Organize Childrens Rooms
How to organize childrens rooms...I see this problem all over forums,
e-loops and even in my own home. There are a few things I have learnt and some things that I believe in deeply about children’s rooms.
To start - children these days have too much stuff! Next I believe that each child should take care of their own room from a young age. Last, their rooms should display a sense of who they are...what their loves, passions and interests are.
These are my tips on how we organize childrens rooms. For tips on how to get your children motivated to clean their rooms please read through my
children’s chore pages.
Keeping childrens rooms clutter free
I used the Flylady’s principle and helped my children mentally break their rooms into “zones.” In your home it will depend on the space and types of things your children have in their rooms. Examples of our zones are: Bed, cupboard, toy cupboard, bookshelf, windowsills, drawers.
Each zone is then allocated a day of the week to get special attention. They will clean their floor and under their beds daily, but weekly focus on specific zone. Therefore each Monday will see our toy cupboard getting a thorough cleaning, each Tuesday the bookshelf etc.
When they work in that zone they follow the principle of
“throw away – put away – give away.”
Furniture to organize childrens rooms
I begin to build a reading library for each of our children as they pass the beginner stages of reading. Each child has a bookshelf to keep their library. The books I choose for them are related to the interests. These books are theirs for life. The bookshelves are part of their weekly zone work as other clutter tends to creep onto the shelf.
We have a big plastic storage box on wheels that contains all the dressing up clothes. This lives in the bottom of the toy cupboard. It also forms part of the weekly zone work as often normal clothes end up there.
Clothes cupboards have one shelf per clothing group. All the jerseys on one shelf, all pants on another etc. At the end of each season we go through clothing and keep any that are fit for hand me downs to a younger sibling. These get washed and packed away. Others are set aside for the charity shops.
Clothes drawers are allocated in the same way, one type of clothing per drawer and are also cleaned out at the end of the season.
The flat surfaces of drawers, bookshelves and windowsills are always a struggle to keep clear. This is why they form part of the daily tidying routine. Porcelain figurines and other delicate items are displayed there.
As our daughter has a passion for drawing we have a drawing section for her. We purchased a drawing table from
Sitright children's furniture
for her. This is a fold away table which helps with correct posture. Her table is placed near a window for light. Her drawing materials are able to be kept underneath the lid of the table. Her pencils are kept in old tin cans that have been decorated.
Bedside tables become a prerequisite for older children. Here they can keep their journals, pen and bedtime reading material.
If your children do their schoolwork in their rooms then you will need to have a designated area. A desk them becomes a feature. You may need to place a bin nearby as well as a small shelf overhead to house their books. A pinboard above the desk is a great help to pin up their weekly schedule among other things. The cleaning of this work area will become a necessary weekly chore as a clean and orderly desk area is imperative for concentration. You can print out a detailed list of how to go about this on my
chore list page
which your child can use.
Sticking things on the walls?
At some stage in a child’s life they will express a desire to have a poster or two (or in our case 10’s) on the walls. This is an individual choice for your home. For us it is part of our children’s individual expression of the things that they love. This can still be achieved neatly.
Long term posters can be laminated. Instruct your children in the correct removal of Prestik (sticky putty) so that they do not pull off the plaster when they remove other pictures.
Pinboards made from chipboard and covered in cheap color coordinated fabric are great for pinning up photos, invitations and chore schedules.
Music, TV’s and computers
A startling discovery happened when one day I suddenly realized that my own CD player was being used more by my children than myself. The following weekend we purchased a small reasonably priced CD player for our oldest daughter. We also purchased a small set of headphones so that she can listen to her music and not distract her younger sister when she is trying to sleep or play.
This CD player stands on top of one of the drawer cabinets with a rack to house the CD collection she has started. This keeps this area orderly.
We will not allow a TV in our children’s rooms. We feel this will promote anti-social behavior. TV watching is done as a family where we select what is appropriate.
Computers are for education and a small amount of recreation on weekends. Thus there is no need for one in our children’s rooms. These remain in our school room.
Toy containers to organize childrens rooms
Whether you have boys or girls there will always be a need for containers for children’s toys which break into small bits. Examples are Lego, Meccano, Polly Pockets etc. Be aware that the more containers you have the more sorting will have to be done.
Some cheap options for containers to organize childrens rooms are:
Large empty, clean ice cream containers are ideal for toys when you organize childrens rooms. You can write the name of the toy that belongs on the side of the container in a permanent marker. For non readers, cut out a picture from the box the toy came in and stick it on the side.
Many grocery stores have specials where you can buy a selection of plastic containers of different sizes for a reasonable price. Try and choose ones that are transparent at the bottom. This helps to identify which toys belongs in which box.
While we have a toy trunk I must say that it is one item of furniture which has the ability to get out of hand the quickest. It is so easy to just lift the lid and turf any loose items on the floor inside it. It then is a big mission to tidy. The toy trunk has thus become a Zone on its own for our sons to sort through once a week, while I wait for the penny to drop that its much easier to just put the loose items in the right place the first time!
Lastly, if you’re the thought of needing to organize your children’s rooms send shivers up your spine because their rooms are out of control begin with a three day blitz similar to the one I describe on the
organize your living areas pages.
Other articles you may be interested in are:
Organize your homeschool
Organize your outdoors
Lifeskills books for Kids
For extra help and some ideas that really work...you can sign up for a series of organizational tips to help you take some
steps to becomming a more organized mom! Sign up below.
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