My daughter's room

 
 

Tips for organizing a kids room

  • Empty out drawers and containers
  • Clean surfaces, and toys that need it
  • Organize toys into piles 
    • Put away those that are broken, missing pieces, or not used any more
  • Place toys in boxes or drawers
    • Soft boxes, and/or fabric in the bottom of drawers or hard boxes
  • Labels boxes with text or pictures
  • Toys of sight when not used, for a calmer atmosphere before bedtime 
    • We leave out books and puzzles

Other tips that help our everyday life

  • Toddler alarm clock
  • Interactive calendar
  • Large, thick rug
  • Curtains that keep out light
  • Pick up toys every day

How I organized my daughter's room


I took a whole day (with help in the beginning) to get my daughter's room in order. It was pretty well done before, but since shes gotten older shes gotten more toys, some toys she doesn't use anymore, and she had the same amount of toys in her previous room - but with built in storage. She also decided to help the process a few days ago by emptying out all of her boxes so that "now we have boxes to organize in!", Which meant much of it was just mixed up and we really needed to start from the beginning. 

The first step for me usually is to empty out everything, (but maybe not into one big pile) rather than doing one drawer or shelf at the time. Sometimes its easier to see things that might go together better if there's a blank slate.We sorted all of the toys into smaller piles - toys that are broken, not used or missing parts will be put away to either fix, donate or toss. After which things will be placed into boxes according to how they are used. During the part where we put all the toys into their boxes the camera slipped, and we filmed our ceiling instead.

I'm usually very minimalistic when I decorate, but in a kids room I think there are more important things. I try to organize her things by how and when she uses it. For example books and puzzles should be quick and easy to get out, since this is what she uses before bed. Her toys should be easy to put away and organized in a way that she can understand and keep using on her own, and what toys she will use together. Doll clothes with doll blankets, cooking utensils with her "food", and the small cars she likes to drive on train track will be sorted with the train set instead of with the rest of her cars. 


When organizing its important to consider who uses the space, how and why.

 

For organizing toys specifically I used soft boxes made out of felt in different sizes. She can't break them if she sits on them, puts toys inside that are too big, or even wears the smallest box as a hat. Toys (like her legos) that she has to much of  to fit in the boxes I'll put directly inside the drawers, but I'll line the drawer with a thick towel (any fabric would work). Both the lined drawers and the felt boxes helps keep the noise down, since we live in a small apartment and my husband has tinnitus, noise is something we try to keep down when possible. This way it doesn't limit her playing at all, but it helps may husband greatly. This is also why she has a large thick rug to play on.

To make sure things stay organized I like to label everything. I've used pictures before but since my daughter has started to read I'll use text this time. I also find that taking the time print out labels makes us stick to the system better. I do the same thing in the kitchen. 

I always try to keep toys out of sight when their all picked up. This is something I feel helps her settle down for the night, as we make sure to pick up all toys daily. After dinner we try to keep things limited to reading books, coloring, puzzles or other similar activities. We do have some stuffed animals in her window, since we pull her curtains every night i don't want things in her window that's breakable and she can's see the toys anyways since their behind the curtains for bedtime. She actually has double curtains, which makes her really dark.

I don't only try to organizing the things we have, but our life in general. For example my daughter has a toddler alarm so she knows when its bed and when to get up. She got the alarm when she was 2 years old, and since we got it we haven't had any conflict on whether she can stay up later. I also made her a interactive calendar, where she can keep track of the days she has preschool, what day it is, month and season. We also has a "letter of the day" and a "shape of the day" that goes on the calendar. 

Instead of focusing on the room looking perfect it is meant to fit her. There needs to be space to play, and she needs to feel like she can make a mess when she wants to.

I hope you like the pictures, we are both really happy with the result, and had a great time getting it done. Even if one of us got bored and went to color in the kitchen after a while...

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