Organizing Kids’ Spaces

Kid’s spaces can quickly turn into an overwhelming mess. Here are some helpful ways to organize and maintain their space…

• Build Routine: Build a routine for the kids to pick up the space at the same time every day – before naptime, after dinner, before bedtime. This will get the children involved in the cleanup and manages the mess before it becomes too overwhelming overtime.
• Begin Floor Up: Consider where toys and items are placed. Arrange their favorite and most-used items lower to the ground so they can easily play and very importantly, put them away.
• Designate a Space for Everything: Create designated “homes” for items. Show the kids where items belong and get them excited about their “homes”. Then depending on the age, hold them accountable for putting toys back in their correct home. If items are overflowing from their designated space, minimize and downsize what’s there.

• Contain: Use containers/bins to contain items so they can easily be found and accessed. Color-coding and labeling can help!
• Switch Out Items: The more toys the kids have, the larger the mess can get. The kids will find and play with toys more easily if there aren’t as many. Also, instead of having every toy readily accessible in the space, hide some. Every once in a while, switch them out to spark your child’s interest – it’ll keep them intrigued and will limit how many toys they can get into at one time.

• Limit Memorabilia: Children can quickly collect large amounts of memorabilia. Limit the amount to one large box/bin. For artwork, you can try to minimize the amount saved by first displaying it and then disposing, or take a photograph of it and save the photograph, or mail the artwork to a relative.
• Keep Up with the Upkeep: After every large holiday/birthday when new toys are coming in, take the time to re-organize. Move items that belong somewhere else, donate what’s not being used/loved, and throw out broken items. You can use the change in every season as a reminder to de-clutter the space as well.