Friday, December 05, 2008

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.

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Friday, July 11, 2008

Six Year Old’s Room

Age six is a special age for many kids and parents. This is the time in a child’s life when they are just about to enter grade school. This can be a big transitional age where your little kid wants to be like the big kids. There are some challenges involved, but you can help your six year old feel older and more self confident while you have fun together.
Changing little things around the house can help your six year old feel grown up. Give them special tasks to help you with. Now that they are big enough, they can help you to cook and serve food at dinnertime. This helps them to feel responsible without making chores feel like punishment. Let them do things that you would not allow before. Let them do little things, like throw clothes in the washer, pour the laundry detergent and fold the towels, or even their own clothes from the dryer.
Putting away their own clothes can even be fun if you have an organized six year old room. You may need to go through and get rid of some of those younger toys that your six year old may have outgrown. Make a special place for their favorite clothes. Around this age, many kids will start choosing special articles of clothing that they hold dear. If you make a special place for these articles, then you reinforce that you stand behind their personal choices. Building self esteem in this special way is very effective. You can even get your child their own little laundry basket and keep their clothes separate.
Hanging clothes can be really fun for kids this age. Most closets have a hanging bar high up where your child may not have ever been able to reach it before. Move the bar down within reach, or give them a special ladder to climb to hang their clothes. Most kids love the ladder because they feel so privileged and grown up knowing that you trust them not to fall. Make sure that you get a sturdy ladder with wide steps and teach your child about the possible pinch points before you let them use it. Tell them that they need to earn it by learning ladder safety to prove that they are big enough to have such a privilege. Once established, you can teach them to hang their own clothes.
Reward accomplishments in responsible behavior with special children’s hangers. There is a wide variety of sturdy children’s hangers to choose from. You may enjoy buying beaded and decorated children’s hangers. Or, you can get plastic or wooden children’s hangers and paint them together. Personalizing things in your child’s room will really give them a sense of pride about their room. The more fun you can make simple chores, the more it will pay off. Make an allowance jar and add to it when you see that chores are done. Hearing the change hit the jar can be motivation enough to help around the house more. Give your child a day’s warning before you go to the store. Give them a chance to earn more change before you go. It is also fun to dump the change into the machine that turns change into paper money. These are available at many banks and grocery stores.
Be creative when helping your six year old feel older. Teaching responsibility can be fun and rewarding. Whether it’s painting childrens hangers together or pouring laundry detergent in the clothes washer, you are sure to enjoy this special age together.


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.

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Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Making Use of a Small Kids Closet

You may be surprised as your baby reaches toddlerhood just how much stuff they can accumulate. It is nice to get their room organized where toys are categorized and play space is kept empty. But how do you accomplish this when the closet in your nursery is the size of a phone booth? Here we will discuss tips and tricks to making every bit of space count inside of your child’s closet, enabling you to leave an open, safe place to play in your toddler’s room.
The number one thing to consider is safety. Toddlers can decide to climb just about anything and you need to have their room prepared. Make sure that dressers, changing tables and shelves are anchored to the studs in the walls. Stud-finders are usually around ten dollars and can help ensure that those furniture anchors you purchased are correctly positioned and installed. Better yet, coordinate your closet space so that you no longer need a dresser in the room at all. Changing tables can go once you decide to convert to a big boy or big girl room.
Measure your closet and determine how deep and wide it is. Inventory what you need to go into the closet and determine how far apart shelves need to be. Go ahead and measure, marking with a pencil on each wall, where you want each shelf to go. You can leave room in the bottom of the closet for a laundry basket and your child’s shoes. Put a shelf right above it for books and things that you want in your child’s reach. Above that, you can stack t-shirts and shorts. Shelves are nicer than dressers because you never have to dig for what you need. You will not unfold everything trying to find that cute shirt that goes perfectly with the shorts . Finally you can get organized and stay organized.
The next shelf should go about six inches higher than you need. This leaves room for those great little baskets that hang down from shelves, forming a drawer. These are usually around five dollars and make great spaces for socks and underwear. The next shelf up is for pajamas, special blankets or stuffed animals that are only for bed time. Diapers, wipes, and other essentials can be kept here in an easily removable basket. If you decide to keep diaper cream or medicines in the closet, consider installing a medicine cabinet that locks inside of the closet. Remember, your baby will soon become a climber if they have not already.
Place the hanging bar for dress clothes up high to protect those delicate items and heirlooms. Use childrens hangers to protect delicate fabrics and maximize the space that you have. Place one shelf above the bar for out of season clothes storage and you are done!

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.

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Friday, April 11, 2008

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.

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Saturday, March 08, 2008

Spruce Up a Kid Closet

Children can accumulate more clothes than adults. They are constantly growing up and out of their clothing. Therefore, parents end up adding to their wardrobe in an effort to keep up with the seasonal needs of their growing child. New things make their way into the closet, but rarely do the old things find their way out. Clothes end up being stuffed further and further back on that hanging rod. It is time to take care of the clutter and invest in a closet makeover.

Revamping a closet does not necessarily take a lot of time or money. You can invest in intricately designed closet organizing systems if you would like. These can include built in shoe racks, multiple hanging bars, baskets, shelves and drawers. But sometimes you may not have upwards of one thousand dollars to invest in your child’s closet. Here are a few solutions to make your kid’s closet interesting, trendy, organized and most of all, usable.

You can make use of very little space with a little elbow grease. First, you want to empty the closet and give away any clothes that have been outgrown or will be outgrown by the time the next season for it rolls around. Also get rid of clothes, shoes or coats that you child simply does not ever want to wear. There is no use keeping it around if they do not like it. Once you get your inventory down to a manageable level, estimate how many items need to be actually hung. Dresses, suits and coat should always be hung. Many children have very few of these and using the entire closet to hang them is a huge waste of a usable space. Purchase an adjustable bar so that you can customize the size down to only what you need.

Next, take measurements of the inside of the closet. You will need height, width and depth. Make a drawing of the closet you have in mind. Include shelving where you can keep baskets. Reserve one or two longer shelves where you can stack jeans, shorts and t-shirts. You may even want to lay out stacks of your child’s clothing to determine how long of a shelf you will need. Buy sanded wood planks that can be used as shelves in the closet. Most lumber places will cut the boards to your specifications free of charge. 2×4 boards make wonderful, inexpensive, sturdy braces for the shelves. Simply drill screws through the 2×4 into a stud behind the wall. Create a place for the shelf and place it on top. You can secure the shelf with screws or leave it loose. If you leave it loose, you can create an adjustable closet system that grows with your child.

The last step is to put baskets on the smaller shelves. Here you can store hair accessories, socks and underwear, basically eliminating the need for a dresser in the room. Investing in some higher quality childrens clothes hangers can really spruce up a boring closet and increase the longevity of your child’s clothes.

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.

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Spruce Up a Kid Closet

Children can accumulate more clothes than adults. They are constantly growing up and out of their clothing. Therefore, parents end up adding to their wardrobe in an effort to keep up with the seasonal needs of their growing child. New things make their way into the closet, but rarely do the old things find their way out. Clothes end up being stuffed further and further back on that hanging rod. It is time to take care of the clutter and invest in a closet makeover.

Revamping a closet does not necessarily take a lot of time or money. You can invest in intricately designed closet organizing systems if you would like. These can include built in shoe racks, multiple hanging bars, baskets, shelves and drawers. But sometimes you may not have upwards of one thousand dollars to invest in your child’s closet. Here are a few solutions to make your kid’s closet interesting, trendy, organized and most of all, usable.

You can make use of very little space with a little elbow grease. First, you want to empty the closet and give away any clothes that have been outgrown or will be outgrown by the time the next season for it rolls around. Also get rid of clothes, shoes or coats that you child simply does not ever want to wear. There is no use keeping it around if they do not like it. Once you get your inventory down to a manageable level, estimate how many items need to be actually hung. Dresses, suits and coat should always be hung. Many children have very few of these and using the entire closet to hang them is a huge waste of a usable space. Purchase an adjustable bar so that you can customize the size down to only what you need.

Next, take measurements of the inside of the closet. You will need height, width and depth. Make a drawing of the closet you have in mind. Include shelving where you can keep baskets. Reserve one or two longer shelves where you can stack jeans, shorts and t-shirts. You may even want to lay out stacks of your child’s clothing to determine how long of a shelf you will need. Buy sanded wood planks that can be used as shelves in the closet. Most lumber places will cut the boards to your specifications free of charge. 2×4 boards make wonderful, inexpensive, sturdy braces for the shelves. Simply drill screws through the 2×4 into a stud behind the wall. Create a place for the shelf and place it on top. You can secure the shelf with screws or leave it loose. If you leave it loose, you can create an adjustable closet system that grows with your child.

The last step is to put baskets on the smaller shelves. Here you can store hair accessories, socks and underwear, basically eliminating the need for a dresser in the room. Investing in some higher quality childrens clothes hangers can really spruce up a boring closet and increase the longevity of your child’s clothes.



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.

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Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Transition to a Toddler Room

When your baby starts to outgrow that baby nursery theme that you spent so much time and energy creating, it’s time to update the nursery and create a room that your toddler will love. Building a room around a theme will help your child enjoy their room. Personalize the room and let your child be involved in the design process. This is a perfect time to boost your child’s self esteem and urge them to feel like a big kid.

The first step is to get your toddler excited about the idea. Try transitioning to a toddler bed at this time. Let your child know that this is their special bed and start by letting them pick out their sheets and blankets. By this age, most kids will have a preference when it comes to cartoon characters, trains, airplanes, or other themes. Letting them make the decision about what direction to go will help them transition more smoothly and benefit developmentally from the experience. Once you have the bed design in place, move on to the walls.

New paint can be an exciting addition to a room. You may want to choose the paint yourself if you want it to last through future redecorating, but if you enjoy painting and don’t mind repainting every couple of years, go ahead and let the paint color be your child’s choice. Choose a border that matches the theme. If you don’t want the border to be glued to the wall, choose one that is self-adhesive. These can be easily removed later without damaging the paint. Putting the border at your child’s eye level instead of around the ceiling is a good option for a toddler room. There are also lots of stick-on decals available in many themes at hardware and retail marketer’s stores. These are very inexpensive and can add a lot of personality to a room. Posters are also an inexpensive option and can decorate a space very effectively.

New blinds and curtains can quickly add to the theme. Shelves can be easily hung and can display toys, pictures or other items that also help pull the theme of the room together. Besides the decorations, you want to consider organizing the room to meet your toddler’s growing needs as well. Get rid of those infant rattlers and space-robbing baby gyms. Update with more age appropriate toys and games. Make space for your toddler to work and draw or color.

Update their closet by moving the bar down to their level. Invest in some childrens clothes hangers and encourage your child to start selecting their own outfits and dressing themselves. A hat or coat rack installed inside the closet door down low will encourage your child to start taking care of their own room by hanging hats, bags and coats when they enter the room. Placing a bench in this area will encourage them to put on their own shoes and start to take care of themselves. Your efforts will help your child grow confidently and make life easier for you and your child.

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.

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Friday, September 28, 2007

Make Space in Your Child's Room

Is your kid’s room lacking in floor space? With dressers, desks, end tables, beds and toy boxes, open space is a rare commodity. Consider opening up the space and making their rooms more inviting. Organizing your child’s room and reducing the clutter can renew their spirits and yours. Use these tips to not only create space, but to help your child keep their room clean and organized, while spending very little money.
What you can actually accomplish depends on the size of your kid’s closet. A good idea for a standard closet is to install a sturdy bottom shelf about three feet high. Have it come almost to the closet door, but leave room for a chair to be stored there. This will be your child’s desk. They can use it for art, homework, or small manipulative games. Install another deep shelf above the desk and place a light beneath it. Push lights work well in places where you may not want to go all out installing special lighting and switches. Avoid lamps with incandescent bulbs because the heat from the bulb can be a real fire hazard, especially in a kid’s closet where it can easily be knocked over, left on or unattended for long periods.
The next step is to install three to four smaller shelves, shallower than the first two. Make these a little closer together. These will be for all of their clothes. I try to leave the biggest space at the top for storing the entire out of season wardrobe. Make stacks of shorts, jeans, t-shirts, long sleeved shirts, sweaters and sweat suits on the smaller shelves. Items that take up more room can go on the larger shelf. Getting everything out of the dresser puts it where you can actually see everything available. You can buy wire baskets that hang down from the shelves and act as drawers for socks and underwear. No more digging through drawers to find their favorite outfits. Having everything visible really cuts down on messiness when it comes to your kid’s clothes. Also, things that aren’t ever worn tend to stay at the bottom of the stack. It makes it a lot easier to get rid of things that no longer fit or just never get worn.
Next install a hanging bar below the desk. Hanging clothes that aren’t worn every day are out of sight and are no longer the focus of the entire closet. Put the most worn clothes towards the center. Store extra blankets, sheets and coats in a bin on one side of the floor. You can store shoes on the other side of the desk chair. Utilize hooks on the back of the door for backpacks, belts, hats and other items that can be hung.
Now that everything is in the closet, you can get rid of bulky dressers, desks and the chest of drawers. Your child will appreciate having room to play. You’ll appreciate the ease of putting away and finding clothes. No more stuffing that dresser to the hilt!

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.

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