How to Organize Nursery Closets

1. Divide clothes by size. You probably have a lot of different sizes of baby clothes. You can buy or make markers that wrap around the closet rod that will help you keep things organized and easy to grab at a moment's notice.

2. Hang as much as possible. Folded stacks of clothes can easily become a pile of laundry. It is hard to see what you need and you end up rummaging through. Hang as much as you can on baby hangers and use bins for things like undershirts, body suits, and socks.

3. Make space for things that should be kept out of a child's reach. The nursery inevitably will contain medicines, diaper rash ointment, and other dangerous items. Make sure that you dedicate areas out of children's reach to these items. Avoid keeping them in or around changing tables and cribs.

4. Use bins for small items. Small things like socks, burp cloths, diapers and receiving blankets can be kept in bins. Pacifiers, toys and teething rings can be kept in bins once they are sanitized and ready to use.

5. Make space for dirty laundry. Babies can go through a lot of clothing in one day. Keep a laundry hamper or basket near the changing area or inside of your nursery closet. It will be out of sight, but easy to collect when it is time to do the laundry.

6. Dedicate a shelf to things that you'll need quickly or in the middle of the night. You don't want to have to wake the baby by turning on lights to find something like a thermometer. Keep these emergency items together so that you can easily find them when you need them.

7. Install lighting. Small lamps or night lights can be helpful if you need to find something in the baby's room. You may even want to keep a flash light on a hook by the door so that you can sneak in if you need to. A closet light will help you find all kinds of things without waking the baby.

8. Use a lock or child-proof door knob cover. Make sure that your baby can't get into items that are kept out of reach by using the closet to store them. Put a door knob cover or self-locking mechanism on the closet door as an extra precaution.

9. Use special baby hangers, children's hangers, or infant hangers to keep special outfits from becoming damaged or stretched out. You can even designate part of the closet for consignment or charity items to keep the closet from getting cluttered.