Have you heard of this idea? A family closet?
If this is a new concept for you, this is the idea of the family closet: Everyone in the family stores their clothes in one room, preferably a room directly off of the laundry room or at least in close proximity to it. Instead of each family member storing their clothes in separate drawers or closets, each member stores clothes in this one area.
(This is a picture of the Duggar’s Family Closet)
I’m not sure where or when I first heard of this fabulous idea, but I’ve always been intrigued by the concept of it.
How easy it would make one’s Laundry Life!
-Clothes would be easier to put away since you’re only walking to one spot to distribute all folded clothes.
-It would be super easy to lay out clothes for the next day
-It would be much easier to keep the amount of children’s clothes at a limited amount
-In a 3-second eye sweep around the room, you can see what is available (or is not available!) for everyone to wear
-It frees up space in the closets in each bedroom for other types of needed storage
There are numerous other reasons, but these are the main ideas that readily come to mind.
In my dream laundry room, a family closet would definitely be part of the plan. And a folding table in the middle of the room would make it all the better! How simple would it be to bring your warm-from-the-dryer basket of clothes, fold them on the folding table and immediately put them away?
A dream come true.
This obviously wouldn’t work for every family. Some houses (like mine) just don’t have the extra space or layout for an idea like this. And this might not work logistically for some families.
In case you get the idea that this is only for families with lots of kiddos, that’s not so! This can be ideal for couples without children or families with just one or two children as well. The idea is to have all clothes centralized in one location and that can work for any family, regardless of family size.
Are you also interested in the idea? If so, here are a few links to some great ideas. So take a click around!
- Lots of Kids has a great pictorial of a family closet
- Red Gate Farm describes her family closet located in her laundry room
- Suburban Granola has an oh-so-fabulous realistic perspective about her family closet. And she used before and after pictures! A must see.
- Stephanie from Keeper of the Home has a great tour of her family closet (video)
Does this idea intrigue you as well? Do you have a family closet? I’d love to hear your thoughts on it!
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Many years ago when I had a lot of little children at home we used this premise. It worked fabulously and saved a lot of time, plus my sanity. I learned about it from Linda Eyre in her book, A Joyful Mother of Children.
At the time we had an over-sized laundry room. I used a long dresser, blocks and board shelves and bins for the children’s clothes. We also had 3 dirty clothes bins (whites, colors & jeans) that simplified the laundry process for me.
It almost made the laundry situation automatic 🙂
Kristine – Thanks so much for sharing how you worked this! It’s always good to read how others do things.
And any method that makes laundry ‘automatic’ is fabulous in my book!!
Thanks again –
-Lauren