Although we’re still enjoying the summer holidays, I like to take this time to prepare for the autumn season and the kids going back to school. Children grow so much, so it’s important to regularly go through their clothes to see what they’ve grown out of and what they still need. September is a new academic year, which always feels like a fresh start. To help, take a look at five tips to help you organise your child’s wardrobe for autumn:
1. Declutter Their Clothes
Begin to organise your child’s wardrobe by decluttering their clothes, shoes and accessories. As I mentioned earlier, children grow quickly so it’s important to regularly check which clothes still fit them. Also, check for clothes that are worn and stained and put these aside either for messy clothes (always keep at least one set of clothes that you don’t mind them getting stained etc), repairs or to use for cleaning rags. The tidy clothes that they have grown out of can either be passed down to a younger sibling, family member or friend, given away to charity or sold on a secondhand marketplace (use the proceeds towards new clothes). If you come across everyday clothes that they haven’t worn in ages then declutter these too. A small, hardworking collection of clothes is much more efficient than an over-spilling wardrobe. Remember to keep a few outfits for special occasions though.
2. Invest in a Good Wardrobe System
Many parents struggle with the laundry systems within their home even when the kids are old enough to put their own clothes away. It’s important to find a system that works well for both you and your children or you’ll end up with a floordrobe. Gone are the days where everyone’s furniture consisted of a bedside table, chest of drawers and a tall wardrobe. I find we hang up children’s clothes a lot less nowadays so traditional wardrobes would waste a lot of space.
If you already have bedroom furniture then make it work for you and your child. Paint it to match the decor and consider adding shelves or a double rail so the space is utilised. If they have a small bedroom consider a built in sliding door wardrobe to make the most of the space available. Choose a company that will design a wardrobe based on your requirements and fitted to absolute perfection, such as Urban Wardrobes who create bespoke wardrobes.
3. Keep Clothes at Your Child’s Eye Level
One of the reasons why children can struggle to organise their own wardrobes as they get older is due to their clothes being stored above their eye level and often out of reach. Of course, you want to make the most of all the wall space to have as much storage as you can. But, it’s important that children can see and reach all of their everyday clothes and accessories so they can dress themselves and put clean clothes away tidy. Use the higher shelves and rails for special occasion or out of season clothes that you can reach down when needed.
Kids also generally find it easier when clothes are always on display. Therefore an open rail or a wardrobe with sliding doors is ideal. They can see their clothes and belongings, so it’s not a case of out of sight, out of mind. But the added benefit of having a sliding door is you can slide it closed to create a tidier bedroom when friends come over. For some ideas of stylish wardrobes look here.
4. Optimise Wardrobe Space
In traditional wardrobes, space is often wasted. If you have a wardrobe with one hanging rail. consider adding another lower rails or shelves instead. Use containers on the shelves to separate belongings. Baskets look nice but clear boxes are best so you and your child know straight away what’s inside. Make their clothes storage work for their needs. Perhaps you find they prefer their clothes folded and on shelves or in draws compared to hung up in a wardrobe. If this is the case put all shelves, or even drawers into the wardrobe. You could just put up a couple of hooks in their room to hang the party shirts and dresses that they need for special occasions.
5. Keep Uniform and Club Clothes Separate
However you organise you child’s wardrobe, I have always found it best to keep their school uniform and extra curricular club clothes separate. By this I mean, I usually store all tee shirts together, all shorts together and so on. But in the case of uniform, we always fold and keep their whole sets of uniform together so it never gets mixed up in with their other everyday clothes. They also have separate draws (but you could use containers) for their club uniforms and sports kits. Each week as soon as each sports kit or swimming costume and towel comes out of the wash it goes straight into their kit bag/swimming bag ready for their lesson.
If their school uniform consists of a shirt and blazer so needs to be on a coat hanger, then dedicate one side of the wardrobe for this. Encourage your child to get into the habit of always making sure they have everything ready for school the night before- this will help avoid the morning stress of lost or dirty uniform etc. I know some parents like to have a storage unit with 5 drawers so they have clean uniform in it for every day of the week but do what suits you and your child best.
I hope these tips have helped. How do you organise your child’s wardrobe for autumn? I need to go through my own clothes too!
