Moving the Toys Out of The Bedroom
Believe it or not, kid’s toys in a kid’s bedroom is one of the biggest reasons why their rooms become disorganized. Not only that but can lead to sleep problems.
Unless you are fortunate enough to have a separate toy room, it’s best to put the kid’s toys in the living room or near the dining room; space permitting of course. Arts and crafts also work better being stored in these spaces.
Kid’s like to play with their toys and do their arts and crafts in these main traffic areas anyway. By putting their toys in these areas, you increase the chances of putting them back. There’s nothing more thrilling for a parent than watching their kid putting their own toys back.
You may also find that their sleep may improve once the toys are removed from a kid’s bedroom. Seeing their toys may keep them alert and in play mode. Adults can face the same problems but with their workspaces in their bedrooms. It makes it hard to shut off at the end of the night.
Dress up clothes, stuffed animals and books are the only kid’s things I recommend having in their bedrooms.
If their bedroom is your only option, then keeping things organized and contained will help prevent a kid room explosion.
Containerizing
Containing toys does not mean buying a bunch of bins and cramming them full of toys. In fact, putting any more than about 2 categories of toys in one bin will make it difficult for them to find what they want. But, more importantly, putting it back so it can be easily found again.
Toys that are contained will also be less visually stimulating and help make the transition to sleep much easier.
Cubbies are a parent’s best friend
Label like it was your religion
Before and Afters
Totally overwhelmed by their room, the mom of these 8 and 10-year-old brothers didn’t know where to begin organizing. We started by sorting all of the various bins and boxes she was using to store the toys.
We also moved the arts and crafts out of the bedroom and stored them in a hall closet closer to the dining room table where the boys did their arts and crafts.
To create more of a visual appeal, we kiddie cornered the book case. We also re-arranged the books by hard books and soft books, making them easier to grab. Activity books such as coloring and sticker books were taken out of the bookcase and added to the arts and craft supplies in the hall closet.
Costumes hanging in the closet were taken off the hangers and put into a drawer under the bed. Kid’s typically aren’t big fans of having to hang things.
To make their toy weapons easier to see, grab and play, we placed them in an upright container.
We put the games and puzzles up on a shelf in the closet. This freed up space on the cubby. This also made it so they would have to ask their parents to get them down, hopefully preventing game and puzzle pieces from being scattered all over the floor.