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Get the Kids' Rooms Up to Standards
Kids are often the messiest people in the house. They usually have the most stuff of anyone in the family. They’re constantly on the move, and "keeping things tidy" isn't something that even appears on their radar.
Needless to say, their bedrooms and play areas often look like they've been hit by a tornado. Since big toys, little toys, dress-up clothes, too-small clothes and stuffed animals multiply at an alarming rate, reclaiming order in your children's bedrooms is a real challenge.
Good news — there is some light at the end of the tunnel. Try these easy tips for keeping the kids’ bedrooms from becoming cluttered disaster areas:
- Make them part of the process. The chances of the room staying in order are better if you include your kids in the re-organization process, so don't do it while they're at school. Set a time to work through the process together so that you're both happy with the organization mechanisms put in place.
- Help them help themselves. Be sure that whatever organization tools you put in place, they're age appropriate and something that the kids can maintain on their own. If you're organizing the closet, try hanging the rod a few feet lower and placing shelves within arms reach so they can replace items. Color-coding storage bins for different types of toys will help younger children sort their things. You can also try pasting pictures of the types of items that belong in each bin to the front.
- Shelves and compartments are key. The first step to keeping kids' stuff from taking over is to create spaces that provide storage so that items have a place to live aside from the floor. Stackable storage cubes and quick-install shelves are great storage items to include in kids' rooms to give them a place to store their toys, while still keeping them easily accessible for the next time they want to play with them.
- Vacuum seal storage. Plush toys can be particularly difficult to manage since they're bulky and quickly fill shelves and boxes. If your little one loves stuffed toys, the best thing to do is to periodically remove a few toys that aren't being used often and won't be missed. You can then store them in a Space Bag High Capacity Cube. Once the cube is packed, you can shrink down the contents and store them in half the space.
- Periodic purges. Get rid of any toys that are broken, missing pieces or not being played with on a regular basis. You'll most likely cut the items needing to be organized in half.
- Clothes clutter. Kids outgrow clothes quickly so regularly cleaning out their closets is an essential part of keeping their rooms in order. If you have younger children who will use the clothes later, store clothes in a Space Bag Storage Pack to preserve them until the next one in line has grown into them. If there's only one kid in the family, load up anything that he/she has outgrown and drop it off at your local thrift store.
