How to Organize Your Children's Bedrooms

Here is a way to get and keep your children's bedrooms in shape.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• A garbage bag
• boxes
• A marker
• Various storage

1. Gather your supplies:
   Garbage bags,at least two large boxes(you may need more), and a marker.
   
   (Don't buy storage containers until you know exactly what you need.)

2. The first step is to get rid of the clutter and trash in the room. This is the most important step because you will have to organize everything that is left. Label your two boxes, "Give" and "Put away." The trash bag will be used for garbage. The "Put away" box is for items that belong in a different room.

3. Discuss with your child what he/she wants the space to look like when you are done. Aim towards that goal when organizing the room.

4. Go through every item:toys,clothes,drawers,etc. Throw out everything that is broken or otherwise unusable. Use the "give" box to put items in that your child no longer wants or can wear. Get rid of everything that doesn't need to be there, remembering the goal for the room. Make sure the child knows that he will be required to keep everything that's left in his room neat and clean.

5. Once the room has been purged of all the unnecessary items, its time to organize what remains. Group everything into similar categories and put like things with like. Dolls in one place, toy cars in another.
   
   When buying containers for children's rooms, make sure they are large enough, easy to reach, and easy to open and shut. Categorize and label them. You can write on the container or put a piece of tape or a label on them and write on that. Buying cute containers for children's rooms that match their decor makes clean-up more fun and makes the room look nicer too.

6. Buying matching hangers for all the closets in your home helps give the closets a more unified and organized look. You can also organize the clothes in the closet by grouping them according to type and color.

7. You can organize a dresser by putting socks and underwear in one drawer, shirts/sweaters in the next, pants in another, etc. You can label the drawers or you can draw pictures of the clothing items on blank index cards and tape them to the drawers for children who can't read yet.

8. Once you have the room the way your child likes it, make it a routine to keep it looking that way. She could be required to clean it up every night before bed. Maybe once a week on a Monday is good enough for you. Either way, develop a maintenance schedule that works for your family and stick to it until it becomes a habit.

9. Be sure to keep watch on the inflow of new items. Chaos is created when all this stuff comes in and nothing goes out...it just keeps piling up.
   
   You could make it a rule that if something new comes in, something old (that takes up just as much room) goes out.

Tips & Warnings

• Getting rid of things that belong to your child without their permission is bound for hard feelings and strained relationships. Its probably better to inspire them to get rid of things themselves by offering them rewards and incentives to do so instead. Its better to have a not-so-perfect room than to have an unhappy child.
• Its important to create a storage space for every remaining item so things are not left floating around the room making it look messy.
• Enjoy this time with your child and make it fun. Don't get all stressed out about it. Maybe have a treat ready for when you're done.
• It might be helpful to do one area at a time. The floor and under the bed one day, the closet the next, the dresser after that, etc.
• Don't forget to utilize places like walls and under the bed if you are short on storage space. Furniture that has storage space built into it might also be a good idea.
• Organizing can be so contagious, it may spread to other rooms!

[cwengre]

on 3/19/2009 Great idea for organizing your child's room.