Organizing Children's Bedrooms

My grandson who had just turned two was at the doctor's with his mother. The doctor was impressed as he immediately started putting the toys away when she told him it was time to put them in the basket. He does the same thing in his home. I am also impressed with the way he is being taught so young. Starting young is part of the solution to helping children to be organized and keeping their rooms tidy.

Often children's bedrooms are messy and they get the blame when it might not be entirely their fault. Kids can't keep their rooms straight if they don't have homes for their toys, clothes, art supplies and other treasures.

It is up to the parent or caregiver to come up with storage solutions and guidance for the children. It is interesting how children can be reared in the same home and yet they have very different organizing skills. Sometimes we just have to embrace the differences and come up with systems that will help them to be organized.

Storage space and a place for everything are important in children's bedrooms. If the space is limited consider installing wire shelving inside closets. Have the rods in the closets at the child's level so he can be responsible to hang up his clothes. It needs to be easy for them to do. The top shelves can be used to store out of season clothing. Put these in bins with lids, label them on the outside with the sizes and season. A dresser can be used for shirts, pants, underwear, socks and pajamas. Or stackable plastic or wooden crates can be used.

Clothes in the closet need to be sorted through every few months as children grow so fast. Never put clothes from the wash back into their rooms that are missing a button, is ripped or needs some other repair. These go into a pile to be mended before putting them back in their rooms. Start when they are young helping them to be responsible for their clothes. When the clothes come out of the laundry fold and place each child's clothes into a separate bin. Then they can take their bin to their room and put their clothes away. The first few times walk them through this to show them where things go. Put containers in their drawers to hold underwear and socks to keep these contained.

If you allow toys in your children's room; toy chests they can reach into are a great place for toys. Or open containers like baskets, or bins, or plastic dishpans can hold toys, games, and sport equipment. It would free up space in their rooms if sport equipment could be stored somewhere else. Use baskets to hold shoes or a shoe rack in the closet. I prefer the ones that are like shelves as they have a flat surface to put shoes on. Over the door shoe organizers work for older children who can reach the pockets. Besides shoes these can hold a plethora of other items like hair accessories, jewelry, or arts and crafts supplies.

Every six to eight months take an inventory of the toys. If the child has out grown them or doesn't play with them anymore it is time to donate them. Decide what to get rid of according to what the child plays with and likes, not according to who gave it to them, how much they used to play with it or how cute you think it is. If you have other children who may want them someday then put them in bins, label them and put on the closet shelf or on a shelf in the garage or storage room.

A plastic under-bed container on wheels can be used to store toys, treasures, games, art supplies, and craft supplies. Bookcases can not only store books but can be used for toys, art and craft supplies, jewelry boxes, and collections. Books also need to be inspected to see if pages have been torn and need repairing and if the books are still age appropriate.

You know the adage, one in and one out. Every time the child gets a new toy or book he gets rid of one. Or toys could be rotated in and out every month.

There are many container possibilities to choose from to keep everything contained, with homes for all of their things children will be more likely to keep things put away.

Marilyn Bohn's Bio
Marilyn is a creative organizer who has been organizing for over 20 years. She is a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers and is working towards becoming a Certified Professional Organizer. Professionally she has been organizing homes and offices for over two years. She holds a bachelors degree in Social Work. She has reared five daughters and currently lives in Utah.

Go to her website http://www.marilynbohn.com where you can find free organizing tips and interesting blogs and helpful articles on organizing.