Encouraging independence with our mixed-age Montessori dressing area

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We recently rearranged our kids’ room to incorporate an accessible Montessori dressing area for both our four-year-old son and one-year-old daughter. Read on to see how we organised the area to encourage independent dressing.

We put in place an accessible dressing area for Ryaan from around the time he was two years old. He had an open wardrobe where he could choose his clothes from, and a mirror and stool to encourage independent dressing. This was a dressing up wardrobe we got from Liberty House Toys, available at Little Helper.

Ryaan’s Montessori dressing area at age two

It worked very well for nearly two years, but when my daughter Dayna was born, the area became a bit cluttered with her changing table and all the stuff that came along with it. I wish I had taken a before picture as I meant to, but it completely slipped my mind. Take my word for it though, it had gotten very cluttered and was not accessible at all.

Dayna is now walking confidently and really resists nappy changes lying down, so it was the perfect time to reorganise the area. We got two of these beautiful wooden clothing racks from Etsy, one for each child, and paired them with a set of shelves that fits perfectly together. Here is a look at how the area came together. I am so happy with it, I wish I were a child again so I could get dressed there.

Our mixed-age Montessori dressing area

This is how Dayna’s rack looks. Her t-shirts and jumpsuits have been hung on the rack, while her shoes and coats are in the shelf below.

Dayna’s Montessori clothes rack

On Ryaan’s rack we have hung his school uniform t-shirts, jumpers and blazer, while his underwear, vests and shorts are in baskets on the shelf below. Since he is in school five days a week, only his uniform is kept out. His regular clothes are in a drawer in the closet, which he can reach and access by himself too.

Ryaan’s Montessori clothes rack

Here is a closer look at the shelves and mirror area. On the shelves are Dayna’s bottoms and a basket for each of their pyjamas.

Full-length mirror in our mixed-age Montessori dressing area

The full-length mirror to the left is one that was originally used in Dayna’s movement area (pictured below) when she was a newborn baby. There is normally a small stool in the area too, but it is currently being used elsewhere in the house.

Dayna’s movement area when she was a newborn

There is a chest of drawers close to this area where we store all their nappies and toiletries, placed at a height where they can't reach. We recently had an incident where Dayna took out a bottle of her vitamins and the glass cracked and cut her finger. Hence we are being extra cautious and keeping anything dangerous out of reach.

That sums up the changes we have made to our dressing area to make it accessible for both our toddler and four-year-old. Please subscribe to our newsletter if you liked this article, and would like to be kept in the loop when we publish new content.