Organizing a Child’s Room

Just finished organizing a child’s room and want to share some tips!

• First of all, involve your child.  Yes, it may take longer and yes, you could eliminate a lot of whining by doing it yourself. However, as parents, our role is to teach our children and consider their room as a teaching moment.  Have clear expectations and make clean up a routine.
• Ask them what is working and what isn’t?  View their room from their perspective.  Can they reach everything they need to?  For example, are their clothes hung low in the closet on smaller hangers?  Are they frustrated that they can’t find all the pieces to a toy or keep forgetting their homework? Or, that they can’t open a sticky bureau drawer?  Think of this as an opportunity for you to come up with solutions to make their life easier and less stressful.  If they are involved with the process, they will learn techniques, feel like they contributed and chances are they will take more pride in keeping it organized.
• Think containers, toy bins, etc. Even small clear shoe boxes to corral small pieces and keep toys contained.  And, remember the labels!
• Keep a laundry hamper in your child’s room.  Depending on the age, if it has a basketball net on it or something similar, it will be fun to toss their dirty shirt in.

• Use vertical space.  Maybe the trophies, decorative items and extra stuffed animals that aren’t played with everyday can live up high.  Consider adding some wall-mounted shelves way up high.
• The back of every door should be used.  Kids love hooks because they are so much easier than hanging something on a hanger.  Or, for smaller items, consider an elfa over the door unit from The Container Store.
• If space is truly a problem (vs. just sheer volume of too many toys/clothes) then consider under the bed storage and/or rotate toys.  Put some of the toys away in a bin in the attic and when  you bring them back out, it’s like the toys have found a whole new life and your child has just had a new birthday gift.  Just remember that if toys come back out, something must be stowed away in their place.
• Store seasonal clothes in bins.
• Look at the functionality of their closet.  If you are not in the market for an entire re-design of a closet, consider these for folded pieces and shelf dividers to keep sweaters stacked.
• If you are in the market for a newly designed closet, check out the elfa closets at The Container Store.
• Be selective with what you save.  Pack “mementos” away in a bin and send it to the attic.  When your child transitions from middle school to high school, ask them to review their bins.  Chances are you’ll find the artwork from 1st grade is not a priority for them anymore.
• As always, donate items that they don’t use anymore.  Remember, someone is on the other end of the donation.
• Recognize that organizing is not a one time process.  It requires maintenance which should be built into a routine.  Have your child make their bed in the morning and before they go to bed at night, build in 5 minutes to do a general pick-up with them or make it a clear expectation that they are to handle it on their own.
• Remember with young children it always seems easier to do these types of things for them, but it is our job to teach and guide them so they can navigate the simplest chores to the more complex situations they will continue to face as they grow.
• Our next blogs will cover study areas and solutions for toys.