How to Make a Montessori Wardrobe for Children

Montessori wardrobes are the best way to a child’s independence when it comes to choosing clothes, dressing, and putting away their clothes. A Montessori wardrobe is a piece of furniture designed with Montessori principles in mind: child-sized, accessible, fosters independence, and is beautiful. The wardrobe, or Montessori closet, will allow your child the freedom to choose their own clothing and give them the possibility of independence when putting clothing away. Not to mention all the skills they will gain along the way (hanging a shirt on a hanger, matching socks, making a choice)

There are many options when it comes to Montessori-inspired wardrobes for children, and many Montessori wardrobes are available for purchase. Or you can create a Montessori wardrobe or dressing area all on your own by following the basic principles I suggest below! Whatever your budget is, there is a way to make a Montessori wardrobe for your children!

What Does a Montessori Wardrobe for Children Look Like?

Montessori wardrobes for children will vary in their appearance, but the underlying principles are the same. Here are some of the key elements to consider when choosing or creating a Montessori wardrobe: 

• Child-Sized – The wardrobe should be accessible to the child and allow for their independence in choosing their own clothes. This can be done at an early age. Before purchasing, you need to consider at what age you want your child to be able to be independent with these tasks. Some of the wardrobes I will suggest may initially be too tall for your youngest child to have independent access to. Know that a child could begin being independent with choosing clothing around 1 year old.
• Supports Independent Access to Clothing: Low-hanging rods, accessible baskets, drawers, or shelves allow for independent access to personal belongings.
• Orderly: Give everything a place and have everything in its place. This will help your child’s sensitive period of order and support them in independent dressing.
• Beautiful and Visually Appealing: Beautiful things don’t have to be expensive, although they could be.  Beautifully preparing our environment supports all the work we do in a Montessori home.  A beautiful and orderly wardrobe will invite the child into all the potential work of getting dressed.

Why would you create a Montessori wardrobe for children?

Fostering Independence:

If you are looking for a way to offer young children more independence and a sense of ownership, a Montessori wardrobe is a great way to do that! Creating a Montessori wardrobe will give your child the opportunity to choose their clothes and begin to take on the responsibility of dressing themself.

It is important to note that a Montessori wardrobe may not be the only place you store clothes for your child. Especially at a young age, you may only have 2-3 shirts out at a time. This will allow them easy access to choose, but will not overwhelm them with too many options to choose from. A large closet that is not accessible to the child may be where you store the other clothing items. You will also want to store out-of-season clothes in another location. 

Essential Life Skills

A Montessori wardrobe supports a child’s daily routine of getting dressed. It is the simplest way to support the child’s natural desire to “help them to help themselves”. Learning how to dress oneself is an essential life skill. There are so many motor skills involved in getting dressed, with all of the different fasteners and movements involved in putting on pants, shirts, and socks.

Decision-Making Skills

There are many decision-making skills involved in choosing one’s clothing. For an older toddler and preschooler, you can start to have a conversation about what the weather is for the day and choose appropriate clothing. You may be surprised to find that choosing what shirt to wear for the day does help your child’s decision-making abilities. 

Preparing a Montessori wardrobe for your child will offer them a greater sense of autonomy. They will love having the freedom to make choices. The beautiful thing about a toddler wardrobe, is that you, as the adult, can prepare it for them. Meaning, you will put out appropriate choices. This may help to eliminate power struggles around wanting to wear shorts in the middle of winter! 

Where to get a Montessori wardrobe

I will share with you 5 Montessori children’s wardrobes that you can purchase with their pros, cons, and price points. There are many others out on the market, though. I will also share 2 DIY options if you are looking for a project and a potentially cheaper option! 

Here are some other Montessori wardrobes that are available for purchase.

Sprout Kids Alba Montessori Children’s Wardrobe

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This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my full disclosure here.

Montessori Wardrobe for Kids (Aligned Play)

Montessori Wardrobe from Etsy

Minimalist Frestanding Hanging Wardrobe

DIY Montessori Wardrobe Options

Ikea KALLAX DIY Wardrobe

I’ll share with you how I made my Montessori wardrobe for our twins! We used the KALLAX 4 cube shelving unit from Ikea. I also got 2 sets of the KALLAX drawer inserts from Ikea. I used these tension rods to create a hanging space in the wardrobe.

Steps to an IKEA Kallax Montessori DIY Wardrobe

• Assemble the KALLAX 4 cube shelving unit but leave out one of the shelves on either the right or left side (I chose to have the hanging on the right side of the wardrobe.
• Assemble and install the KALLAX drawer inserts into 2 of the cube spaces.
• Use the tension rod in the side with a shelf left out.

This Ikea hack worked great when the boys were little and their clothes were small. As they got bigger, it became clear that we needed a little more space for them. We decided to transform an old dresser into a new, beautifully functioning Montessori wardrobe!

Montessori Dresser Transformation

After the first year, we needed more space for our boys’ clothes. A great option was to consider traditional wardrobes and see how we could adjust them to be a Montessori wardrobe! Check out this blog post and YouTube video to see how we made this wardrobe transformation into something amazing for our Montessori home. I liked how this wardrobe offered ample storage for our boys’ clothes, was a great deal that we found on Facebook Marketplace, and fits into our child-friendly space.

Hanging Rod and Bakets DIY

You could make a very simple Montessori wardrobe at any desired height by getting a hanging wall mount and some baskets or drawer organizers for items such as pants, socks, and underwear.

Frequently Asked Questions

When can I start using a Montessori wardrobe?

You can begin using a Montessori wardrobe as early as infancy. If you begin that young, your child won’t be able to use it with independence for quite a while, but it will help them to see that we respect them in such a way that we have placed their things within reach and at eye level for them. Then, when they become more independent, they will choose their clothes when the time comes. You can begin offering choices to your child at a very young age, even a few months old.  They may look at one article of clothing longer or reach out and grab it. In this way, you can take this as them making a choice!  The Montessori wardrobe helps both the child and the parent see how getting dressed is another part of their day that they can be involved in.

How do you organize a child’s wardrobe?

When organizing the Montessori wardrobe, we want to keep it very simple and orderly. Have a place for shirts to hang, a basket or drawer for pants and shorts, a basket for socks, and a basket for underwear. You may also want to limit the number of articles of clothing, which will help your child in making a choice. Open shelves work well to set baskets on; it could be difficult for a toddler to stack shirts or pants on a shelf consistently. 

How do you organize a young child’s clothes?

It is helpful to store out-of-season clothes and clothes of the next size in a different location, such as in a larger closet or in clothing storage bins. I have a drawer for pajamas, shorts, pants, diapers, and underwear. We hang all of the shirts on hangers. I’ve used a small basket for socks. Having this order will help your child develop organizational skills over the years and support their strong sense of order.

How can I save money when building a wardrobe for my child?

You can save money by purchasing a less expensive Montessori wardrobe. Try to find ways to DIY the current closet in the bedroom to allow for more independence. You may just need to purchase some different shelving options or bins to make that space more functional for your child to independently choose their clothing. We saved money by finding a used dresser on Facebook Marketplace, removing some of the white shelves, and adding in some hanging rods at a child’s height.

How can I make a Montessori wardrobe on a budget?

Consider a DIY option! Get creative- there are SO many ways to make a Montessori-inspired space without spending a ton of money. Obviously, some of the higher ticket price options will be more aesthetically pleasing and overall more functional, but a Montessori dressing area really just needs a hanging space at a reachable level for your child and simple organization with either shelves or baskets that allow your child to freely access the other pieces of their wardrobe.