Organize Blog » Spring Organizing: Utilizing A Child’s Space to Its Full Potential

Spring Organizing: Utilizing A Child’s Space to Its Full Potential

Having a professional housekeeper on staff 365 days a year would be a wish come true for some, and a giant time-saver. Well this is usually not the case for most of us, so while Organize.com gives you all the tools, I want to give you the savvy strategies to make spring cleaning fun and easy. To help out, I would like to introduce Stacey L. Crew, an organizing expert who provides moms-to-be, new moms and busy women with real simple, real life solutions to their organizing challenges. Today she talks about how spring cleaning involves organization, especially in the kids’ rooms. Read on to find out about her fail proof system for implementing and maintaining organization…

Spring Organizing: Utilizing A Child’s Space to Its Full Potential
By Stacey L. Crew

Are you overwhelmed by the simple thought of organizing your child’s bedroom? Do you avoid sifting through the mass of toys and books because it just feels like too much and you don’t know how it got out of hand? These are common frustrations among parents who are attempting to keep their childrens rooms neat and organized. However, organizing your child’s bedroom doesn’t have to be a dreaded project. And once it’s decluttered and organized, it will be much easier to maintain.

Begin by using the kindergarten classroom as your guide. Why? Well, kindergarten classrooms are generally set up by zones, which make it easy for kids to understand the function of the area and where to put items back once they’re done playing with them. Essentially, everything has a place. Common zones in a child’s bedroom include sleeping, playing, dressing and reading. Zoning the space will make it easier to return things to their home when it’s time to clean up. You can also reduce clutter on the floor by utilizing vertical space on the walls and in the closet. Here are a few solutions that you can actually accomplish on a Saturday morning.

1. Utilize vertical space
A book rack hung on the wall will contain your child’s favorite books and minimize clutter on the nightstand. Attach a lamp to the wall and your further eliminating clutter. Just remember that you want to place things at your child’s height.

2. Under the crib/bed storage
Instead of allowing the space under the bed to become a haven for odds and ends your little one might toss underneath, utilize this space for storage of extra blankets, smaller stuffed animals, or clothing that they have yet to grow into. Be sure to store items that wouldn’t be hazardous to your little one if they managed to pull them out.

3. Outfit the closet with organizers
Vertical storage is lost in many spaces, especially the closet. Keep toys on the lower shelves, use upper storage for clothing, memorabilia, and extra items you don’t want your child to get their hands on.

4. A hamper is a must!
A hamper is a great way to contain dirty clothing and teach your little one where to toss the items so they get washed.

5. Hooks on the back of the door to hang backpack and towel
Placing hooks at your child’s height will help them utilize them to eliminate clutter on the floor. Make a pact that at the end of the day, stuff is put away and hung up before reading a night-time story.

A few additional strategies for today’s busy mom:
•    Rotate toys/books—Too many choices? Put 50% of toys away for the time being. When you pull it out again, it will be like newfound goodies! (Remember to put 50% away, when you pull out the 50% from storage!).
•    Don’t accept other people’s stuff for your child unless you have the space to incorporate it—Learning to say, “no thank you,” will help you reduce clutter in all areas of your life.
•    Eliminate excess—If you’re asking why your child isn’t playing in their room, it may be that there are just too many choices.
•    Contain everything –If everything has a place this will simplify the clean up process too.

I hope these helpful words of wisdom help to cut the clutter and freshen up the kids room to bring on spring!

My Favorite Thing:

Nothing makes cleaning more enjoyable than having great smelling products. A few to must haves for this year are the Caldrea Cleaning Products. They are earth-friendly and dermatologist tested. The Caldrea cleaners are mild, yet highly effective and leave your home clean and smelling fresh. And for anyone that is interested, Caldrea is doing an hour long show on QVC tonight to promote their International Women’s Day Special. They are focusing on female entrepreneurs the founder of Caldrea will be doing the special and I think it will be a great segment. It is going on at 6 PM CST/7 pm EST. Here is the spot on their website:

http://www.qvc.com/qsearch/search.aspx#?cm_sp=LN-_-QUICKLINKS-_-WATCHQVCTVLIVE