16. I Can’t Even Walk in the Kids’ Rooms
Your child’s bedroom was in perfect order when he or she was a baby. You neatly put away his or her clothes every night and picked up any toys and books and placed them on the correct shelf. Before the child arrived you had carefully decorated the nursery to your liking. The curtains, bedding and pictures all matched and it was a peaceful, beautiful room. Then your child grew up. Toys and knickknacks accumulated, posters and unrecognizable artwork appeared on the walls, shoes and socks are forever strewn, and you can’t see the rug through all the toys that lie there. Now you just want to close the door and forget about that room!
When I think of really difficult children’s rooms, there are a few that come to mind. I hate to say it, but it’s the smart, creative children who are the hardest to organize. So take heart: If your child’s room is a mess, chalk it up to creativity and intelligence! One room I can think of belongs to a boy whose parents did not own a TV. In his spare time, this child made art projects, read books, did puzzles and played games. (All the wonderful, mind-stimulating stuff our children should be doing!) To make matters worse, their house did not have a playroom, so any organizing solutions had to be implemented in his small bedroom.
Think about what activities take place in your child’s bedroom. It’s a place for him or her to sleep, but it may be more. Like the child in my story, it may also be the playroom, the art room and the reading room. As your child grows older it is a place where he or she can display his or her personality. Once you have the functions, use my Room Organizing Worksheet (page 187) to answer the following questions.
What do you like about the room currently? You may like the furniture and décor in the room but you just can’t appreciate it through all the mess. Perhaps you like the size of the room or closet, or maybe there’s a particular feature of the room that you like, for instance a window seat. Make sure you keep or enhance the positive aspects of this room as you organize.
What don’t you like about the room currently? Most clients I have worked with point to the amount of stuff that fills their child’s room, or to the fact that everything is out and nothing gets put away. Whatever it is that you don’t like about this bedroom, make it the focus of your reorganization efforts.
What’s in the room now? Here’s where we get into categories again. If everything is everywhere, begin to make piles on the floor or bed so you can assess what’s in this room. Take heart, it will all get put away as part of your organizing project! Some typical categories are:
Purge: Look at the categories and pull out anything your child doesn’t use or wear anymore. These items can be donated to a charity or handed down to another child. Also get rid of anything that is broken and clothes that are not wearable. Box up these “purged” items and move them out of the room. Then look at your remaining piles. Is there too much of one category? Reason with the child to let go of some things, or decide what the child won’t miss and purge it. Refer back to the chapters in Part II for more details regarding clothes, toys, paperwork, memorabilia and collections.
Absolute of Organizing: Keep purging simple with “Yes” and “No” piles.
Rearrange: I recommend organizing from big to small. Now that you have categorized and purged, take a step back and look at the big picture of your child’s room. You may even want to use boxes to remove everything to see the whole room without the clutter. Now you can assess your furniture situation.
What, if anything, needs to be added to the room? Do you need to hire someone?
Absolute of Organizing: Start with a good list.
Now comes the fun part—you get to go shopping! There are so many options with the Internet, catalogs, second-hand shops and home stores that it doesn’t have to be an expensive trip. I believe it’s best to know exactly what you’re looking for before you go shopping. If your child’s room has white furniture and you need to add a desk with some drawers, shop for a white desk with drawers. It’s also good to think long-term. If you invest in a full-sized dresser now instead of a tiny baby dresser, you won’t have to buy new furniture in five years. And if you purchase a big bookcase now, you can use it for books and stuffed animals. As the child grows he or she can add more books and perhaps keep trophies on top. The fact is, your child is going to grow and change but the room will stay the same size. Maximize the storage possibilities now so you will have room for the big items later.
Now that you have identified the categories of what stays in the room, and you have the furniture and containers that are necessary, it’s time to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Take the most important categories— the things your child uses every day— and find a convenient home for them. Things that are not used every day can go on higher shelves in the closet or tucked away in bins with lids. Display items that should be seen and not played with can be placed on a wall shelf.
As you arrange the furniture and containers in the room, remember to keep some open space so the child can stretch out on the floor to read or play. A little open space is good for the mind. If he can’t move freely in his bedroom, the child may feel frustrated or stifled. If it’s a room that is that full of stuff, you really need to think about what you can move out. You may even consider renovations to create more space.
Children’s Bedroom
By purchasing containers you are limiting how much stuff your child keeps. If you give him or her a shelf for display items, then once that shelf is full, that’s it! Don’t fall into the habit of simply buying new display shelves whenever the old ones are full. Instead use the “full-barrel” method—once it’s full, clean it off. If your child accumulates little figurines or pieces of nature frequently, you may want to help him or her change the display shelf on a seasonal basis. Just like changing the artwork on your refrigerator door, you have to keep it fresh so it doesn’t get cluttered.
Absolute of Organizing: Subtract before you add.
Once your child’s room is organized, someone will have to keep up with it. Hopefully that someone is not always you, Mom. Even little children can have a hand in keeping their rooms straight. Remember the daily routines we established in the time management section of this book? The children can pick up their clothes and make their beds in the morning, and then put their toys away in the evening before bed. The simpler the clean-up instructions, the better they are. Every morning, I can be heard saying, “Clean clothes in the drawers, dirty clothes in the hamper.” Likewise I say every evening, “Put your books on the book shelf and toys in the toy box.” Now doesn’t that sound simple? Even a three-year-old can follow simple instructions. Avoid saying things like, “Clean up this room,” especially to young children. It’s overwhelming to them and they might just fight back or think, “I can’t do that.” Giving specific instructions that sound easy to do will help them say, “I can do that!”