Organizing Kids Clutter

Kids rooms that are clean start with parental help. Organizing your child’s room can be a challenge, however, teaching them organizational skills will go far in helping them keep their room clean. Here are some common questions I get asked and some simple solutions that will help you along the way!

1) How do I display my child’s artwork?

Displaying your child’s artwork is a proud moment for a parent. Kids come home weekly with new creations they want to show off! Putting them on the refrigerator is okay, but space is limited and it can become a cluttered mess as they tend to get in the way of opening and closing the door and have the tendency to fall off. A fun and simple solution to that would be to get these curtain wires and hooks with a clip, http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60075295/ from Ikea. Not only are they inexpensive, they are easy to install in a child’s room. They also add a decorative touch and it makes it easy for the child to proudly display their masterpieces and also switch them out any time they want! Another easy solution is to find some sort of magnet board to hang up in their room. You can either make one your self by purchasing sheet rock and adding a wooden boarder, or you often times can find them at various stores like Michael’s or Home Goods.

2) Its hard to keep track of all the miscellaneous toys because they end up being shoved in various places and then lost!

This is a perfect opportunity to teach your child that everything has a home. Over the door shoe organizers (found at Bed Bath and Beyond for $20) are a fantastic option for this because they can hold more than just shoes! They are great for storing Barbie dolls, action figures, light sabers, small stuffed animals….the list is just about endless! Once the toy is placed in its home, thats right where it goes after they are done playing with it. That way, next time they want to pull it out, they can easily find it!

3) How do you store and keep track of small toys?

Small toys like Polly Pockets are a child’s dream, but a parents nightmare! They come with a million tiny pieces and different outfits and accessories….it can be somewhat of a headache. A great solution for this is to find a plastic compartment box with adjustable compartments. I found mine at Walmart in the hardware section for $8. Not only can you group like items in each compartment, it teaches the child how to sort! Its a win win situation.

4) Jewelry, jewelry and more jewelry! My teens necklaces are always in a tangled mess and she often times loses one of the pair of earrings! What do you do for that?

Nothing is more frustrating when you go to accessorize your outfit and find that your favorite necklace is all mangled up and you you have no time to fix it. A creative and decorative way to display this would be to get a utility shelf. Rather than using it as a shelf, we converted it into a jewelry holder. It easily holds each pair of dangling earrings and if you buy some S hooks from Home Depot or Lowe’s, you can hook them to the bottom and hang it necklace neatly on there with out them getting tangled up.

5) Scarves. They are balled up in my drawer where I can’t find them or can’t see them.

This is by far my favorite little trick for displaying scarves so you can see them, find them and match them with your outfit. Its a simple trick of getting a hanger (preferably wooden because they are sturdy) and plastic shower rings from Target ($1). Snap the rings on the hanger and slip the scarf through the ring and voila! Hang the hanger up and your scarves will be displayed in your closet. Easy to get to and easy to see!