Go Organize: Conquer Clutter in 3 Simple Steps (14 page)

Now that you and your child have taken a good look at his or her bedroom and your goals are set, you have the Green Light to take action. Schedule a time with your child to get going. Set your timer for twenty minutes. You will want to work much more than this, but you can make a game out of organizing by seeing how much you both can get done in twenty minutes. Children's attention spans are shorter than adult's, so your child may not be able to keep working as long as you can, but start and finish with him or her, getting his or her input as you go. Get a drink, a snack, your tool kit (see page 22) and your four containers (see page 35).

Start this project when your child is energetic and rested. As with all rooms, start organizing from the inside out. Here's the order I suggest you work in:

 


1. closet
   

 


2. dresser
   

 


3. toys
   

 


4. bookshelves (or any other shelving unit outside of the closet)
   

 


5. desk
   

 


6. under the bed
   

 


7. artwork
   

 


8. treasures
   

Closet

Tackle the closet in sections so you don't get into a project you can't finish in one organizing session. Start with the floor, then the rod, then the shelves.

Tip:
If the closet has sliding doors that always come off the track or make it hard to access parts of the closet, consider taking the doors off and storing them in the garage until the child is older and it is easier for him or her to reach the middle of the closet. You can cover the closet with a curtain rod and floor-length curtains instead of a door.

Closet Floor:
Have your child help by clearing out everything on the floor. Sort everything on the floor into one of the four bins (trash, recycle, donate, or BE). Evaluate each item left over. It should belong in the child's room, but does the item belong on the closet floor? If it does, create a home for it on the closet floor. If it belongs somewhere else in the room, put it in a pile to be put away later.

Now that everything is off the closet floor, what should the floor be used for?

 


• Shoes. Put a shoe rack on the floor or a small shelf or bookcase. Or use a shoe organizer that hangs from the closet rod or the door. Or you can install shelves at the ends of the closet and place shoes on the shelves. You can also use these shelves for folded clothes as well. Evaluate all shoes before you put them back in the closet. They must fit and be in good condition if you keep them. Hand-me-down shoes for another child belong in the BE basket. Place them in that child's room later or in a designated storage area.
  

 


• Clothes cubbies. If your child's room is small, make more space by leaving a dresser out of the room. Place plastic bins (cubbies) for clothes on the closet floor or put a dresser in the closet if there is room. Clothes can be separated by type: shirts in one cubby, pants in another, socks in another, and underwear in another. Or rolling carts that have wire baskets, or those with plastic drawers, can hold clothes. These are portable and lightweight.
  

 


• Storage containers for toys. Use slide-out plastic drawers stacked on top of each other.
  

 


• Laundry basket. Place a laundry basket on the closet floor or hang one from a hook or closet rod. There are cloth and net bags that also work well. Keep it easy and convenient for your child to use. Give the child the responsibility to take his or her laundry to the laundry room. More will be discussed about children's laundry in Chapter 13.
  

Tip:
Be creative. Above the laundry or waste basket install a small basketball hoop (the kind that comes with a suction cup to attach to the wall or hang over a door). This is a fun way to encourage kids to put their clothes in the laundry or trash in the waste basket.

Closet Rod:
Take all clothes off the closet rod. The rods should be placed at a height the child can easily reach. Organize likes together: shirts, pants, dresses, blouses, and skirts. Clothes will hang nicer and the closet will look better if you use all the same type of hangers. It is OK to use plastic hangers for children's clothes as they aren't as heavy and will hang fine on plastic, but avoid thin wire hangers for the clothes.

Have your child try on any infrequently worn clothes to see if they fit. Only replace clothes that do fit and are worn frequently. Does your child have too many clothes? This might be the reason the clothes are all over the floor and there is laundry everywhere. Paring down the amount of clothing your child has will help the child keep his or her clothes put away, and you'll have less clothes to launder.

Put the other clothes in the donate bin if they are still in good condition or in the BE basket if they will be hand-me-downs for another sibling, or in the trash if they cannot be donated.

Closet Shelves:
Take everything off all of the shelves in the closet. If you need more storage space on the top shelf where there is wasted vertical space, add wire racks that can be purchased at your local home store or discount store.

Out-of-season clothes can be folded and placed in labeled plastic bins and stored on the top shelf. Clothes that are too large for the child can also be stored here in the same way. I do not recommend storing toys in clear bins on the shelf as curious children will often climb to reach them. If you do store toys here, put them in colored plastic bins. Label the containers so you will know what is in them. You also can store seasonal sports gear on the top shelf.

Use open bins when storing items on lower shelves for kids. They can see the toys, games, or other items, and it will be easy for them to reach and to put away.

Labeling shelves helps children know where things are to be stored. If they are too young to read, tape pictures on the edge of the shelf.

Tip:
If you have the closet designed specifically for your child's height, be sure it can grow with him or her. The rods, shelves, and other storage features should be adjustable so you can modify them as your child grows.

Dresser

Take everything out of the dresser drawers. Chances are that every drawer has items in it that belong in other drawers. Have the child wipe out the drawers with a damp cloth. Sort all of the clothing by putting likes together: underwear, socks, pajamas, pants, and shirts. Designate one drawer or half of a drawer for each type of clothes. You may want to label the drawers inside or on the edge of the front so your child will know where to put his or her clothes. Dividers or containers inside drawers help keep clothes in their designated places. Look at all the clothes as you put them back and check that they fit the child, that the child likes the clothes, and that the child actually wears the clothing items.

The top of the dresser can be a clutter magnet. Some things that could be kept there are a basket that holds diapers (if it's a baby's room), a family picture, trophies or special awards, a small jewelry box, a souvenir from a trip, and a lamp.

Twice a year, Tammy and her husband had their children gather up toys and stuffed animals they didn't play with anymore. They had a family night where they cleaned the toys and washed the faces of the stuffed animals or dolls (including the clothes if necessary) and took them to a local family shelter. Their kids looked forward to this activity. It taught them about kindness and giving and also reduced clutter in their bedrooms.

I do not recommend putting storage baskets on top of the dresser because little children may try to climb up and pull on them to see what is in them, and they could hurt themselves. Having too many things on top of dressers makes the room look cluttered.

Toys

One key to keeping toys organized is having homes for all of the toys. That means having enough containers to handle all types and sizes of the toys.

Small Toys and Puzzles:
To store puzzles, put a symbol or the same number on the back of each piece for a specific puzzle. If puzzles get mixed up, you can easily separate them by matching the symbols or numbers. Storing them in a sealed plastic bag within the box keeps the pieces together even if the box gets tipped over (just be aware of the choking hazard bags pose). Games can be stored in Game Savers containers and placed on a shelf. I recommend a different room than the children's room to store puzzles and games. Designate a closet or storage container elsewhere in your home for these items. Building blocks and other small toys can be stored in ice cream tubs. Keep like toys together and label everything.

A shoe organizer can also hold small games and puzzles as well as craft items if these items are kept in the child's rooms. Label each pocket to keep them from becoming a catchall and to make it easy for the children to know where to return them after play.

Large Toys:
Toy boxes and large plastic bins work great for storing large toys. If you use boxes and bins with lids, the lids automatically limit the amount of toys in the room. Use bins that stack on top of each other and separate toys by type. These bins can be kept in the closet to free up space in the room.

Stuffed Animals:
There are mesh nets you can attach in the corner of a wall that function like a hammock, and you can put stuffed animals there. They can also be set on shelves that line the walls or hung from a floor-to-ceiling tension pole or from chain clips that are anchored from the ceiling.

Another key to keeping toys organized is to control the number of toys your child has. Set a number that is realistic for the size of your home and storage areas. One way to maintain this number is to donate an older toy each time a new toy enters your home. If you absolutely can't follow this “rule,” store half of the toys and rotate them in and out of the toy box or toy baskets.

Every six to eight months, take an inventory of the toys. If the child has outgrown a toy or doesn't play with it anymore, it is time to donate it. Decide what to get rid of according to what the child plays with and likes, not according to who gave it to them, how much they once played with it, or how cute you think it is. You can donate toys to women's shelters or church groups, or swap toys with friends. If you have other children who may want the toy someday, put it in storage until the other child is old enough for the toy.

If you keep children's toys and other play things in their bedrooms, there are several things you can do to help keep them from becoming just more clutter.

 


• Rotate toys in and out of the toy box. This will make it seem like the child has more toys, and it is like having new ones when toys are swapped in and out. Toys not being used can be stored in covered bins in the closet.
  

 


• Divide all the toys evenly between seven different boxes. Label these boxes with days of the week. Say it is a Monday. Take down the box marked “Monday” and let the children play with the toys that are in that day's box. At the end of the day, the kids put away the toys and tomorrow they play with a completely different set of toys from the “Tuesday” box. On the days they are home all day and can't play outside because of the weather, rotate these boxes every few hours. They will have variety and won't get bored.
  

Tip:
If toys and play things are kept in the family room or in a toy room, the same principles apply. Keep the toys contained in bins, cubbies, boxes, or some kind of sturdy containers. Clear plastic containers or open baskets are what I recommend because it is easy to see at a glance what is in them.

Bookshelves

Take everything off of bookshelves and wipe the shelves clean. Bookcases or freestanding shelves secured to the wall can hold not only books but many other things. Bins or baskets can hold children's craft supplies, puzzles, and collections if these are kept in the bedroom. Containers with lids are nice for pens, colored pencils, beads, and other craft items. An open basket can hold colored or plain paper as well as books. These can be placed on the bookshelves to make it convenient for children to use.

As you place books back on the shelf, make sure the books are age-appropriate and in good condition. Mend well-worn books that are family favorites. If the books have been scribbled in and can't be read, recycle them. Donate books that are no longer read or put them in the BE basket if you are going to put them in another place in your home (storing them for other children or putting them in other bookcases). If your child is an avid reader, get a library card and make the most of it. The library will expose the child to countless titles without cluttering your house or costing you money. When he or she finds a book that is a favorite, then you can buy that book.