Organizing Kids' Rooms

from Cindy - A Reader's Tip from The Dollar Stretcher - www.stretcher.com - Used by permission

Additional Dollar Stretcher Resource: More on organizing kids rooms

I have five kids crammed into two small bedrooms, so I understand crowded rooms! Here are some things that have worked for us.

 

We took our kids' nice clothes (the ones that need to be hung up) out of their rooms and made some space in another closet. Their closets are now filled top to bottom with shelves, which hold toys in handy bins. My organizationally-impaired children just toss stuff into whatever bin, while my tidy kids have things labeled. Either way, it gets stuff off the floor.

 

My kids must pick up their rooms every day!  Everything must be off the floor and their clothes must be put away with drawers shut before they watch TV or whatever. This keeps the mess from accumulating for an entire week and making it an all day project to straighten up. On the days when we really clean the room, we fish out all the stuff that's migrated under their beds, etc.

Finally, we've let our kids have a big part in determining what we do with their rooms, and we've allowed them to find a system that works for them. We realized early on that one of our daughters was never going to become an everything-in-its-place kind of kid. It's just not her personality. Rather than fighting it, we've allowed her to do what she likes as long as a minimum standard is met.

Conquering Kid Clutter

by Debbie Williams - Debbie@organizedtimes.com - Copyright 2006 - Used by permission

Lack of storage space is the #1 complaint I hear from parents, especially in their kids' rooms. But organizing a child's room is just like de-cluttering any other room in the house: you have four choices: hang it, put it in a drawer, store it on the floor, or shelve it.  Use those same options when organizing your children's rooms.

 

Here are a few of my favorite tips for storage solutions:

 

Create More Floor Space

-  A bed with drawers provides extra storage space and eliminates the need for a bulky dresser or chest
-  Invest in loft beds for the kids with space for a desk
-  Place a bulky chest of drawers in the closet to save wall space

 

General Organizing Solutions

-  Footlockers or old-fashioned steamer trunks hide extra bedding. Be sure to make safe for small children by installing locking safety hinges
-  Under the bed storage bins hold craft items
-  A plastic garbage can topped with a table round makes a bedside or chair side table, and doubles as hidden storage
-  Over the door shelving makes a nice place to store books, children's videos, and audiotapes.
-  Hang a vinyl pouch organizer on the bedroom door or closet door for desk supplies
-  Shoe bags hang on a closet door and contain all those Beanie Babies, Barbies, and action figures

 

Clothing

-  Purchase drawer dividers for socks, underwear, lingerie and tiny items to keep items segregated.
-  Install inexpensive closet organizers for clothing, which can double your closet space
-  Hang another clothes rod in your closet for clothing to utilize hanging storage space
-  Place a laundry basket or hanging bag on the door for each family member.
-  An under bed box is great for outgrown kids' clothes and frees precious closet space. Store or take to resale shop when box is full, then begin again (I recommend buying a plastic tub rather than inexpensive cardboard, which doesn't last very long)
-  Stash out of season clothes in boxes, label, and store in the attic or garage
-  Wicker trunks or footlockers make excellent places for out of season clothes
-  Hanging storage closet systems are colorful and create an instant chest of drawers

 

Papers

-  Two file cabinets can be used to support a desktop for a workspace
-  Filing cabinets for your kids provide a spot for all those papers that seem to take over the house:  school work, pictures, cards, awards and certificates, art projects, report cards
-  Lillian Vernon Catalog sells a corrugated chest with pull out box "drawers". The unit holds six boxes, one for each school year, and provides a safe place for all those school year treasures.  Visit their website at www.lillianvernon.com for ordering information, or to request a catalog.
-  Corral papers and keepsakes safely by storing in a plastic binder. UniKeep ClearView Binders come in a variety of colors and sizes, and fit right in your child's backpack or locker for safekeeping. Visit www.UniKeep.com for more information.

 

These are just a few ways you can contain the clutter in your kids' rooms.  You probably have several tips of your own to add to the list. I almost forgot the best tip of all: have your children sort through their toys and give to those who are less fortunate. What a great way to make room for those new toys and help another child at the same time.

 

About the Author:  Debbie Williams is an author and organizing expert who offers tools and training to help you put your life in order. Learn more practical tips like these in her book, Organized Kidz (By the Book Media, September 2005). Available directly from the publisher at www.organizedtimes.com/OKidz.html or order from Amazon.com at http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0972698337