ROOM FOR TWO: Girls’ Closet + Storage Edition
I’m back in my daughters’ room, this time with some photos and details on storage, and a peek at their closet, which we re-organized on a small budget and makes this whole room function and keeps it [mostly] calm.
Getting Organized
We took our time with this room, paying attention to our daily routines, especially in the mornings. We started first with pairing down to the essentials and what is most loved, from what my girls play with to what they wear. And, as I’ve been slowly learning from lots of women online over the years who live minimally (inspiration: organizational jedi knight Mika Perry!), we landed on a solution, making a space and place for everything.
Even with the energy of sisters, and on days when it’s not as organized as what you see here, it doesn’t take much to clean and get it under control. It’s efficient and visually calming, which is what I crave the most in our surroundings.
The keys to this room are the storage pieces and tools from my three favorite places; IKEA, Target and The Container Store. Here are the details.
THE Closet
This is where the magic happens! All everyday clothes and shoes live here, made possible by IKEA’s Jonaxel mesh drawer system. Small items like bloomers, socks, dance tights and soccer socks are organized with angled plastic bins (Sockerbit) tucked inside a few of the drawers.
Shorter hanging clothes hang directly above the drawers, with longer items in the middle, sandwiching my favorite shoe hanging organizer from The Container Store (it’s so durable, this is only our second organizer in nine years and two homes).
Above the hanging clothes are Target’s Y-Weave Baskets in white, hiding the clutter that lives inside. These baskets come in a variety of sizes, and I found just the right mix to maximize the dimensions of the shelf space. Two small baskets hold boots and extra dance shoes, and one large basket holds dress-up clothes, and the other: baby dolls and all their gear. In any of the boxes, if it doesn’t fit, it goes. And above those are bulkier items, including sleeping bags and babies sleeping in mini-bassinets.
The Dresser
Next to the closet is the same ‘dresser’ we’ve had since my first was born. We put together two discontinued Expedit shelf units (now Kallax) and since day one, have filled them with books and baskets. For many years, three baskets per girl held every piece of clothing they owned (minus hanging clothes).
When we finally got smart and stopped cramming clothes where they no longer fit and moved everything to the closet, we filled the baskets with what’s left: seasonal items that rarely get folded and needed a catch-all; sweatshirts + hoodies and bathing suits + cover ups. Each girl gets one junk basket to store anything they can fit, plus one shelf each for their books. We have lots more, but we store them in the garage and rotate in and out often and between each girl.
Lastly, the countertop: it’s a bit roughed up from years of use as a changing table, so the hyacinth tray doubles to cover it up and contains their hair gear, which is probably the most trafficked area in the entire space. They also each have a jewelry box to keep small treasures and clutter out of sight (personalized on natural wood from Etsy designer Dusty Road Gurl).
Anyone eyeing that barn door that my husband made?! Perhaps I should have started this post by saying: the layout and efficiency of this room was only made possible by removing bulky double doors that constantly got in the way. We replaced them with a sliding, extra wide shiplap’d barn door. This allowed us to flush the dresser and bed and make a tiny room not-so-tiny and way more functional. And, bonus: it has added depth and visual interest to what had been a really average hallway just outside their room!