How to Organize a Kid’s Playroom

By Kathi Burns, CPO

Children’s toys are hardly contained in a single room of the house. Most families can find Legos, Polly Pockets and other small toys in just about any part of the house. Every once in a while, it is a good idea to sift through your kid’s older or currently less interesting toys, especially near the holidays.

Here are some easy steps that you can take to subdue the toy mayhem and create a tame toy situation in your home.

Start by sorting out the toys that your child no longer plays with. You might want to do this without them around. There will be less items that “you just can’t throw away,” if they aren’t around to claim that they “still need it.” Throw away or donate the extra toys that don’t get much attention any more. When donating, it is actually a positive thing to involve your child in because it can teach them about giving.

Whatever you do, get everything off of the floor. You want your children to be able to play in their “playroom,” so it makes sense to clear the space of anything they won’t use. For example, if there is large, old, unused furniture in the room, take it away so they can have more room to play there.

Storage is the next issue. Sometimes too many containers can be a problem. Without organization, toys will just get dumped in bins that will only end up emptied on the floor when you child wants that certain toy “now.” Here are some storage tips:

-Install shelving that maximizes wall space
-Buy small, sturdy bins or boxes that younger kids can carry
-Hang canvas shoe bags on the wall or door to store smaller toys

Using smaller containers rather than larger bins makes it easier to organize the toys and it is less of a chore to find the specific little items that you kids want to play with at any given time.

The next step is to sort and label all of the shelves, bins or boxes. Assign each toy a place and have your child put the toys in their place when they are done. You can use words along with icons/pictures to help younger children remember what goes where. If you find that label stickers are not staying, use luggage tags for the labeling.

Make use of hooks. Place the hooks at lower levels so that your children can reach them. This is where you children can hang up costumes, hats, and backpacks (like in a classroom). You can also put canvas bags on these hooks to store toys.

Creating designated sections of the room for certain kinds of play is also a great way to organize the playroom. If your child likes to finger-paint, keep all of the paper, paint, and other art supplies at the art table. Keep the play food in the kitchen area, for another example. Keep all similar toys in the same section to make organization simpler for you and your kids.

Once you have created homes for every toy and weeded out the abandoned ones, your goal will be to keep it orderly and under control. It is never to soon to begin teaching your children how to put things away or to learn how to sort ‘like with like’. If you use the words ‘take it home’ as opposed to ‘put it away’, you might find less objects stashed under the bed or under the bathroom sink. There is no question where the ‘home’ is if you have created one and gained agreement to it’s permanent location. Have fun and get your kids involved so you can maintain order in the playroom!

Kathi Burns is a Board Certified Professional Organizer, Image Consultant and author of How to Master Your Muck. Her website addSpaceToYourLife.com, is known for it’s straightforward organizing advice and simple solutions for home and business. Kathi has been featured on Good Morning America, Better Homes & Gardens and is a regular contributor to the NBC Morning News. Get your free report: 33 Ways to Master Your Muck when you visit
http://www.addspacetoyourlife.com/ and request eTips.