Get Organized! Cutting Down on Kid Clutter

And finally, what about your child's closet? All you may really need to do is add an additional rod to open up a bit more space. The simplest way to do this is to raise the original rod six to eight inches, and suspend a second rod, half the size, on one side of the closet with lightweight chains (or you can buy a kit from Target or Wal-Mart). Use this new two-tiered space for short clothing such as shirts and skirts; use the second, taller portion for longer garments such as dresses and pants.

There are plenty of solutions when it comes to organizing a child's closet, or a dresser bureau for that matter, but what about everyday stuff such as pajamas and sweatshirts? How do you get them off the floor or off that corner chair for good?

Choose a wall (preferably close to the closet) or a portion of a wall and mount hooks at your child's eye level. You can keep it simple with just a few or make a decorating statement with a variety of sizes, shapes, and colors. Use one for pajamas, one for the backpack, another for the various assortments of sweat jackets, an additional one for items such as your son's baseball cap collection, and so on.

A similar option is to mount a peg board on the wall, once again at eye level, and add an assortment of hooks. This way your child can change the layout of the hooks, or add and subtract them, as new stuff enters her life.

Although you'd love to see your child's room be neat and tidy every day, realize that your youngster is just that—a child—and it's her job to make a mess. Yet when you set up an easy-to-use system for your child to follow, clean up can be a snap.