Home Organization: Kid Spaces
Home Organization Series: Kid Spaces
Hey, mamas! If you’re reading this and have ever struggled with a messy home, unorganized office or general chaos, you are my people! That’s why Restored is bringing you a new blog series on home organization. In this series, we have teamed up with several home organization experts to share tips for spaces where you live, work and play. We want to help you find a cozy place between complete chaos and a some-what organized life with these quick tips and easy-to-digest ideas from professional home organizers.
Kids are, hands down, the messiest family members – but they need space to be kids. That’s why we teamed up with Lisa Menees, professional organizer and founder of S.O.S. by Lisa, to share practical tips that help manage the chaos of toys, art supplies and school work across our collective bonus rooms, play rooms and kid bedrooms!
Meet Lisa!
Professional home organizer and founder of S.O.S. by Lisa
How did you get into organizing: I’m a former elementary teacher (hence my excitement about kids’ spaces), and when we moved to N.C. three years ago, I decided not to get licensed in another state. I’ve always been an organized person, so this seemed like a natural transition to me. My favorite part, that I didn’t expect, is the similarity between organizing and teaching. When I show a client a finished space, and they see the possibilities and potential of the space that they never knew existed, they have the same “light bulb” moment that a child has when they finally understand something you’ve been trying to teach them! That’s the magic that I love!!
What is your most memorable space? That’s a tough question…I guess I would say master closets. I’ve done a few that really stand out in my mind…maybe because most of my clients tend to be women, and a woman’s closet is a very special and sacred space. Seeing the joy it brings them to have a beautifully organized and functional closet makes my day. It’s almost like when her clothes are stored and displayed in a better way, she already feels more beautiful and confident.
What do you think is the hardest space to keep organized? Any space that isn’t maintained! This is the KEY to organization. The things in your home are meant to be needed and used. We don’t live in a museum, so things are going to end up out of place – that’s just life. The part most people forget is taking the time to do the “reset.” Whether it’s 10 minutes at the end of the day to put the kitchen or office desk back in order for the next day, or a couple hours on the weekend, it’s imperative to make the time to do the little reorganizations around the house. Otherwise, it will end up completely unorganized, overwhelming and dysfunctional again.
Check out Lisa’s suggestions for organizing kid spaces!
1. Choose easy-to-use containers - Opt for containers or bins that have wide openings. Whether we like it or not, a child’s method for the dreaded job of “clean-up” is always going to be to scoop and dump as quickly as possible. So, let’s work with that instead of against it.
2. Keep it low - We need to put things at their level, both for ease of finding and putting away, but also for safety so they aren’t climbing furniture to get what they’re after. Use the wall space in the play area or bedroom, whenever possible.
3. Put like with like - This sounds so basic, yet it really is the cornerstone to any organization project. Put all the Legos together in the same place. Maybe not all in the same bin depending on your (or your child’s) stance on mixed sets of Legos, but in the same vicinity, and preferably next to the Lego table.
This is where labels come in. Use picture labels with words for littles and emerging readers, and word labels for older kids. This helps them understand the “systems” in the toy room, it helps keep “like toys” together, and it’s a great responsibility tool as well. Make the categories and labels very simple and very clear. If you make it easy enough for them to use, they have no excuses!
4. Think like a kid - Organizing and putting away is NOT a natural priority for them. Their hands don’t have the dexterity and fine motor skills that yours do. If you have a system that isn’t working, think about why. Is it designed for an adult rather than a child? Is it too complicated? How can you tweak it to make it more effective and reach your goal of the kids being able to clean up the space rather than you?
5. Set up zones for play - To go along with the “like with like” idea, setting up zones helps keep toys from sprawling all over the entire room and/or house. By setting up defined and delineated areas for certain play, the idea is that the books will stay in the reading zone, the play food will stay in the kitchen zone, Legos in the Lego zone, etc. Use the furniture or storage system to define the space. Rugs and play mats can also help define a play area.
6. Give them a place to relax - Kids have so much stimulation in their lives. With the sheer volume of flashing, beeping toys and electronics, it’s no wonder they get crazy. Their brains and bodies are on overdrive, and the play room shows it. Set up a reading corner with a bookshelf, a beanbag chair and a few stuffed animals to read to. Set up a doodle center with some paper and markers, etc. Whatever they like to do, give them somewhere to just chill out when they need a break. And, create those boundaries – we don’t play with trains in the doodle center, and we don’t doodle at the train table. Again, repetition and practice will be key.
7. Teach them regular maintenance - Model for them how to do it. And then make a weekly family game out of it. Do a whole house “reset” together, where they work on the toy room while you work on the desk in your office, etc. This will build their confidence and make them feel like a contributing member of the family in addition to building responsibility. Remember though, small chunks of time and small spaces will be the key to success here. Children don’t have the attention span to spend an hour on the whole room. Give them 15 minutes to deal with just the Barbies, etc.
8. Regular purging and rotation - Periodically bring in a “donation basket” and collect toys they no longer use. Teach them about the less fortunate and let them feel good about giving something of theirs to another child. I recommend purging toy rooms at least every couple of months, but definitely before birthdays and Christmas. You know how many new toys they are going to get, so it’s important to make room for them before they come in the door.
9. Get their input - There is a fine line between including them and letting them run the show, and only you know where that line is with your child. However, if we let them have a voice in some of the little things – where the trains and train table should go, which stuffed animals and books to have in the reading corner, etc – they will be more likely to respect that area, and the systems in place for clean-up. They also may be less likely to resist purging toys if they are included in the discussion and process.
Teaching your children early on about the importance of organizing and maintaining their space will help keep your home in order, and give them the skills to use and build on throughout their lives. There is no reason that this chore should fall mostly on mom and dad’s shoulders. Teaching them responsibility sooner rather than later will be a win-win for all of you.
Stay tuned for more organization tips on other important spaces! Click here to read more from this series!