Storage in a Baby Closet

A kid’s closet often becomes a toy graveyard, a play fort and a laundry nightmare. Learn how to incorporate the special needs of a child while keeping the closet neat enough for practical use.

First, consider what you absolutely need to keep in the closet. Because of the tipping hazard of dressers, many parents have eliminated bedroom furniture in children’s rooms. This may elevate the need for closet storage. Without a plan, this can quickly become a problem area. Kids have so many clothes. They often have lots of pajama sets. If they are potty training, they may have a lot of underwear or you may need storage for diapers and wipes in the closet. You may have sentimental outfits and dress clothes that you really want to keep hung.

You can keep the hanging bar in place and create space around it. Another option would be to cut two or three short bars, easily done with a pipe cutter, and make a multi-level hanging bar. You can make the first deep shelf about three or four feet high and build from there. An easy place to start would be to hang a fabric collapsible closet shelf system from the hanging bar to the shelf for things like socks, underwear, diapers, and pajamas. This option is preferable to some parents because it is easily removed and replaced when the needs of the child changes.

You can also build cubby-hole shelves up each side of the large bottom shelf. Three-sided movable shelves that are easily moved around are also great for creating an extra level of storage on the large shelf. You can even invert the three-sided shelf and attach it with L-brackets to the top shelf, creating a hanging shelf for things that you want to keep out of reach, such as first-aid kits, games with a lot of pieces or children’s paints.

Smaller cubby-hole shelves are great for storing games and toys, extra batteries and keepsakes. You can create all kinds of storage while still leaving the bottom of the closet empty. Here you can keep a laundry basket, large stuffed animals, or build more shelves. Leaving this area clear allows your child to climb in and play. You could even paint windows with views in the bottom of the closet. Add a battery powered light under the bottom shelf, a couple of pillows, and your kids have a special place to play. Make sure that you do not place lamps or other lights that create heat inside of a child’s closet.

Hang those special outfits and dress clothes out of reach up high on the bar. Use the top shelf for blanket and suitcase storage. Bins with children’s sheets or out of season clothing can be stored up high where they do not get rummaged through or dumped out. This is a good place to store clothes that your child hasn’t grown into yet. You can easily access them when the time comes to put them into the rotation. Use baby hangers to protect the precious items that you hang. Conventional hangers are made for adult clothing. They can snag, stretch and tear delicate little kids’ clothing. This is a closet that you and your child will enjoy for years to come.

About the Author: Ron Maier is the owner of Only Kids Hangers, a leading provider of baby hangers. The right infant hangers really make the difference in kid's retail or home organization. For more information, please visit www.onlykidshangers.com.

Children’s Clothes Hangers to Organize their Closets

Children’s closets are notoriously unorganized. You can spend the whole day getting everything folded, hung and in its place only to come back later and find it destroyed. There’s nothing more tempting to a child than a perfectly organized closet. They just have to pull it all out and see what’s in there. If your child is exploring this area of your house, then it is time to take action.
The root of all problem solving is prevention. This is especially true with small kids. It may not be very effective to punish or simply tell them “no”. But, if you put the right ideas in place, you can actually preempt a closet strike. When you organize the closet, get your child involved.
First, let them make some of the choices about where things should go. Small decisions can make them feel in control of the closet situation and ultimately plant the idea in their brain that the closet should stay organized. For example, ask your child how the shirts should hang. Should the long sleeved shirts go on the left or right? Should the shirts be arranged by length or color? Let them decided if the pants should be hung with shirts that match them, or if they should be hung on the opposite side of the closet. Letting your child decide for themselves will empower them and make them feel like this is the way that they want it to look, not the way that you want them to make it look.
Install a bar down low if possible. Use childrens clothes hangers to encourage independence in closet care. Little personalizations can make a big difference to a child. Monogrammed childrens clothes hangers make them feel like this is their special place. Use labels for baskets or bins. Let your child create special labels so that they are even more in control of the space.
There are many hangers available that will suit the style of your child’s room. There are Glam Hangers that are adorned with beads, Slim Line hangers that come in a huge assortment of colors, and the most popular wooden hangers that can last through any kind of abuse!
Involving your child in decision making can create the feeling of control. This boosts their self-esteem and encourages social and cognitive development. Use a lot of praise to make the lesson stick and make it fun! Use this time, not only as a lesson for your child, but also as a bonding experience. Even though you are actually doing work, you will be spending quality time together. You can even use the childrens clothes hangers as a special gift for a job well done.

The Secret Powers of Children’s Hangers

Children's hangers have some surprising benefits for your child and their clothes! Some people may have the question of whether or not to stock their child's closet with regular hangers or children's hangers. We will point out some benefits of using children's hangers over standard adult hangers for your child's closet. Some reasons may come as a surprise to many parents!
The number one and most obvious reason for choosing children's hangers is that they fit nicely through the small neck holes in children's garments.
The second reason is that children's hangers do not stretch the shoulders of small clothing. They are designed to fit a child's shirt or coat without damaging it.
Children's hangers can help you preserve heirloom children's clothing. You wouldn't want to tear or stretch out that beautiful christening gown that you had hoped to pass down to your grandchildren.
These reasons are pretty obvious and you have probably already considered them. If you are still not convinced, then consider these other strategies in your decision. Strategies? Yes, children's clothes hangers can actually help you to dictate some of your child's behavior.
Let's say that you have a child that is learning responsibility. Teaching them to hang clothes on big hangers up high in the closet can be a daunting task, and will not really motivate them to want to repeat the desired behavior, hanging up their coat and clothing.
This is where children's clothes hangers can have a sneaky benefit for you. Children are a lot more responsive to tools that they see as "special" or "just their size". You, the informed parent, can implement these special little items into your lessons to encourage children to not only take part in the exercise, but like it and have the ingrained desire to repeat it. This is how you teach kids to like their chores and how to want responsibility, rather than resist it or even rebel against it. The hanger itself is your positive reinforcement. A large, hard to handle hanger can have the opposite effect and bring about a snowballing of undesirable behaviors.
Now, who would have thought that such a huge life lesson could stem from your decision on whether or not to invest a few bucks in some children's hangers? The simplest things can have the biggest impact, sometimes. You can further ensure your success by selecting childrens hangers in colors that grab your child's attention.

About the Author: Ron Maier is the owner of Only Kids Hangers, a leading provider of childrens hangers. The right childrens clothes hangers really make the difference in kid's retail or home organization. For more information, please visit www.onlykidshangers.com.

Get My Kids Organized!

lmost every parent struggles with getting their kids' lives organized. Each season brings a whole new barage of items to manage. Sometimes it can feel like an incredibly hopeless situation. It is time to figure out a system that can get you from soccer season, to basketball season. Get clothes organized from Christmas to Back to School. When everything is easy to transition, your world and their's can run a lot more smoothly and keeping up with everything will hopefully not be such a battle.
You can implement a system no matter how little space you have to work with. A lot may depend on yoru child's age, so get inspired to come up with some ideas of your own to fit your personal situation.
-Get rid of extra junk. Kids can be inspired if you hold a garage sale and let them keep the money from the sale of their own items. Or, use this opportunity to teach your children about being charitable and remind them how lucky they are to have so much stuff that they actually need to get rid of some of it.
-Find unused space. A lot of times, we may not realize just how much space is actually available. Corner shelves only take up about a foot of actual space, but can hold a lot of books, games, figurines and models. Toy nets that hang from the ceiling can hold enough stuffed animals, blankets and pillows to clear out an entire toybox or closet shelf. Shallow wide containers make excellent out-of-sight storage under the bed.
-Move things out that do not need to be in the bedroom. Sports equipment can easily be kept in a mudroom or garage instead of in the bedroom. You can use a large garbage can or big wire basket to make it easy for your child to toss in pads, balls and bats when they come in the house. For children, sometimes it works best if you make a special area just for them. Try a bench for removing shoes and pads next to the container. Decorate with pictures or sports memorabelia to personalize the space.
-Revamp the closet. A lot of closets have one bar in the center and a shelf on top. Move the shelf up higher if possible. Store things that are hardly used up high. You can move the bar down closer to the floor for hanging clothes. Install a second or even third shelf above the hanging bar for games, folded clothes, toys and art supplies. Hooks or small bars can be installed higher on the sides for dresses, robes and longer coats. You may consider special childrens hangers to inspire you child to keep their clothing hung.

About the Author: Ron Maier is the owner of Only Kids Hangers, a leading provider of childrens hangers. The right childrens clothes hangers really make the difference in kid's retail or home organization. For more information, please visit www.onlykidshangers.com.
Each little change can make a big difference in your child's organization skills.

Kids: Organization Tips

Kids can accumulate an incredible amount of stuff. Keeping it organized is a challenge for any parent or child. You may be looking for some tips on keeping your child’s room neat and clean without spending a bundle. Here are a few tips that you can use to organize the space that you have and have fun doing it!

Let your child be involved. Make it a fun experience for the both of you. Start by cleaning the room. Try the “Big to Little” game. See who can keep finding the larger item. Start by picking up and putting away the largest item you can find. If your child finds one bigger, they get a point. Race around the room seeing who can pick up the larger item. Eventually, you will be down to the littlest toys and it becomes more and more of a challenge. You can even keep score by categories. First, get all of the laundry out of the room. Second, sports equipment should be put away. Next will come toys and shoes. Last would be trash. Come up with your own categories to fit your child’s belongings and make it fun. You might have categories like cars, dolls or balls.

Once the room is clean you can start organizing. Keep simplicity in mind. If all of the toys have a place, then it is a lot easier to clean up the next time. Simply throwing them all into a toy box will cause confusion. It may seem simple, but trying to find a specific toy can lead to a toy avalanche in the bedroom. Shelving, bins, buckets and baskets make a lot more sense.

Shelving can be inexpensive. Just make sure that your shelving is sturdy enough to withstand a child climbing on it, just in case. You may want to anchor the shelves to the wall, especially if your child is young. Create a bin, bucket or basket for each type of toy. Labeling the spot on the shelves for it makes cleaning up a snap and encourages reading and language skills. You can even build your own shelves with nice planks of wood and some simple “L” brackets. This can help you make use of corners and unused closet space.

Keeping the room clean should be rewarded. A reward system can be very motivating and set your child on a path of life-long organization. Create a chart and use foil stars to mark progress. One star can be for laundry being put away or in the laundry basket. Another can be for picking up toys, and so forth. Create a reward, such as going out for ice cream, for thirty stars. Smaller rewards can be given along the way if you wish. Let’s say that your child has five stars by Saturday mornings. The reward can be going to the park or something of your child’s choice.

Show your child the proper way to put away their clothes. Very young children can even fold and hang their own clothes. Consider building some closet shelving down low for them to put away the clothes that they fold. Invest in some nice childrens hangers to encourage them to hang certain items. Keeping the laundry in check is a good way to start organizing.

The important thing is to have fun and be encouraging, not degrading. Keeping up with cleanliness and organization is something that has to be learned and it may not be easy teaching it. Patience gets results, so use your imagination and your child could be organized in no time.

About the Author: Ron Maier is the owner of Only Kids Hangers, a leading provider of childrens hangers. The right childrens clothes hangers really make the difference in kid's retail or home organization. For more information, please visit www.onlykidshangers.com.

Child’s Closet Project

Are you looking for a fun weekend project to share with your child? Consider a fun closet make-over that shows your child that you respect their choices and interests.

The first thing you should do is to brainstorm with your child. What are their interests? What are their hobbies? Would they like to theme their closet or paint it to match their room decorations? Encourage them to express their individuality. Try not to interfere much with their choices. After all, it is just their closet and you can always change it later.

Choose paint colors together. Decide what features your child’s closet will have. Cork boards can give them a space to post up pictures of friends and family. Here they can also display ribbons, art, and clippings from their favorite magazines. Use decorative ribbon criss-crossing for a unique look. You can even spruce up a dull frame by painting on soccer balls, fairies, or any other interest your child might have. Personalize it with initials or their name.

The front of the closet door can also be used for organization. This is a great place for slotted file hangers for organizing homework, projects, letters and art. Continue the organization inside. Design a layout of shelving that accommodates your child’s special needs. If you have a son with lots of sports equipment, you might like some large bins near the bottom to hold balls, pads and shoes. Adding wooden or wire system shelving makes organizing fun and easy. It is also easy on the wallet. Bins and baskets can hold everything from mouth guards to hair bows, art supplies to collectibles. Leave a section for hanging clothes. Opt for decorative children’s hangers that do not take up extra space and stretch out their clothes.

Special lighting or light pulls can make a closet fun. Allow your child to paint their name on the door itself if they want. Encourage artistic expression as you go. When your child tells you of their interests, be interested and supportive of uniqueness and individuality.

This is a great opportunity to keep the lines of communication open between you and your child. You will end up being closer in the end. You will share a fun experience together. You will have something fun and unique to show for all of your hard work. You will encourage teamwork and self-esteem. Who knew that a kid’s closet could actually bring you closer to them? All along we thought that it was just about the childrens clothes hangers.

About the Author: Ron Maier is the owner of Only Kids Hangers, a leading provider of childrens hangers. The right childrens clothes hangers really make the difference in kid's retail or home organization. For more information, please visit www.onlykidshangers.com.