Organizing children’s bedrooms can be tedious job. The moment a room is cleaned up, the mess and clutter will start piling up. A little re-organization within the room may help. Here are some practical tips to help parents organize and maintain kids’ rooms.
Plan the Bedroom Set-up with the Child
Every mum knows that setting up and redesigning a child’s bedroom is one thing, keeping it clean and tidy at all times is quite another. More often than not, the mum ends up tidying it repeatedly. A good solution to this problem is to get the child involved from the very beginning. Get the child’s opinion on how the room should look like. Does she prefer a Disney Princess theme or a Hello Kitty theme? Is pink okay or would she prefer purple? If the child has a say in the bedroom set-up, she is more likely to want to keep it nice and clean.
Pick the Right Bedroom Furnishings
Children outgrow everything fairly quickly, including bedroom furnishings. While a small bed with a cute Barney design is appealing to a four-year-old boy at the moment, he may be embarrassed to be seen sleeping in it a couple of years from now. Plus, he will need a bigger bed by then too!
So be practical. Choose a bed with a timeless and classic design that is appropriate for various stages of childhood. Also, allow some space for new furniture such as a computer desk, a dresser or more storage units in the room. If all the furniture has a classic look, it’s easy to mix and match them through the years.
Have Ample Storage Solutions
Toys and stuffed animals don’t seem to have a place of their own in a child’s room. A child is likely to dump everything in the toy box in the attempt to locate one single toy. And once the object is found, he’ll happily leave the other toys in a messy pile! It’s little wonder that children often run up to their parents and ask where a particular toy has gone too.
The solution is to organize toys into smaller groups and use many different smaller containers to store them instead of dumping everything into one big toy box. Use plastic containers of varying sizes with lids. Label each container clearly. If the child can’t read, stick pictures or icons on the containers to indicate what items should go where. Train a young child to always return a toy to where it should be after use.
Organize Children’s Clothes
Try to adapt the existing closet and drawers to make it easier for children to reach for their clothes. Use a second rod at a much lower height to hang children’s clothes. If there are drawers in the child’s bedroom, put clothes that are frequently worn at the lower drawers, leaving the upper drawers for other less commonly used items. Hooks should also be mounted at the child’s eye level. And if possible, get a small hat rack for the child to hang up hats and coats.
Organizing children’s bedroom does take some thinking and planning. Try to plan the bedroom set-up with the child to encourage her to keep it clutter-free. Also, choose bedroom furnishings with a classic and timeless design. Then make things easier for the child by having ample storage solutions as well as adapting closets, drawers and hooks.
Those who find this article useful may also like to read Get Organized at Home and Organizing a Home Office.
Wei Yin Wong - I started my working life as a reporter at an English daily called The Sun in Malaysia 16 years ago, writing health-related articles. ...
