Best Ways to Organize Your Child’s Clothes

Welcome back to another edition of Answers by Mamas Uncut – where our readers ask the questions and our parenting experts deliver the answers. Today’s topic is one many parents are going to appreciate: 

Organizing your child’s clothes. 

“Ok so I need some help organizing my child’s clothes,” one of our anonymous readers wrote in our online community forum – adding that she was struggling to find a good system for all of his clothes. 

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She wanted to know what others did: “What works best for you guys? Do you keep all the ‘outfits’ that come together folded together then? Or what. And what’s best to hang and what’s best for drawers?”

It might seem like a small, mundane task that requires little thought and discussion, but there’s more to it than meets the eye. Don’t worry – we’ll open you up to the many subtleties and complexities involved. 

Benefits of Organizing Your Child’s Clothes

I know a lot of you are probably asking yourself – is organizing my child’s clothes even worth it? Parents already have so much on their plates, but is it worth the time, energy, and effort to sort through clothes? 

The short answer is yes. In fact, it’s beneficial to both the parent and the child, and for various reasons!

For example, organizing your child’s clothes allows you (or your child) to find the right outfit in a timely manner – without having to tear apart the dresser or closet in search of their favorite pair of pants. 

It also encourages independence, making it easier for your child to get dressed on their own – and put their clothes away on their own. Over time, they’ll adopt valuable habits that they can use as adults. 

And, of course, it reduces clutter. 

When children observe and participate in organizing their clothes, they learn valuable organizational and categorization skills – teaching them the importance of keeping things tidy, put together, and in order. 

Tips for Organizing Your Child’s Clothes

A few things we have to acknowledge about keeping your child’s wardrobe organized is that it isn’t easy, everyone will have their own unique way of doing it, and there’s an art to it that takes time to master. 

The truth is there’s no real right or wrong way to do it. 

There are, however, a variety of tricks that most parents learn through experience – but today’s your lucky day because we’re going to share with you some of our favorite secrets to organizing a child’s wardrobe. 

10. Dresser vs. Closet vs. Cubbies

The first order of business is where to store your child’s clothes. This often depends on what’s available and how much space you have, but if you’re lucky enough to have options, then feel free to get creative. 

For the most part, parents will be choosing between a dresser, a closet, cubbies, or a combination of all three. Let’s take a look at some of the benefits of each and how you can take advantage of them all. 

Cubbies. Great for a children’s room because it’s easy for children to reach and manage their wardrobe, but it’s also useful for separating daily outfits, storing shoes, and displaying hats or other accessories. 

Dresser. Anything that gets folded can be organized in a dresser – including socks and underwear. They come in a variety of sizes and help keep clothes out of sight, but they do take up floor space. 

Closet. Usually offers the most space, but also allows for both folding and hanging clothes – making it good for dresses, jackets, and other larger/longer items. Oh, and it keeps the clothes out of sight. 

As a general rule of thumb, cubbies are best reserved for younger children due to their ease of use, dressers are useful when you don’t have a closet or need extra space, and closets are the gold standard. 

9. Further Optimize the Space

One of the biggest problems most parents run into is a lack of space – especially since kids get so many clothes from family, and they’re constantly changing sizes. Finding space for it all might seem impossible.

Don’t worry – it’s not that you have a lack of space. It just means you’re not getting the most out of the space you have, but that’s easy to fix. Here are three of our favorite ways of optimizing your wardrobe.

Extra Rods/Cubbies. Most closet build-outs are designed for adult clothes, but you can optimize your closet by installing a secondary rod below the primary rod – you’ll have room since kids’ clothes are small.

Over-the-Door Organizer. If you’re running out of space in the closet (or room, in general), add some storage space with an over-the-door organizer. They’re handy for shoes, hats, outfits, and even toys. 

Hanging Shelf. For those who have extra space on their closet rod, a hanging shelf can give you more cubby-like storage options without having to install a wooden one. Just hang it from the rod – that’s it!

You can also use push pins to hang hats on the wall – they’ll leave holes in the wall, but they’ll be smaller than those of a nail. And a jewelry box gives them a sense of ownership and pride over their accessories.

8. How to Sort Your Child’s Clothes 

By now, you’ve maximized the amount of storage space in your child’s room and are ready to start sorting it all out in an organized and structured manner. This is where parents will have to get a little creative. 

There are several ways to go about this, but most parents choose to sort them by season, body part, or occasion. This makes it easier to find what they’re looking for, especially when the household is in a rush. 

By Season. Categorize the clothes by season (Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring) or by temperature (cold vs. warm clothes). If you know you won’t need colder clothes for a while, store them in a bin under the bed.

By Body Part. Categorize the clothes by body part – shirts and sweaters in one area, pants and shorts in another, socks and underwear in separate but nearby drawers, and hats or accessories off to the side. 

By Occasion. Categorize the clothes by occasion – gym clothes, formal vs. fancy vs. casual clothes, swimwear, pajamas, etc. If they know they’re getting ready to play outside, they’ll know where to find it.

If you’re storing the clothes in a dresser or cubby, you can separate similar items with a fabric drawer organizer. For example, you can separate long-sleeved and short-sleeved shirts in the same drawer. 

7. How to Fold Your Child’s Clothes 

You know where and how to sort your child’s clothes, but now let’s talk about folding them in a way that maximizes space but doesn’t damage or ruin them over time – especially those that don’t get used often. 

Keep in mind that the more you fold them and the more compact you make them, the more wrinkles they develop over time. So fold them enough to keep them confined, but not so much that they wrinkle badly.

Avoid Rolling the Clothes. Rolling your child’s clothes will certainly save space and might look appealing, but it makes it hard to see which shirt is which and exacerbates the wrinkle dilemma. 

Take Your Time – Or Not. If you’re someone who likes things to be super tidy and neat, then take your time when folding the clothes – but don’t feel bad if you have to rush yourself just to get it done. 

Make Sure You Have an Iron. It doesn’t matter what you do to avoid wrinkles, they’re bound to appear at some point. When they do appear, prove yourself ready by having an iron and ironing table handy nearby. 

It might take some trial and error, but you’ll eventually find the methods that work best for you. I would avoid getting too accustomed to any one method because things can change as you get more clothes.

6. Take Advantage of Different Types of Hangers

Hangers are your best friend if your child has a closet because, unlike a dresser, they allow you to hang their clothes, greatly reducing the risk of wrinkles forming over time and making them more visible. 

With that said, there are several types of hangers that most people don’t utilize often enough – and we already talked about one of them (the hanging shelf). Here are several more hangers to consider using: 

Two-Piece Hangers. These types of hangers allow you to hang a matching shirt and pair of shorts/pants together – not only saving you space on the clothing rod, but keeping those cute matching outfits ready. 

Use Matching Hangers. If you care about aesthetics, I recommend sticking to one color (or matching colors) when buying hangers. For smaller kids, it might make sense to introduce a variety of fun colors. 

Belt and Tie Hangers. For those who have spiffy outfits for their little man, a belt and tie hanger can help keep those items out of the drawer and visibly ready with the rest of your clothes – right there on the rack!

If you have an upper and lower rod, put everyday items on the lower rack, preferably near the ground, so your child can reach it without assistance. Utilize the upper racks for jackets, dress clothes, and randoms. 

5. What to Do With Socks & Undies 

Socks and underwear can be a little harder to manage because they’re smaller and easier to lose. They’re also the clothing items that get damaged the quickest and, therefore, replaced the most. 

You can organize socks and underwear by type and usage, or you can simply throw them all in a drawer and play the matching game whenever it’s time to put a new pair on – whichever is easiest for you!

Fold Them – Or Don’t. Some parents take the time to fold socks and undies, while others throw them in the drawer. Throwing them in might make it more difficult to find the right one, but it saves a lot of time. 

Buy Similar Brands. If you’re going to throw them in the drawer, you can make life easier for you and your child by buying the same brand of socks throughout – that way, they just need to match colors. 

Dresser vs. Nightstand. If you have empty nightstand drawers, socks and underwear are the perfect way to fill them up. If you don’t have a nightstand or the drawers are full, you can put them in a dresser.

Keeping your child’s undies and socks neatly sorted and organized prevents them from becoming lost or damaged – reducing stress and minimizing unnecessary replacements, which will only cost you money. 

4. Get an Engaging Hamper for Dirty Clothes

Don’t forget about all those dirty clothes! 

Instead of letting them pile up on the floor or in the closet, a hamper can keep them together in one place – ready for laundry day, whenever that day comes. All they need to do is throw them in while they change.

For younger children, invest in a fun and engaging hamper. 

A good example is hampers shaped like basketball hoops—instead of placing the clothes in the hamper, your child can shoot them in like a basketball! You can also find hampers that feature your child’s favorite characters, colors, animals, and more – doubling as a hamper and a piece of decoration in the room. 

3. Storing Off-Season Clothes to Save Room

How often does your child wear winter clothes in the summer – or vice versa? It might happen every once in a while, but that doesn’t mean you need to have your entire winter wardrobe handy in the summer. 

Instead, you can store all those off-season clothes in a storage bin for later use. 

It also gives you and your child to go through your seasonal clothes every few months – removing items that don’t get worn enough or don’t fit anymore. Just sort through them anytime you store them away. 

Then again, if you have the space in the closet, it makes sense to keep everything out at all times. 

The three most prominent locations for off-season clothes are under the bed, in the attic, or in the garage. Make sure you store them in a safe container and label everything – just in case you need them later. 

2. What to do With Hand-Me-Down Clothes

How many of you grew up with hand-me-down clothes? I know I did, and while I didn’t quite understand it at the time, it makes total sense to me now that I’m looking at it from an adult’s/parent’s perspective. 

It not only reduces waste, but it serves as a practical and economical resource for families – especially as kids grow and styles change. Instead of throwing them out, why not hand them down to your next child?

Here are three tips when dealing with hand-me-down clothes: 

Don’t Save Everything. As tempting as it is to save everything, do yourself a favor and rid yourself of any clothes your child doesn’t use or like anymore. Set these clothes in a pile and give them away. 

Storage Bins Are Easy. Storage bins are the best way to keep hand-me-down clothes safe and clean, no matter where you’re storing them. They come in a variety of sizes and can be stored in vacuum bags. 

Wash Before and After. Never store dirty clothes in a storage bin, even if it’s just for a week. Always wash them before placing in the bin and after taking them out of storage – justfor extra precaution. 

Another thing to keep in mind when handing clothes down from one child to the next – respect your child’s wishes and preferences. If they don’t want something because it’s used, don’t force them to wear it. 

1. Donate or Sell Clothes You Don’t Need Anymore

Donating your child’s old clothes to charity is a wonderful way to extend the life of garments that no longer fit but still have plenty of wear left. It’s a much more practical way of disposing of unused clothing items. 

And it’s a positive thing for your community.

This simple act of kindness not only clears out clutter from your home but also plays a crucial role in supporting families in need – especially those who don’t have the money to buy their kids new clothes.

Some of the most popular organizations that accept children’s clothes across the US include Goodwill, The Salvation Army, Once Upon a Child, schools, daycare centers, foster homes, and local shelters. 

If you’re in a pinch yourself, you can always sell them!

There are plenty of ways to sell your clothes online, but you can also host a garage or yard sale if you’d like to sell them on the fly. Be reasonable with the price because they’re used, but make some money!

When Should You Let Your Child Take Over?

All children develop at different rates, but the sky’s the limit for your child if you get them involved in the process early on. The more they help you do it, the more confident they’ll be in doing it themselves. 

With that said, practice makes perfect – and patience allows for progress. 

You might have to keep an eye on your child’s wardrobe when they finally take over the duties. That way, you can double-check that they’re doing what they’re supposed to – and how they’re supposed to do it. 

As a general rule of thumb, most children should be able to dress themselves without assistance by the age of 5 or 6. At that point, it becomes a matter of making sure they’re keeping their clothes organized. 

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If you have any more questions about organizing your child’s clothes, or if you need a little heaping of advice from mothers who have been in your shoes before, feel free to ask our online community of moms.