Too much stuff in your child’s room? Does it look like a hurricane blew through?
Try the following tips:
- Many items can go on shelves, hang on hooks, or in containers on a desk or tabletop. To keep things looking neat and orderly, get your children to arrange their books neatly, toys can go into boxes (that fit under the bed) and hats can be hung on a peg, on the wall. You can also place smaller items into baskets or plastic boxes for a neat look on shelves.
- Clothes should be placed into the closet. Ensure that your items used frequently up such as socks are accessible to your children.
- If the closet is small, look to furniture pieces for storage space. For example, a cradle is a great home for a collection of dolls/stuffed animals, an armoire offers both hanging space for clothes, shelves, and drawers for smaller things.
- Find areas away from the bedroom for storing sports equipment, or treasured school and/or artwork. Depending upon the frequency of its use, the sports equipment could be placed in the mud room, by the back door, or in the garage. If you are living in an apartment and you don’t have a garage, you can hide sports equipment and/or shoes in a bench that has a flip-up lid for storage.
- Items that are used infrequency could be stored under the attic, under the stairs, in a garage, or in the basement. Use weather-tight storage containers to protect items from moths, mildew, or dust.
Has your child outgrown clothing? If you’re not sure, it’s time to go through the room, with him, and filter out the items that no longer belong. Outgrown clothes can be given to a sibling, sold at a consignment store, or donated.