Princess Pink Closet

Yes, I know we are right in the middle of our fantastic Interviewing the Incredibles series, but I just couldn't wait to share my latest project! I mean, with all this great information and inspiration from the superheroes of organization and diy, you wouldn't believe all the things getting done in my house. Plus, one of the upcoming "Incredibles" being featured, Jen from IHeart Organizing, is also sharing my latest project! Eeep! I'm so honored! Her blog is to drool for!! 
Well, there may not be skeletons in my little one's closet, but everything else sure is in there! Remember when you were little and cleaning your room was difficult? You would stow that item you had no idea what to do with, and inevitably your mom would check the closet or under the bed, and then you were in trouble and still stuck with those items you didn't know what to do with! It didn't seem fair. Was that only my childhood? 

Well, let's see if we can't make keeping a neat closet a bit easier for our kiddos. I wanted this closet to be cute, but very functional and inexpensive. So I am sharing all the details that make this closet work to that end!
Here are a my organizing tips and budget friendly decor fixes...

Assembling For The Perfect Layout
From the very outset it is important to plan your closet layout according to your child's particular needs. Make a checklist of items your child needs to store in their closet, and draw a rough draft of where you want shelving to go. Make sure that you allocate upper shelves for out-of-season storage, or items you are willing to be responsible for, and make everything else within your child's reach or plan to purchase a small step stool. 
Keep your costs down when purchasing a closet system by choosing the non name-brand hardware, hang tracks, and standards...these parts tend to be universal. Then if you like a particular brands shelves, rods, and brackets you can opt to purchase those separately to fit on your track and standard.  

It's All In The Details...

Clothing Tags: Sometimes it's the littlest things that spark inspiration and motivation. Creating these clothing label tags is what finally set me into motion organizing this closet to begin with! 

These tags are made from paint chip swatches...yes I said paint chips! Easy and free is always best, and you can learn how to make them here! in the post I include these same cute font printouts for you to make your own perfectly princess labels! 

Now my munchkin knows just where to hang each item so it doesn't get lost in the clothing hubbub. Keep it simple for younger children, I stick to categorizing "dresses", "pants", and "shirts" for my youngest... I added "jackets" for my middle munchkin.
I also use these hanging tags on her dresser...which is why you'll find extra categories on the label printouts.

Purse Hangers: Rather than spending money on purse holding hooks, I picked up some cheap (but pretty) shower curtain hooks at a Goodwill thrift store and simply bent the end tab to face the side. The trick is to find the cheap hooks you can bend by hand... anything else will be too sturdy! At $3 for a bag full of hooks, thrifty can't be beat. I used the rest of these hooks in my entryway closet to store purses...I absolutely love them!

Scarves & Shawls
During the winter months I keep frequently used scarves organized in the entryway closet. Less used scarves, shawls, and fancy neck wraps are kept neatly in this wooden crate. You can find small wooden boxes at your local fabric or craft store and give it a coat of paint, or like me, just scour the thrift stores for little wooden crates. I found this little guy for $1. Extra hats or other miscellaneous out-of-season items could also be kept here.  

Canvas Bins
I love canvas bins! Label your bins using a little piece of the paint chip you used to make clothing tags, it adds a pop of color consistent with the rest of your design. Canvas bins make for great storage, I think they are attractive, and the best part...after a little couponing they are just my kind of price! *wink*  
I  purchased medium canvas bins at JoAnn Fabrics for $3 each, after using their rare and coveted 50% coupons on each item. JoAnn frequently provides 25%-30%coupons through the Sunday papers, but if you are on their mailing list they send much better coupons including the occasional percentage off sale items...plus they accept competitor coupons! Woop!

Watches & Accessories
Often we assemble our closet system for every shelf and bar to line up perfectly... sometimes imperfection is the name of the game for maximum storage! I cut my clothing rods to over lap the shelf just a little. It makes a great place to hang extra hair clips, and watches. My family doesn't do jewelry, but I imagine for those who have other wrist wear, this would be a good place to hang them, just in reach and on display.

Shoe Storage
Were you wondering why I had some shoes up high and some down below? Because my kids are TALENTED at losing shoes. Nothing is more frustrating than rushing around in the moments before you are due to leave for an appointment trying to find "the other foot". NOTHING!!! So I separate to keep it simple for the kids. Rather than a huge messy pile of shoes that magically disappear when you need them, store out-of-season, and special occasion shoes up high and out of reach. Keep only the shoes used regularly during that season within easy reach near the floor. Rather than spending extra money to expand the closet system to accommodate shoes, I saved massively using an inexpensive laminate shoe shelf for the floor.

Belts & Hair Accessories
The most economical hooks I could find were these $3 hooks created for hanging keys. Whatever you decide to use, be sure to find an item with small enough hooks to accommodate a child's belt buckle size.  I hung this hook set just below the light switch to the side wall of the closet within easy reach of little ones. My middle munchkin stores her belts, hair clips and bands here.

Plastic Drawers
I admit it, I was loathe to use a couple hideous plastic drawers, but I really needed to focus on the practical solution for helping my child stay organized, and smaller drawers that my kid can't possibly destroy seemed to be the best solution. So plastic it is! It was also the best budget solution at $7 each at Walmart on sale. Well who say's you have to sacrifice style for function? I created a few drawer printouts to hide my child's messy drawer contents, label the drawers for easy separation, and give her closet a little design. 

Drawer Printables
As always, I'm happy to make my drawer covers available to you as well. Simply print onto 8.5 x 11 full sheet labels, then cut to size and adhere. There are other more permanent methods, such as printing onto cardstock, and slipping it in from the inside of the drawer. Some use mod podge, others adhere using a spray glue...I opt to keep it simple and changeable by using labels. Flexible is better being that it is a child's room, and the drawers will not always be used for this purpose as I will most likely "grow" her room design with her. I have included two other designs I created while trying to get to my final choice. They are label-less, so you can use a label maker, or download in Word and create a label over top before printing. Enjoy!

Pink Chevron Drawer Printable

• Pink Chevrons - Blank
• Pink Chevrons - Shorts
• Pink Chevrons - Stockings
• Pink Chevrons - Panties
• Pink Chevrons - Socks
• Pink Chevrons - Winter Wear
• Pink Chevrons - Swim Wear

Colorful Bubble Drawer Printable - Blank

Pink & Grey Bubble Drawer Printable- Blank

I can't say that my middle munchkin has suddenly become an organizational wonder, but considering her creative and messy ways, she has done a fabulous job keeping her closet up!! Sure, I still suspiciously peek at it after every bedroom "clean up", but little things go a long way to preserving its tidy status!