By Jackie Leffner
Following up on our last blog post, this week our home organization tips will be focusing on organizing kid’s bedrooms. Now that the kids are home more often, their rooms can become a disaster zone extremely quickly!
When tackling your kid’s bedroom – I want you think to approach it with a long-term plan rather than a deep clean all at one time. To have your kids be engaged, break the organizing tasks into several days and keep the tasks short. This will help make sure they do not feel overwhelmed by the tasks, and they may even enjoy it 😊 One day you may do a drawer or two, one day you might go through their clothes, etc. Just make sure that you are keeping the tasks do-able!
Let your kids help to decide what to keep and what to give away. Depending on your family, you could even incentivize the process and double down to incentivize keeping their room organized. Can you say ice-cream treat if they fill a garbage bag of donation clothes? 😉
Where do we start?
Clothes:
As professional organizers, we often start with the closet and wardrobe items. We always recommend completely emptying a space before trying to organize it. If you do not do this, you cannot see what you really have and what space you are working with.
Step 1: Pull Everything Out.
Step 2: Go through the clothes to see if there are any obvious tears or stains (or an outfit you REALLY do not love that your kids have).
Step 3: TRY ON TIME! Have your kids try on everything else. Make sure they feel comfortable in the clothes and that they fit. If it does not pass that test, then it goes into the donate bin.
Step 4: Put It Back. Have your kids be involved in putting their clothes back so the organization makes the most sense to them! It could be hard to not takeover or do it the way YOU think it should be done – but remember, this is their room and if they help decide how it is organized, it will stay that way for longer 😊
Toys:
Are there toys your kids like to have in their room? Do they have a home in their room, or have they slowly made their way in there from a different area of the home? The first question is – do you want them to have toys in their room? If yes, then there needs to be a designated location for them. We highly recommend colored bins so they can easily identify where different items should go. Let them go with you to Walmart, Target, or the Container Store to pick out their own colors! It will make the organization a fun task for them.
Bed:
Making your bed in the morning has proven to be a GAME CHANGER for bedrooms. Take the time to teach your child how to make their bed appropriately and then make sure it is on their daily chore list every day. We have found that children who make their bed every day have cleaner bedrooms overall. It starts their day putting their organization and cleanliness at the top of their mind and encourages them to do a “quick pick up” of the rest of their room without you needing to tell them. Make it make sense and set expectations appropriately, but if they know how to make their bed, it will set them up for success the rest of the day.
Not sure you want to be the one to tackle this room with your children? Reach out to schedule your complimentary consultation with one of our professional organizers today! Meat and Potatoes Organizing has experience working with kids to implement effective systems that make both parents and kids happy 😉 We would love to help spark joy in your everyday life by transforming your home into functional, beautiful spaces, one area at a time.
