Organize Your Life: Decluttering Your Kid’s Bedroom

We get it, kids’ rooms can get messy. Between piles of toys, constantly growing into new sizes of clothes and shoes, school papers and the all the rest, it’s a hard spot to keep organized. We also remember the days of having to clean our own rooms as kids and trying to shove everything and anything in the closet and toy box (that hopefully our parents or guardians wouldn’t check) so we could hurry and do fun stuff like ride our bikes or play video games.

Now that we are grown up and have a lot more practice at cleaning our rooms, we want to share some helpful tips, whether you are a first-time parent or have a full house, to help you organize your kid’s rooms and keep them that way.

1. Take Inventory

First things first, it’s a lot easier to organize when you have less stuff, so start by sorting through all your child’s clothes, toys and random collections with them. Even if you have younger kids, encourage them to be part of the process, like asking them to show their favorite toys so they don’t accidentally get donated.

Divide this step into categories to tackle so you don’t get overwhelmed, like cleaning out their clothes before moving on to books. Have bins separated by action: keep, discard, repair, and donate or sell. Outfits and shoes that they can no longer wear or will grow out of before the next season can be donated if they’re in good condition. Toys, puzzles, board and video games that they no longer play with or are broken go in the appropriate “outgoing” bin. Miscellaneous school papers that they no longer need can be discarded. Of course, feel free to make your own “keep” bin for sentimental items like a first soccer jersey, favorite drawings or books, the plushie they slept with when they were young, etc. You can store these items to preserve them.

Once you have any trash or outgoing items packed up and out of the room, you can then begin to think about organizing what’s left.

2. Use the Walls

It’s time to think vertically. If you have empty wall or door space, there are several storage solutions you can use to tidy up the room, like:

• Over-the-door shoe holders with pockets don’t have to be used just for shoes. You can easily store dolls and small toys, jewelry and hair accessories, Legos by color (Ouch! Definitely don’t want them on the floor), etc.
• Shelves, from floating to DIY spice racks ones, can be used to organize books, records, video games and console controllers, art supplies and more. You can also create a reading nook or corner with shelves on the wall above a soft seating area.
• Netting is a great option for holding plushies and soft toys and keeping them up and out of the way when not in use.
• Hanging racks and magnet, peg or cork boards are also pieces that come in handy. Hang dress-up clothes, jackets and backpacks, and stick race cars, letter and storyboard magnets, artwork and supplies, make-believe toys, headphones, charging cords and more on the walls to save space.
• Folding desks that can be pulled down or put up gives your child’s room some flexibility for when they need somewhere to do homework or be creative but also want extra room to play.

3. Invest in Multipurpose Furniture and Pieces

We’ve recommended with nurseries to choose multipurpose furniture, such as a crib that can convert into their first “big kid” bed or dresser for clothes and a diaper station. We encourage versatile pieces for older children as well.

For beds, you have a couple of routes to take. Loft beds are similar to bunk beds, but instead of the bottom bunk, it can have a built-in desk or an open space that can easily become a play area. You can also get a bed with drawers underneath or cubbies built in to the headboard. If you have already invested in a bed, you can also use smaller, slidable totes to store seasonal clothes or extra play items and then easily pull them out when needed.

Rolling carts and tables with drawers and cubbies can make excellent small desks or work areas while still keeping everything in place. Seating with secret storage like ottomans or benches give your kids more places for things without taking up extra room. You can also buy foam piece sets that can configure into seating like a coach or be rearranged for make-believe play.

4. Give Everything a Place

No matter what ages your children are, teaching them that everything has its own designated place or home will make organization feel more natural to them. Here are just a few storage ideas to make your kid’s room more navigation friendly:

• Have cubbies or baskets for toys, game and books.
• Buy a desktop and drawer organizer if your child has a desk so that pencils, markers and paper all have a spot to neatly go in.
• Label bins clearly, especially for smaller items, so your kids don’t have to drag out everything to find the one toy they want.
• Hang up clothes by type and color so they are easy to recognize.
• Put a clothes hamper in their room so clothes don’t end up in the floor.

These are just some easy tips to help arrange your child’s room in an orderly way. A major plus is that, because things will be easier to find, you won’t be asked where items are as often. Your children will already know where to look.

5. Make a Drop Zone

This is especially great for school-aged children. If you don’t have a mudroom or a specific family drop zone near your home’s entrance or garage, having one in your kid’s room can be really helpful so they can keep track of their stuff. You can have hooks by their door for their backpack and jacket, a rack for shoes, and a cubby or basket with folders ready for school papers and forms. This also a great place to put a hamper or trash can so they can clear out any trash or dirty gym clothes and sports gear that’s ready to go in the hamper.

Once they complete their homework or get any permission slips signed, they can easily put all the needed items back in their backpack for the night, along with packing their gym bag with a clean outfit, water bottles and snacks. This can be a real time saver on those rushed mornings!

6. Schedule Regular Organizational Time

Finally, to stay on top of clutter, make designated organization days part of you and your kid’s routine. Of course, including the kids in your weekly or daily pickups can keep the mess to a minimum, but the bigger organization overhauls are important too. You can do this as often as monthly, seasonally or before times where your child may be receiving more items at once, like for birthdays or at the start of the school year. The schedule is up to you, but the important thing is making it a habit.

Parenting is tough enough without extra clutter. To keep the chaos at bay in your home, check out our complete guide to home organization that breaks down how to tackle the mess room-by-room.