Sometimes I work as a professional organizer. I have a special talent for restoring order in kids rooms. Yesterday morning, I walked into a busy mom’s home with all of my cleaning supplies. She paused her work meeting and led me to the bedroom her son and daughter share, and left me to work my magic. She had no directions for me, just faith in my ability to restore order, and 6 hours to do it.
The floor was covered in plastic confetti, the books on the shelf were all sideways. Folded clothes were piled on top of the dresser. The shared desk had no room to work on or under. There were baskets and bins and toy chests, filled with cars, magnatiles, dolls, plastic toys, sports uniforms, balls of all kinds, games, art supplies, and the occasional half consumed package of graham crackers. You know, the normal make up of any kids’ room. My job was to set it all straight before the kids got back from school.
Categories for Toys
By the end of 6 hours the confetti was gone, and each basket held one category of items. The largest bin held sports supplies and the toy chest held everything car related. Everything was organized into about 7 or 8 categories. Refer to these categories when you go in to create order in your kids’ rooms. Write the categories down in order from most to least. That is, if your kid has tons of art supplies, that category goes first, and the others below it. In the home I organized, th basket/crate categories were:
- Board games
- art supplies
- plastic toys
- plushies
- toys for building
- dolls and accessories
- cars
- sports
Now, consider the storage space in your child’s room. Do you have a toy chest, drawers, underbed storage bins? Write these down in order of size. Now match them to your ordered list. Label them temporarily with sticky notes. When you’re sure of your categories, you can invest in more suitable containers and more permanent labels. This is a good starting point. Over time you can fine tune. And, after you’ve sorted your things into bins, whatever is left over will reveal the adjustments you can make to better suite your child’s room. Maybe you child has no cars, but a lot of toy weapons. A surprising number of kids rooms have a weapons bin or basket.
Other tips
- Set things up for success. The books were all sideways because they shelves were not adjusted to accommodate the many tall children’s books. I was glad I had the time to adjust the shelves to fit tall books so that from that day forward, it would be easy for this busy family to put books away upright.
2. Outsource everything you can. I am always learning. Sometimes I learn how to clean things more efficiently simply by working. Sometimes, I learn from my clients. This mom works hard on her own business, and she values time with her family. There are only so many hours in the day, so she uses a laundry service and hired me to help restore order. We can only be in one place at a time, and she knows this, and makes it count. People often don’t think this way, but she can be proud that she helps to support another family by not trying to take on too much.
3. Another really interesting thing this mom did was simplify her children’s bedding. With stacked bunk beds, and one basically on the floor, she opted out of top sheets. Each child had a bottom sheet and a cozy blankets, plus a backup folded below. This simple choice saves so much time on bed making! And, with a laundry service, it’s not harder to wash the blankets more frequently.
4. Pause the influx. We want to give our children everything they want. Unfortunately, gratifying their wants can sometimes clutter their space. It’s hard to keep up when things keep coming in. Make a plan as a household to pause incoming things during the months you are working to create order in their rooms.
Organizing, cleaning and housekeeping is something I’ve made a study of. I don’t think everyone can or should be an expert. It’s ok to ask for help and hire people to help if you have the means. And, it’s ok when times are hard, and things get a little messy. Or a lot messy. For a while. There is a season for everything, even cleaning and order.
