawers in each of the canvas shelves -- you may have to hunt for some that fit the space in each shelf. Use the drawers for small items such as socks and underwear and flat-folded items like T-shirts and pajamas. Each clothing category gets its own drawer.
6. Screw a couple of hooks on the inside of the closet door and hang a shoe bag with clear pockets. Use the bottom pockets for shoes and the top, harder-to-reach pockets for belts, caps, spare mittens and other pieces that will not be used every day.
7. Line up two or three small plastic two-handled buckets for laundry outside the closet door. Get fun, bright colors to encourage your child to toss dirty clothes in the buckets and then take them to the laundry room.
Tags: back wall, canvas shelves, child reach, clear plastic, closet door, inside closet
