When a playroom comes to mind, most people think of a room with piles of random toys and objects scattered around. Many households have a common problem: too many clutter in the playroom. As a consequence, the kids take their games and toys to play in other rooms, making more of a mess around the house. This often results in your children constantly losing their favorite toys because they can’t remember which room they played with it in last. Lost toys mean crying fits. Who would have thought that having a cluttered playroom could lead to so many problems? If your children’s playroom is a mess, it’s time for you to make changes and clear it up. Here is how you can declutter and organize the playroom for your children:
C A T E G O R I Z E T H E I T E M S
Decluttering is not something that everyone looks forward to. Perhaps there are mountains of toys and random things in the playroom, but regardless of that fact, you need to find your way in and start working. Look around the room and imagine cutting the amount down by half. Start with the below as your goal.
The first step in decluttering is to categorize your items. Grab some bins or boxes and label them in categories. This means placing like toys with like toys. It is best to get rid of the toys and games that your kids have outgrown or don’t play with anymore. Separate the ones that you will be getting rid of and donate or give them away to your friends’ kids. There is no need to throw them in the garbage if they can be up-cycled.
Once separated, t’s a great idea to divide the toys into different bins, storing a few in your garage, basement, or attic. Once your children are bored with the toys that are currently in the playroom, you can rotate the bins to avoid creating clutter. Keep in mind that you will need to store the old ones when you take out a new bin.
O R G A N I Z E T H E P L A Y R O O M
Try to divide a couple of sections in the room. You might draw a layout of the room and divide it before taking action. Our suggestion would be splitting the room into various zones, for example, book zone, game zone, toys zone, and arts-and-crafts zone. This depends on the size of your playroom and your kids’ preferences. Organize the items used in each zone for your children. If you need extra space, consider putting in some shelving for easier storage.
U S E P I C T U R E S I N S T E A D O F T E X T
If your kids are still unable to read, print out photos of the toys and stick them onto the assigned bins. Tell the kids that they are not allowed to take the toys out of their zones and teach them to put the toys back in the appropriate bin when they are done with them. Having the kids' practice organizing will instill the habit early on and ensure that they maintain the habit well into their later years.
M A I N T A I N C L U T T E R-F R E E D I S C I P L I N E
Once the playroom is organized and free of clutter, make sure that it stays that way. It is best to train your kids to put their toys away and store them in the assigned bins. There is no point in decluttering the playroom if you are going to let the mess build up again because this is not a sustainable way to declutter. Because kids don’t understand what clutter is therefore playing is all they think of, to maintain a clutter-free space you will need to come up with an approach to trick them into organizing. Think of an organization game that you can use to encourage the little ones to put their toys back in the right bins. If they succeed, you can give them a small reward like a cupcake (who doesn’t like that) or a trip to the park. But please no more new toys!
If you’re looking for a Professional Organizer in Houston, TX to help make more space in your home, get in touch with Rescue My Space today! We’re always more than happy to help.