Organize Kid's Bedrooms

How in the world do you organize kid's bedrooms? Kids and clutter just go together. If you have kids, you're at some point going to have clutter. Some kids generate more clutter than others. For instance, all my kids tend to produce clutter from papers to books to toys, but one of my kids is a real pack rat. I literally have to go through her stuff twice a week to keep it under control. So, is the clutter really their fault or ours?

As parents, it's our responsibility to teach our kids how to keep their bedroom clean and from there, we can blame them if they don't keep them clean!

Before you begin to organize kid's bedrooms, look at things through their eyes. Get down on their level and look at how they see the world. Move stuff to their level so it's easy for them to clean up.

Kids are more apt to clean up after themselves if you make it fun and easy. Turn it into a game… my toddler loves to sing the “clean up” song by Barney.

Kid's Closets

For great ways to organize your kid's closet, please see my link to organize your kid's closets.

Books

I found my little ones would accidentally tear a lot of the paper pages in their paper books, so I keep these books on bookshelves they can't reach. I pull them down and read these to them rather than letting them leaf through them.

For little ones under three, store picture books (which can't be torn) in easy to reach canvas book cases.

Furniture

Don't buy kids new furniture unless for safety reasons you will need to purchase a new crib, same goes for bunk beds.

Bed - Convertible cribs are nice, but my kids have gnawed the finish off their cribs teething, so they don't look too attractive anymore. Teething kids can do a lot of damage to furniture.

When your child moves to a "big kid's bed", purchase second hand beds and refinish or paint them. Keep in mind when you make the step up from a crib to a "big kid's bed" what your kid will grow into. This way you won't have to purchase another bed when they hit the preteen years.

Store stuff under their beds. Under bed storage has taken off and you can now buy rolling carts, plastic containers, pretty baskets, and metal bins. Everything from toys to out of season clothes can be stored under the bed.

Desk - Purchase second hand desks and paint or refinish these. Look for a desk that will be functional now and in the future. A simple desk with a drawer in the middle to store supplies and drawers on the side for their binders and extra paper works fine. You want your kids to have everything accessible when they study so they don't have to get up to grab something.

You can use a regular farm table with a drawer in the middle for supplies along with a couple of chairs for two kids sharing a desk.

When I decorate kid's bedrooms, I always look to the future and how our lives may change. For instance, will my kid need a twin or double bed. Are they an avid reader and do I need to purchase more bookshelves? Think about how your lives will be five to ten years from now and what will work for your family then. This process will save money as you won't have to make many changes later on.

For great tips to save money on kid's furniture, see my link to Cheap Furniture Finds.

Toys

Organize toys by keeping them in storage bins such as metal trash cans with lids (new please), baskets, hampers, shelves, plastic tubs. For smaller toys with a lot of pieces such as Baby Beads and Mega Blocks, I like toy bins like this one pictured below.

Stacked plastic drawers with rollers work great to organize toys and kids love to roll these around when it's clean up time.

If you have kids under and over three, toy storage can be problematic. It's problematic because the little ones can choke on the big one's toys. My solution is to store the older kid's toys in plastic containers such as shoe boxes or Ziploc containers and allow them to play with these when the younger ones are taking a nap.

Label containers to make clean up easy. For younger children that can't read yet, draw pictures and place on storage bins.

Remember that organizing kid's bedrooms is a work in progress. I go through toys occasionally and organize them putting pieces back with the right toy. Be flexible and make needed changes as your children grow. Always look at things from their point of view and organize their rooms to suite their needs.

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