6 Tips and Tricks To Keep Clutter At Bay in Your Children’s Rooms

Before you allow your children’s rooms to become cluttered with toys, clothing and other things, it’s better to take charge of the situation and get a head start on room organization. There are many tricks that can help keep clutter away while still allowing your kids to have fun with all of their toys. Here is a list of our favorite tips for organizing kids’ rooms below.

1. Invite your child to partake in decluttering

While it might seem discouraging to tackle the clutter, invite your child to help on the project. It will make them less likely to get upset once some toys are let go. Besides, what better start on organization can you give your child but to allow them to partake in this process? Make it sound fun and inviting — just like playing house. If they’re included in organizing their room, they might be more likely to keep things tidy.

2. Recycle, donate or toss

Preparation is key: Make sure you have bags at the ready for toys you want to donate, recycle or simply throw away if they are broken. Broken crayons or toys that are missing important pieces can go in the garbage. When it comes to deciding which toys to donate, it’s a lot easier to discuss with your child and have them imagine how much joy those toys would bring to another child. Apply the same principle when it comes to clothing — donate those items that your child outgrew and only keep clothes that are in good condition.

3. Buy one, give one away

To reduce the potential for clutter, implement the following rule: Every time they get a new toy, they have to give one up. This way, the growing piles of toys in your home will be under control, and it will teach your child to better appreciate the value of things.

4. Use bins and mounted shelves to create an organization system

Create designated spots for every kind under the sun: Bins and baskets can comfortably fit small- and medium-sized toys. Mounted shelves are great for book storage, while hanging nets are especially helpful in keeping stuffed animals off the floors, adding an interesting aesthetic to the room. Whatever organization you and your child prefer, teach them to sort and put their toys away in their designated spot to keep the room tidy on a regular basis.

5. Place a table in the middle of the room

Pulling tables away from walls is another solution to keep clutter at bay in a child’s room. A nice rug underneath helps ground the room and makes it feel cozier. Additionally, this design solves the problem of the big space in the middle of the room, which can become cluttered with toys on occasion. With a small table in the middle of the room, children can move freely around and can play with their friends when they visit.

6. Use self storage

Regardless of where you live, even if it’s a small apartment in Washington DC or Seattle where space is at a premium, there never seems to be enough room for all your children’s belongings. Apartment living is not quite so spacious as living in a house, and they’re not getting any bigger either. Within the span of the last decade, apartments lost about 90 square feet, according to US Census data. This loss equals the size of a bathroom or a small kitchen. When confronted with smaller living quarters, renters are better off turning to self storage to keep some of their children’s belongings or simply to keep some of their belongings and other stuff — like strollers and baby rockers — that might be useful again when the new baby arrives.