Welcome to my home organizing Room by Room series! I want to start by talking about young kid’s rooms, infant to middle schoolers. Even if you don’t have young children living at home, these ideas can benefit your visitors and maybe even your business. Personally, I know tons of parents who wish more businesses would adopt more kid friendly environments!
The name of the game for young kids is ACCESSIBILITY. Many items require restrictions, while others have better value when made available. For everyone’s sake, I am going to speak in general terms about how to organize bedrooms for kids and leave specific decisions up to you. I think about functionality first. Are you going to be able to reach clean/dirty clothing from the changing table? In there a place for drinks near the comfy chair? Can the children access things appropriate for them to use alone?
I believe making things accessible and safe for children pays back dividends exponentially. A single step stool, for example, has saved us hundreds of lifts (think less $ spent on chiropractors) and helped our kids accomplish all sorts of other tasks solo. And child gates have saved our sanity more than once.
Our daughters perfectly demonstrated the beauty of kid friendly spaces just the other day. We returned home around 5:20pm after a fun day out with naps in the car. Both girls were hungry, especially Noella who needed a bottle. I wanted to unload the essentials from the car, so I left the kids in the kitchen to wait. Noella immediately started screaming (we call this a hangery fit when hunger and emotion compound). I spent a minute in the garage unpacking. Arms loaded with stuff, I opened the door to find a priceless scene. Annie and Noella were sitting on the kitchen floor together happily munching on baby finger food puffs. Annie declared, “I got us a snack!” I practically cried it was so wonderful. My helpful daughter was able to get a baby friendly snack thanks to my efforts in opening up accessibility for our kids. I feel like this scene could have been an advertisement for creating kid-friendly spaces. The sponsorship line would read, “This moment was brought to you by child focused organizing”. It is great for everybody!
Even though this moment took place in the kitchen, the same concept applies in kid’s bedrooms. First, I consider the purpose of the space. The bedroom is primarily a rest zone, so it should hold items promoting rest and relaxation. For example, I allow our girls to have books, stuffed animals, and dolls in their rooms. But I am stringent about removing stimulating items like high energy toys and electronics.
I could write for days about childproofing, but I will spare you the details. I do feel the need to stress, batteries are one of THE MOST DANGEROUS items for kids. Once a battery has been swallowed there is little anyone can do to prevent death. This is why I am obsessive about removing anything battery operated from my children’s bedroom (a great excuse for eliminating battery operated toys). Beyond this, most childproofing is child led… as in they will teach you (hopefully without too much pain) what areas of the home need adjusting. While child proofing can sometimes feel tedious, it is a huge relief and constant reward to have rooms safe enough to leave your children alone. I am definitely guilty of enforcing extended bedroom time for my own benefit.
For kid’s clothing, I use a clear bin system. I mark each bin with the size it holds and then keep an “outgrown” bin in the closet along with a hamper.Clothes that are too small get tossed in the outgrown bin and sorted when I upsize clothing. I utilize vertical folding and stacking for clothing in the dresser. I donate any clothes that seem uncomfortable or unappealing to help avoid excess. Keeping clothing accessible means kids can help put away laundry and get themselves dressed.
For storing things, I always recommend removing as much packaging as possible (think taking diapers out of their bulky boxes). I also like to store sentimental items on the high shelves of closets. Speaking of sentimental, I advise throwing away most kids art. Here is a great article about it- https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2018/09/throw-your-childrens-art-away/570379/ I only keep art that displays individual creativity and has a strong memory associated with it. Most other art gets displayed on the fridge and then thrown away in exchange for new art.
As children get older, it is wonderful to allow them to set up their rooms as they wish. Occasional guidance can be fun for everyone, especially if they see you organizing your spaces.
After all, “Imitation is not just the sincerest form of flattery - it's the sincerest form of learning.” ― George Bernard Shaw
Love Always,
Meg
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