So, back in April I admitted that I am a victim of Situational Disorganization. If you haven’t read that blog post, let me tell you that I had foot surgery in December and am still recovering.
I am happy to report that I have taken back control of my son’s playroom! Over Memorial Day weekend, I found a bit of time when I would be A-L-O-N-E in my house. That rarely happens so I decided now’s the time to tackle the plastic crap that has been breeding (and I’m fairly certain multiplying) in the playroom. As an Organizer, I would never tell a client that they had to get rid of any of their belongings; however, I will encourage them to do so if I think it’s necessary to achieve their goal of less clutter. Before my son, ahem my client in this case, headed off for the day with his aunt, I took everything out of his playroom (he helped) and put them in similar piles in the room adjacent to this playroom. We then went through each of the piles and he decided what he wanted to purge. I was proud of him because he had to make some tough decisions! At the ripe age of 5 years and 9 months, he had to decide if he wanted to keep or purge possessions such as his Paw Patrol Collection (he decided to purge) and random treasures that he accumulated from various birthday parties (aka made in china plastic crap that whistle, clap, make bubbles, and bounce). He agreed to sell a few things, trash a few things, give a few things to our teacher friend for her classroom, and donate some toys to kids that are less fortunate.
Then he left and I got busy sorting and finding proper homes for his stuff within the playroom. It took several hours to transform his playroom but I did it. I really thought about how he plays and what he plays with, in order to put things back in a logical manner. Clearly, his tastes and interests will change so we’ll need to visit the playroom on a regular basis to make sure that toys and items are being used, or purged appropriately.
Right now, school is a big focus! I placed all of his books, pencils, craft items, paper, and learning books in the middle sections of the cabinet. They are the main focus and he can quickly go to them when he needs to do homework or projects. He also loves to put together puzzles and play board games. I placed all of them in one section of the cabinet from top to bottom. That way, he can easily see what he has and make a selection. One thing that I’ve never done in his playroom (but yet do this with almost every client I have) is label shelves and bins…Duh! I believe that this will make a world of difference in maintaining the playroom. Not only can my son put back the toys where they belong, but anyone helping can as well.
The result: My client is very happy with the end product. He can easily see what he has and now that there are labels on the shelves and bins, he promised me that he will keep the room picked up. We’ll see!!
Tips:
- Place items in locations where your child(ren) will play with them. If you want them to gravitate toward a certain item(s), then place them at eye level.
- Keep messy, loud, or items that you want to supervise while they play with them out of reach. For example, paint! It’s wonderful to let them be creative with paint, but you wouldn’t want your little artist to create a masterpiece on your newly painted wall while you’re in the other room cooking dinner.
- If you have the space, consider rotating toys every few months. This will keep the kiddos entertained with what they have, and when they get bored, you can bring out new toys and put the old ones away (or better yet….purge them!). This will also help keep the space organized and uncluttered.
- Label, label, label! Labeling is so important. It helps little ones maintain their space. If your little one doesn’t yet read, then attach pictures of the items that belong on each shelf or bin (i.e., balls, books, games) so that they have a visual of where everything belongs.
