Coat Closet Dress-Up

"Mommy, can you tie my dress, please?" Adelaide, 4, calls from the hallway.

Before I can reach the sash, she's off to the coat closet pulling out another hanger. This one holds a set of baby blue kid-size scrubs.

"Heath, do you want to play hospital?" she asks, waving the hanger at her brother.

"Yes! Yes!" he shouts as he clops in from the playroom wearing the cowboy boots his sister has outgrown and a western hat my husband wore for Halloween a few years back.

As Heath reaches for his doctor kit, I can't help but admire the closet. This time last year, our system for organizing dress-up clothes just wasn't working. The Disney Princess dresses Adelaide had been given for Christmas a couple of years ago had grown into a complete collection of costumes, clothes, and accessories. We had tried storing them several different ways in her room, but the end result was always the same. They usually ended up mixed in with the clothes in her dresser or stuffed into the toy box after a rushed clean-up.

Last fall, as we were transforming our living room into a playroom, I decided the dress-up clothes needed to make a move. Since my son, almost 2 at the time, was beginning to join in the imaginative play, I wanted them to be accessible to both children. I considered a rolling garment rack, but cute as it might be in our new kid space, I was afraid it would be too accessible and lead to more messes.

When my husband suggested we store everything in the coat closet, located in the entry way adjacent to the playroom, I was hesitant at first. I didn't think storing things in a tub would help with organization or inspire creative play. If we hung the clothes up, the kids wouldn't be able to reach them, which defeated the purpose.

The solution? A simple spring-loaded curtain rod. We found one that was just the right length for our closet and hung it below our coats, at the perfect height for our preschoolers. We arranged the clothes on kid-size hangers and lined the shoes on the floor below. Then we added a basket for hats and a small tub with a lid for smaller accessories.

Since dressing up our coat closet, our children have taken their dramatic play to a whole new level and my husband and I haven't missed our old closet at all. Living in Florida, we never had many opportunities to say, "May I take your coat?" anyway. Besides, when we have guests, it's much more fun say, "Hard hat or high heels?"