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25 Kids' Room Organization Tips and Ideas

Child playing in spotless playroom

Credit: @Cherrelllynn

In the eyes of your child, their room is a mighty fortress, an ideal venue for a tea party or game. However, your eyes can clearly see the toys scattered on the floor, costumes and clothing thrown randomly about and furniture overturned or misplaced. 

While the playroom or bedroom is a place to foster creativity, once the fun is over toys should go back in their place. We’ve compiled a kids’ room organization guide to help. We’ll walk through how you can declutter, sort and store your kids’ crafts, toys and clothing. That way, their imagination can run wild while their room stays organized.

Declutter Your Kids’ Room

Folded laundry and toys in bins

Before you get to organizing your kids’ room, you need to start with a clean slate — the keyword here being clean. First, tidy up your kids’ room:

Pick up any trash. Throw away broken crayons, bits of paper and other trash that didn’t make it into the can. Make sure to check under cabinets or beds!

Tighten up their wardrobe. Be sure to tighten up your kids’ wardrobe by going through their closet and identifying things to keep, donate or throw away.

Do a load of laundry (or two). Run everything through the wash including clothing, costumes and even stuffed animals.

Clean the surfaces. Craft time can get sticky. So, sponge away those sticky spots of dried glue or spilled juice for a clean surface.

Now, that everything is picked up and clean, it’s time to put it all away.

Sort Through Toys, Crafts and Clothing

Children’s toys organized in labeled bins

You have a fresh stack of clean laundry, the surfaces are spotless and not a piece of trash is in sight. Next, it’s time to sort through all the things that keep your kid entertained in their playroom. Here are some suggestions on how to sort through items:

Sort by their favorites. If your child loves playing with cars, group all the cars in the same place. That way your child won’t have to go digging through box after box to find what they’re looking for.

• Keep one activity to a crate. It’s best not to mix activities. Instead, categorize games and toys by location (indoor/outdoor) or developmental skill. Once your child is done playing, they only need to put the toys back in one place.

Separate crafts and toys. Between glue and glitter, crafts can get messy. Separate art supplies and toys to avoid a sticky situation

Separate clothing and costumes. To keep organized, separate the two by hanging clothing in the closet and putting costumes into a bin or toy chest.

With everything clean and sorted, organization is the next priority. Using storage solutions and creative organization ideas, you can make sure that your kids’ room stays clean.

Use Toy Storage Solutions to Keep Organized

Toys and books in organized bookshelf

The key to keeping your kid’s room organized is to work smarter not harder. By using storage solutions, you can take a lot of effort out of repeatedly having to clean up. Below we’ve broken down some kids’ rooms organization ideas:

For crafts:

 

Kids’ art easel with painting

Use a cart with wheels. Store all your crafts on a cart that can easily be wheeled in and out of your kids’ playroom without making too much of a mess. This wooden tea cart can serve a dual purpose!

Carry a craft caddy. Use a basket or bin with a handle attached to serve as your craft caddy. Store glue, paper, scissors and all your crafting items in one place that can be effortlessly carried around.

Have jars handy for small things. For beads, pom-poms and other small items that can quickly be lost, use jars to keep organized. You can also use food storage, like these dual compartment containers, to organize small craft items.

Invest in an easel. If your child loves to paint, consider investing in an easel. This art easel includes cups, shelving and can be wheeled around.

For toys:

 

Blue toy chest with toy cars

Use plenty of storage bins. Storage bins are essential for your kids’ room. Any miscellaneous items can be stored out of sight by tossing them into a nifty and neat bin.

Store toys in a chest. A toy chest can also serve as a bench for the room. Linens, bedsheets, toys and clothing can all be stored and stacked in a chest. The Tucker Toy Box is a solid option with longer durability to weather constant use!  

Try modular shelving. Modular shelving is composed of a number of single units ordered in a way to optimize organization. For example, a single cubicle can be stacked to create a make-shift shelf.  This build-your-own-wall system allows for you to choose a specific storage design that fits your rooms’ needs. 

Create a playtable. Invest in a table that can be used for play. That way you can keep your kids’ playing central to one place. The Carolina Grow-with-you Activity Table is a smart solution with adjustable table legs to lengthen as your kid grows. It’s also the perfect setting for a railroad track if your kid likes to play with trains!

For books:

 

Bookcase with stuffed animals

Use a bookshelf. Of course, bookshelves are made for books, so this one seems obvious. However, you’ll want to make the most out of shelving by including some toy bins alongside the books. This bookshelf has ample space for both books and toys alike.

Make a reading nook. Choose a corner of the room to make a reading nook. A comfortable chair and a book rack shelf will make for the perfect storytime place.

Keep books in a reading basket. Another option is simply storing books in a basket. No need to order your books on a shelf according to alphabetical order or by spine height, a basket will do fine if you don’t have a huge library. This basket collection is a good option that’ll pair well with any interior room.

There are plenty of options when it comes to organizing your toys. When picking which option works best for you, consider what toys you have, the layout of your room and what your kid likes to do best.

Save Space in Your Kids’ Room

Spacious children’s playroom

Credit: @brittfullwood

A general rule for organization is the more open space you have, the cleaner your room looks. Especially if your kids’ room is packed with toys, you’ll want to make the most out of every inch of it. Here are some ideas for saving space:

Stack crates. Instead of lining your bins and crates laterally, stack them to conserve space. To pull this space-saving tip off, be sure to buy bins that have lids on them!

Explore multifunctional options. Try a chalkboard wall or a rug that’s also a racecar course. Invest in furniture that can be a game. Nothing like a two-in-one to save space and save cash.

Make use of wall space. Wall shelves or hooks are smart solutions for making use of wall space. 

Reuse and repurpose. Old items you have around the house can be creatively upcycled into functional storage. For example, use mason jars to hold crayons or markers.

Smart organizing and space-saving tips will give the illusion that your kids’ room is minimalistic and spotless, even if you have a whole store worth of toys inside!

Other Kids’ Room Organization Ideas

Color-coded books in navy blue bookshelf

Decluttering, sorting and storing will leave your kids’ room organized, but if you want to go a step further here are other ways you can organize on a budget.

Label everything. Especially if you’re storing things in a lot of boxes and bins, be sure to put labels to easily identify what’s inside. This will make cleaning up and putting away things a breeze.

Color-code things. If you don’t want to label, try color-coding items to keep them organized. This photo ledge not only allows you to categorize items by color, but it’ll also add an aesthetic pop to the room.

With these kids’ room organization and storage tips in mind, you’re sure to create the perfect space that’s functional and fun.

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