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Nip It In the Bud Easy tricks for getting kids to declutter their bedrooms ... and your life  Image courtesy istockphoto You know how quickly a child's room can look like a tsunami ran through it. While it may be hard to contain your frustration, professional organizers say it doesn't have to be the case. Bring order back into their bedrooms by giving everything a place. "Children need to know that each toy and game has a 'home.' You need to help them find a designated place for their belongings," says Kathi Burns, founder of addSpace To Your Life!, a San Diego-based professional organizing and image consulting agency. By assigning containers to certain items and installing organizing tools that the children can reach, you make it easier on them to help clean up after a busy play day. Burns says it's important to stress the "home" concept. "Don't ask them put their toys 'away.' Instead, request that they take their toys to their individual 'homes,'" says Burns, a board certified professional organizer and image consultant. Likewise, make it easier for them hang up their clothes by installing bars and shelves that they can easily reach. Organizing guru Krista Colvin, of Organize In Style, Portland, Ore., says the best way to get your groove back is by setting aside not only a place for all belongings, but also a time and a routine for putting everything away. "It's important for kids to see that there are tasks that we should do every day to maintain order," she says. Here are other ideas to help kids tackle their bedroom clutter ... and the items that spill over to the rest of the home: Books and Toys Many different approaches work for books. First, if you don't have a small bookshelf, get one. And if needed, given your child's age, anchor it to the wall to avoid tipping. Books can be organized by size, subject, color, etc. You can stack them horizontally or place a collection of books in a basket or box. You can also create a reading nook with canvas bookcase that features deep pockets and displays books in a more engaging way. Stacking crates are effective for storing toys. Bins are also good for keeping smaller loose toys and other odd and ends. Labels - even if they're stickers or pictures cut from magazines - help children remember where to store their toys. Clothes Burns says that children respond better to hanging drawers than those inside bureaus. Hang clothes on the rod, and consider small plastic bins or a draw unit for socks and other smaller foldable items. But the most important point is to make it easier for children to put away their own clothing. You do this by placing rods and plastic bins at their level. "They need to be able to do it themselves," Burns says. School Projects Colvin knows from first-hand experience that school art projects can take over any room. That's why she created a school folio to capture and contain each of her child's artwork. Periodically, she'll scale down the collection. She'll say to her children, "OK honey, love or lose it," she says. "Once you've scaled down and have a collection of what you love, then display it." You can scan or take digital pictures of artwork and put into a memory books. "By capturing their artwork in a digital format, you really have the opportunity to keep more things," she says. |
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