Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Organizing a Toddler's Closet

It's been an organizing whirlwind here at my house.  Last week I showed you what the floor of our utility closet looked like. It wasn't pretty, in fact it was a little scary. Well, I couldn't stop at the utility closet no, I had another thorn in my side that needed to be organized. My daughter's closet has been in chaos since the day we brought her home almost two years ago. I had it all organized and pretty before I was ready to have her but I didn't factor in all of the crap stuff you get after the baby is born. We really didn't have a lot of clothes for her because we didn't know if we were having a boy or girl. We had all of the basics covered, but like I said after we brought her home the stuff in the closet grew and grew. This past weekend, I decided it was time to get back to organized. I couldn't find anything in it anymore and it was starting to get ridiculous.     Is it just me or don't you feel out of control when all of your stuff is out of control? I just always feel so much better to open up a door and see everything in its place. I hope this post can offer some helpful tips to those of you who might be feeling your organization or lack of organization is getting out of control. 


Here is what the closet looked like BEFORE (you might want to sit down for the before shots.) 


Yikes, what happened here?



The first thing I did was take everything out of the shelves and threw it in a big pile on the floor. I then sorted out the stuff that needed to stay and the stuff that needed to go. I then created smaller piles for more specific things like shoes, blankets, hats and so on.


I bought some totes at the Dollar Tree that matched the room and then labeled them. I was able to find some free faux customizable chalkboard labels and printed them out on my ink jet printer. I cut out the labels and glued them to card stock to make them a little heavier. I then punched a hole in the top and placed ribbon in it and tied it to the totes.





I had bought these baskets from my local Dollar General before my daughter was born. I think they were around $5.00 at the time and they have really held up well. My husband made the chalkboard labels with some left over scrap wood that we had. I saved the green gingham ribbon from a baby present we received and tied it to the label.




I really wanted to utilize the shoe shelf a little better. I found these white stackable wire shelves at Dollar Tree as well. I like how I am able to slide her shoes underneath the shelves and then use the top shelves for something else. I found the green baskets sitting on the top of the stackable shelves at the Dollar Tree as well. I placed all of her headbands, barrettes, clips and bows in those baskets.



This little paint can came from Lowes. I cut out the vinyl letters on my Cricut and put them on the bucket for all of the travel sized bottles and little diaper bag stuff. 


I think the most important thing to remember when organizing is that you don't have to spend a lot of money to make it look pretty! 

Can I say what a relief it is to have this closet organized! 




I am linking to:

25 comments:

  1. Looks great! I'd love if you'd link up to The DIY'ers. http://homecomingmn.blogspot.com/2013/04/the-diyers-and-more-curtains.html

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  2. I love you new closet…Great Job is a job that I have pending in my home.
    Angelica

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  3. Love how the closet turned out and its awesome that you didnt spend a lot. I am due in July and this gives me great ideas. Found you through Hometalk. :-)

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  4. This looks great! Love the labels and storage containers. :)

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  5. This is awesome and I love how you were able to make it look cute on the cheap! I will have to take some tips from this for the baby's room :)

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  6. Wonder how my hubby would feel about lime green totes in his closet :-)

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  7. Looks great, thanks for some great ideas im in the middle of spring cleaning.

    Desiree @ YourCraftyFriend

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  8. It looks great! I really need to get started on my kids' closets, it always feels so refreshing when it's done!
    Sally
    loveofhomes.com

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  9. Ooh I love a good organization project! This looks beautiful--I can't believe how inexpensively you did it! I popped over from Tatertots & Jello--thanks for sharing!

    ~Abby =)

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  10. Wow great job on your daughter's closet!!! I have been trying to organize and reduce my clutter too. Three bags went to Goodwill today, it felt good. Thanks for stopping by, Laura

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  11. This looks great! It is so hard to stay on top of toddler orgaanizing because of the constant need to replace growing baby's clothes and get rid of too small items. Thanks for sharing at DIY Showoff where I found you,
    Kate

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  12. I bet it feels so good for everything to be organized and have a space! Great job!

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  13. Has to be the cutest closet ever! Love it! Jenna @ Rain on a Tin Roof

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  14. Wow! What a transformation! You did a fantastic job.
    KC

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  15. Great job! I love the baskets you used. It is a great feeling when everything has a home. If you get a chance, please link this up to my linky party: http://suburbsmama.blogspot.com/2013/04/sunday-linky-party-3.html

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  16. Oh my gosh this is amazing! Love all the containers and tags too...well done!

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  17. I love that you found so many great things at dollar stores. I recently made a trip to one and found some great totes to help with a toy project. Great job on the transformation!

    ~Sarah

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  18. Hi Melissa!
    I love how you organized this closet and I would love to feature it on my organizing site, Organize and Inspire.
    Would I be able to use one of your photos in my post? I would include full credit to you with a link back to your blog.
    Just let me know!
    Thanks!
    Traci

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    Replies
    1. Traci! Thank you so much for stopping by. I also sent you an e-mail because I was so excited to see your comment! Yes, you can use my pictures for Organize and Inspire. Thank you for featuring my closet! :)

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  19. I am so happy I found you. I am a new follower as well. Thanks so much for sharing. If you have a chance please stop by at www.diy180.com. Have a great day.

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  20. Love this! We recently got a new closet system for our closet and it has made the world of difference! We need to get on our daughter's closet next! It isn't awful but when we have our second baby in August I'm sure it will become a giant mess really quick! We've been brainstorming things to help and I think I got some good ones from you! Thank you!

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Thank you for stopping by! I really do read all of your comments and appreciate each one of them. :)