The Family Closet

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What the heck is a “family closet”?! Well, my friends, keep reading and let me explain to you the ins and outs of what a family closet is, and why you just might want one of your own!   

The family closet is essentially an area you create to store the entire family’s clothes. For my family, we chose to combine just the kids’ clothes and leave ours in the master closet. Have you ever watched the Duggar family’s show on TLC? On one of their very first episodes, Mama Duggar gave a tour of their family closet and explained how it helped them streamline their laundry process and stay organized. The concept of the family closet is also closely linked to your laundry system and can greatly help you stay on top of the zillion loads!

Advantages to the family closet:

  • Clothes are “put away” far more often because the sorting, folding, and putting away process is eliminated, or greatly shortened. In our house we had a constant laundry basket that failed to make it to its final destination of either a dresser or a closet. No more, with the family closet! Everything goes to ONE PLACE! Neat, tidy, and so much simpler! 
  • Inventory is straightforward. With little ones, their sizes in clothes are always changing, and it helps so much to see them all together in order to better determine who has what and who needs what. With a quick glance, I can take inventory and realize my four year old needs more shorts or my eight year old has way too many t-shirts and could use some more polos. 
  • Packing for trips is so much easier with the family closet. I just go to one location and grab what they need and go! It’s sort of like shopping the grocery store shelves — it is all organized and right at your finger tips! 
  • Everyone helps out! We love family chores in our household, and by having a system in place the kids can better participate in keeping the room tidy and the laundry rolling. Even at age 3, my youngest son knows how to take his basket and toss his clothes into the washing machine when it is his laundry day. 
  • You can probably reduce the quantity of clothing your family owns. Before the family closet, I did not have a true grasp of just HOW MANY clothes my kids had. I was always under the impression they needed more. They each had a dresser and a closet, so it never seemed like too many items … until I pulled them all out and combined them in one place. It was WAY TOO MUCH. My kids just flat out owned more clothing items than they needed. It forced me to purge. No longer does one child have 16 sets of pajamas or 25 t-shirts! They each have what they need and no more! Less clothes means less laundry and LESS WORK! 

Well, if I haven’t convinced you yet that the family closet will change your life, then maybe the pictures can lure you in! I know everyone is not set up to devote a whole room to the entire family’s clothes, but if you can, I promise it is so worth the effort! 

My boys’ clothes are organized from youngest to oldest, starting from the left. And the t.v. was added for Mama because … why not?!
Decorating the room makes it feel less like a closet and more like a fun room you might actually want to spend time in.

Here are a few links for more information on family closets, including a local professional organizer who helped me kick this project off and get a game plan in place!

Kemptprofessionalorganizing.com

thehandmadenhome.net/2014/03/the-family-closet/

Is something you have done — or something you would consider?

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Alli N
Alli is a Birmingham native who always knew she wanted to be a mommy to many, but had no idea that would turn into many little boys! While being a "boy mom" was not what she expected, you will now find her trudging through the woods and happily exploring everything "outdoors" with her brood of little men. Happily married to a builder, you might find that her Google searches reveal a never-ending list of home improvements, which leads to lots of screen shots and "Let's do this next" text messages. When not chasing around her boys, you can find her off on a long run, drinking coffee, going out for a girls' night, or wandering the aisles of the most wonderful place on earth, Target.

2 COMMENTS

  1. I love this concept because, as a mother of two and one on the way, laundry can certainly pile up! I’m ready to purge and do something like this, but what do I do with all of my daughter’s beautiful dresses and my son’s dressier outfits that need to be hung up in a format like you show? Any tips?

  2. Hi!! Thanks so much for commenting! I think for the fancier outfits its its fine to leave these in their closets or in a designated spot. You could always have a hanging system, a bar or a rack in the laundry room/family closet. but since these are clothing items you wouldn’t use on a regular basis having them stored elsewhere would not be a big deal either : ) hope that helps!

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