Kids Week continues with an awesome guest post from Leanne over at Organize and Decorate Everything. Leanne has a great organizing blog and hosts a fun linky party every Wednesday so make sure to go to her blog to check it out. Enjoy her post!
What is the hardest room to get organized and keep organized? In my house, it’s the kids rooms. I’ve found that getting them involved in the planning and getting them to actually help in the organizing is key when it comes to keeping it that way. Over-the-door shoe organizers are the best invention ever! Well, maybe not the best but they’re right up there. We decided they would be perfect for holding Ammon’s favorite action figures and gadgets. Ammon helped me decide which pockets they would go in and then we labeled them.
Since Legos are his favorite toy and he keeps getting more and more of them we had to find a solution for all his instruction manuals. We took a binder and inserted page protectors to hold them all. If he needs one he can just take it out then put it back when he’s finished. He also loves looking through them and deciding what set he wants next.
He wanted some of his finished Lego sets up and out of the way from little hands so I bought shelves from Target and put his favorite creations on them. He has plenty of room to build his sets on the table now. He also loves art so there’s a place where he can display his art from clips and also work on it at the table.
The hanging buckets under the shelves hold crayons, markers, chalk, paint and colored pencils to help with his art projects.
He was constantly building forts in his room so we turned his bunk bed into a loft bed and built a fort under it using a canvas drop cloth as a curtain. He loves to play under there and he’s also had a few sleepovers with his brother there.
Zach has the smallest room in the house so we nixed a dresser and opted for storage units in the closet. His clothes, books and personal items are easy to get too and easy for him to put away, plus I can tell at a glance if he needs to straighten up a little.
He has a clothes bar next to the storage units and I made hooks across from the units for his hats, ties, jackets and belts.
Since he’s getting older he doesn’t have a lot of toys but he still has things that a special to him. I found these bins that fit perfectly under his bed and added chalkboard labels to them. If the contents change he can change the labels.
Drawer dividers work wonders in kids drawers to help them keep things separated and organized. Even if things aren’t folded perfectly at least they’re in the right place and can be found easily.
Emilee’s necklace hang on hooks next to her dresser. They’re easy to get to plus can be decorative.
I used the same shelving units in Emilee’s closet and added the fabric totes to hide the contents. I made labels to make it easy to find what she wants or needs. Rarely used items were placed in crates on the top shelf. Since Emilee helped decide where to store her things she is more likely to put them back and keep things tidy.
The #1 thing in organizing kids rooms is purging. We purge in the Spring and Fall and I like to include the kids in the process. I think it helps things go faster and they get to donate some of their gently used toys, books and clothes to someone who might need or want it.
Thanks again Leanne! Make sure to come back tomorrow for another great guest post.
3 comments :
Some great ideas! I'll have to keep these in mind as my son gets older and his toys become out of control!
I may be late with comment but what I'm doing for Kid's week is reading about the Disney Princesses. I have a sticker album and have to get some stickers. I intend to read about them and study their personalities and put them together. I'm just doing this for the child in me.
Great ideas for organizing all of the kid stuff. I really love the gray bins for under bed storage. Would you mind letting me know where you found them. Thanks!