De-cluttering Your Kid’s Bedroom

There is never a room large enough to hold all of a child’s belongings. Over the years, children will live in a variety of rooms of all shapes and sizes. There are many ways to keep rooms organised– bins, buckets, baskets, and multiple pieces of furniture in every size and style imaginable, but do they work, and what other ways can a cluttered room be kept neat and tidy?

Evaluate Space

Take a look at your child’s room. Does it appear too crowded, disorganised, or uninviting?

• Too crowded?

Is there furniture you can eliminate?

Nightstands often become a place to drop things and, unless your child needs one for a specific storage or a reading lamp, consider replacing or disposing of it.

Sometimes a smaller bed, day bed, or bunk beds can free up floor space.

If the dresser is too large and has space that is unused, consider a smaller one.

If there is a desk for homework, but your child prefers the kitchen table, consider getting rid of the desk for now.

• Disorganised?

If things are scattered everywhere, the problem may simply be too much stuff and not enough places to store it.

• Uninviting?

If your child does not like their room, they might not care how it looks. Maybe it is time for new and colourful sheets, curtains, and accessories to brighten everything up.

Create zones

When you create zones for different activities – for sleeping, reading books, playing, and dressing – it is easier to organise and avoid messes.  As you create your zones, clean out, pack up, and toss out.

Clothing and Dressing

Start by cleaning out the wardrobe first for a number of reasons.

• You probably will find things stuffed on shelves that you do not need or that can be put somewhere else.
• Your child probably has clothes stuffed in their drawers and under the bed that need hanging. You want the wardrobe to be ready for them.

Usually a child’s room has a wardrobe and a chest of drawers. However, assess the space set aside for clothing carefully. Sometimes the wardrobe that is being used is much too larger – a smaller one would free up valuable floor space and make the room feel larger and less cluttered

Sleeping

Yes, your child needs a bed. The problem is that there is a space underneath most beds which can often go un-Ioved and be misused. Under bed storage is great for stowing away items that aren’t used too often, but still need to easily be accessed. However, it can all too easily be turned into a pit for dirty washing and empty sweetie wrappers to be stored. Make it clear to your child where dirty washing and rubbish belong and that under bed storage is only to be used for important items.

A clean and tidy bedroom will make it easier for your child to relax in. The bedroom should still be used for playing, of course, just make it clear that stuff needs to be tidied away once it has been finished with.

Homework and Studying

Create a love for learning and creativity by having an area designed specifically for homework, reading and studying. Have a table or desk with a good sized work area; drawers, bins and baskets for supplies; and sufficient lighting.

To encourage reading, have a bookshelf for books. For older children, a nightstand and a hanging shelf for books is an excellent idea.

Toys

When you begin organising the play area, consider what your children play with most frequently. If there’s a non-sentimental toy that doesn’t receive a lot of attention anymore, consider encouraging your child if it can be donated.

Your method of organisation is dependent upon the size of the toys and the age of your children. Younger children do well with bins and boxes; older children with shelves.

Organise

Kids beds with built in storage, like cabin beds, are perfect for making organising bedrooms easier.

Plan ahead with handy storage solutions like shelves, drawers, boxes and containers. These are perfect for making sure all of your child’s favourite toys are still accessible without being thrown all over the floor.

Think about the age of your child, too. If they have clothes and toys that they have outgrown but you want to hang on to them, it may be time to store them in the loft.

Once you have the kids’ toys, dressing, and schoolwork zones set up, their bedroom organisation becomes much easier. However, creativity sometimes is chaotic. Try to get your children to put away items as they use them. Ultimately, their room may not be the neatest in appearance to be the “neatest” in their minds.