Conquer Kid’s Room Clutter

Baskets

Clothing:

In your child's room have a grow into and out-grown bin. Having these things easily accessible will not only make you feel like an organized bad-ass, but it will prevent a build up of clothes piles that will taunt you until you eventually have to give in and sort through them. No matter if you are donating the clothes, having a garage sale, or keeping them to hand down, always put the clothes in the bin clean and folded. When taking out-grown clothes from the room, bag like sizes together or put a post-it on the top of each pile in a box.

Toys:

Organizing toys can feel like sweeping a dirt floor but baskets can help. For infants and toddlers, try the grow into and out-grown bins for toys too. For this young age, I also like to organize toys by colour. This not only builds visual perception but also helps in memory skills. As kids get older, group toys together by type (Legos, dolls, etc.)and label the baskets. Having like items together makes it easy to rotate toys through making them feel new and exciting. The last bin each kid should have is a "treasure chest" or "memory box" a place to keep extra special items safe without the clutter.

Hooks:

In all of my time as an early childhood educator and mom, I have not seen a single child who loves to use a hanger. Command strip hooks can be placed at child's height for their bookbag, coats, dress-up clothes, towel, or favorite sweater. And while you may find sometimes the hooks are empty, you can always take 30 seconds before bed or in the morning and you and your child can race to see who can hang up items first (I like to use their age 5 items each for a 5 year old). Modeling this behaviour for children and engaging with them in it helps cement it as a habit that will hopefully become second nature.

Habits Not Chores:

Trying to make your child clean their room can be one of the most frustrating things as a parent. By creating a designated, easy access home for everything, you make it second-nature for your child to put their stuff away. Laundry - if your child likes to pile clothes that have been worn but they're going to wear again in with their dirty clothes, get a wear again basket. Garbage - Kids accumulate a lot of garbage. They should have their own bin that they empty when the house garbage gets emptied.

Horizontal Space:

This is true for adults and children alike, if there is an open flat surface, we will put stuff down on it. Minimize clutter build up by using décor or pictures on shelves and tables. If there isn't an easy place to just throw it, your child will be more inclined to put their toy away in it's easily accessible home.

Donation:

The more stuff children have, the more stuff they have to manage. This can be overwhelming for children especially if they are prone to sensory overload. While it is nice to keep every stuffy they ever received, it just isn't practical. It is also tough, and wasteful, to throw out items that were bought for them. A great way to pare down the clutter is to explain that you will donate the items they no longer play with to children who aren't as fortunate as them. Local women's shelters and the YMCA are great places to donate gently used items.

Do you have any other questions about your kid’s room? Reach out to us at enhancedhomedesign@gmail.com