Organizing my Daughter’s Bedroom

My daughter has a really small bedroom (8’8″ x 10’4″) so keeping it organized has always been a problem.  When she was younger, of course I did the organizing and purging when she was not at home.  As she got older, I wanted her to take more of a responsibility for her room.  I have tried all kinds of ways to get her to clean and organize over the years, but nothing really worked.  She is very sentimental and never wants to get rid of anything.  She had way too much stuff to keep organized in that small room.  While I was working full-time, her room got out of control just like the rest of the house.

We have been working on cleaning her room up for the last few months.  She would make progress, but then over the course of a week or two, you couldn’t tell we had done anything.  She doesn’t put anything away, she just drops it on the dresser, desk or piles it on her shelf.  We had cleaned her shelf up a couple of months ago and it was still pretty decent except for the stuff she had piled on top.  So this time, her corner at the end of her bed and underneath her bed and desk were our focal points.  I told her to bring everything in the corner and under the bed and desk into the living room.  Then I had her clean the floors and desk really well.  She found all kinds of stuff in the corner and under her bed that we didn’t even know she still had.

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Once everything was out of the room, it was easier for her to part with some of it.  I told her she didn’t have to get rid of anything in particular, but whatever she kept needed to have a place.  She has always really liked stuffed animals, so she had a bunch of them.  She still has some from when she was a baby and has them from vacations, gifts and the crane games.  She went through her stuffed animals and we filled up a trash bag with the ones she decided could leave.  The rest went in her Pet Net and a few on her bed.

A lot of stuff in the corner was balls and larger toys like bats and swords.  She doesn’t play with the bats and swords anymore so we got rid of them.  We didn’t want to get rid of all the balls, but she doesn’t play with them all that often, so I didn’t want them stacked in the corner as it seems to encourage her to just throw whatever she doesn’t know what to do with over there too.  I had an old plastic Storage Box that no longer has a lid because it broke, so we used it to hold the balls and slid it under her bed.  They are out of the way, but easily accessible anytime she wants them.

Most of the stuff under her bed was toys that she has outgrown and finally decided she wanted to get rid of, like remote control trucks and the rest of her Barbie stuff.  We had got rid of the Barbie house and most of the accessories a few years ago, but she wasn’t ready to part with the Barbies and a few accessories.  She hasn’t really played with them more than a few times since then, but just couldn’t let go until now.  We were able to donate 2 large boxes of stuff and I have a large tote full of stuff for the next consignment sale of the really nice toys that I didn’t want to just give away.

She is very creative and spends most of her extra time coloring, beading or making some kind of craft.  That is what is mainly on her shelf.  I used to use open bins for the toys and stuff on the shelf, but I have been slowly replacing them with clear plastic boxes with lids.  It is easier to keep the stuff contained since most of her stuff is small pieces and it is easier to clean since you can just clean the outside of the box instead of all the stuff inside.  She likes to be in the living room with us most of the time, so having each type of craft in it’s own container allows her to just grab it and take it wherever she wants to work on it, then when she is done, she just packs it back in the box and puts it back on the shelf.

I thought about getting a Drawer Organizer for her desk and putting all her paper, stickers, stamps, etc… in it, but then it would not be as easily portable.  If she actually used the desk when making her crafts, then I would do that, but for now, she needs to be able to grab and go.  She loves to listen to music when she is in her room, so we were able to make a space on top of the desk for her radio/CD player and her CDs so they will be easier for her to use.

I made her a junk drawer in her dresser the last time we worked on her room.  I don’t usually put their clothes away, that is one of their chores, but one day when they were at school I was cleaning out the laundry room.  I took her socks to put in her drawer and couldn’t because she had so much other junk thrown in that drawer.  I dumped it on the bed and went through her socks and moved them to another drawer and made that top drawer a drop drawer.  That is what she was using it for anyway, she had gloves, her hairbrush, ponytails, papers, trash, toys, all kinds of things mixed in with her socks even though most items had a home location or just needed to be thrown away.  I put her gloves on one side and left the rest of it for her to fill up however she wants, then when we are working in her room, we can quickly go through it and put the stuff where it goes.  It helps keep the piles on all the other surfaces down and gives her a place to drop stuff when she is in a hurry.

We still need to go through her shoes and closet again, but her room is so much better.  It has only been a few days, but she is enjoying it so far.  I plan to do something in the corner to put her trophies and knick-knacks on so we can clean her shelf up some.  I am not sure what I want over there yet, but will start looking around until I find what will work best.  That is all organization is, getting rid of what you don’t use and putting the stuff you do use or want to keep, where you can find it when you need it.

How do you keep your kids organized?  Any tips?  Leave a comment below and let me know.

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