5 Tips to Control the Kid Clutter
I am almost there. I recently, having moved to our FIRST HOME (yeah!!!), found myself buried under a mountain of stuffed animals, naked dolls, and blocks, and shape sorters. Oh, and books……enough to start a public library. I tried to call for help, but my pleas were far too distant for those to hear, so I began to excavate myself from underneath the rubble. I can say that I am almost have dug myself out….. only a few more shelves to install in the closets, and I am there. I learned some valuable tips along the way, and I will share them with you now.
- Kids books are a REAL problem when it comes to storing them. They are different shapes, different sizes, have puppets attached to them, and can be anywhere from a 1 inch square board book ( I have a few of these) to an 11in by 14 in rectangle. Put these on a bookshelf with each other, they are bound to fall off (or the maniacal toddler who is bent on destruction comes along and sweeps off the shelf). Sure, you can put them in a basket, but that never worked for me. I only read the books on the top to my kids and had to dig to get to the bottom, which, inevitably led to books on the floor, which I had to clean up. The point in the organization is to keep the books off the floor. So, I brought collapsible fabric bins. Closetmaid and Jetmax (at A.C. Moore) both have high quality fabric bins (about $6 a piece) that stand on their own. These fabric bins are a great size to have most books stand binding up. This contains them without them falling off the shelf, or having to dig for a book that you want. Place the bins around the house: one in the living room, some on the bookcase in the kids room or on shelves in the closet. If you are potty training, place one by the toilet to keep your child busy. They are colorful, attractive, and a great form of storage.
- Install low shelves in the closet. Children do not have gown length clothing, so why waste the bottom of the closet? Closetmaid makes fantastic grated shelves for a low cost that can be installed in minutes. Wood shelving can also be used in the closet. The fabric bins or baskets can be used to organize similar toys and placed on the shelves. If you put labels with pictures on the outside of the bin or basket, the child can easily find what they are looking for. To control the chaos, simply enforce a rule of “1 basket or bin at a time.”
- Get over the door shoe organizers. Buy a few. They are invaluable. Use them for shoes in the kids closet. Use them for scarfs, gloves, and hats in your hall closet. Use them for small stuffed animals, action figures, and dolls on the back of your child’s door. Use them for office and art supplies in your office. Because the pockets are relatively large, they can hold quite a bit of stuff.
- The “Play in Your Room Rule” . Don’t laugh……. it can work. Make a kids room comfortable with enough storage and seating to be able to be played in. The room does not need to be big in order to enjoy the space. My son’s room is 8 ft x 9 ft, and we comfortably play in there. The key is that your kids want to be with you when they are young. So make it comfortable for you too. Have a comfortable chair or cushion that you won’t mind sitting on to play with them. They will stay in their room to play. Again, drill into them the one bin at a time mantra, and their rooms will stay clean as well. If the kids want to bring down toys to play with in the living/family room while you are making dinner or to play outside with, just have them bring down one of the baskets or bins. This is why it is important to have similar toys in a bin…. toys that they might play with together (i.e. cars, Barbies, blocks). At the end of the day, the toys get put back in that bin and put in their room. NO MORE STORING TOYS IN COMMON SPACES! YEAH!!!!
- Stop the madness. We all know that kids have WAY TOO MUCH stuff. My children have been spoiled by grandparents (lovingly so….) and well equipped with garage sale/thrift store finds. Make it a point to go through their toys seasonally and donate/sell/freecycle stuff that they don’t use or have outgrown. Curb your purchases as much as you can. Just because it is a great deal, does not mean you need it. Also, putting some toys away in a Rubbermaid bin in the basement, and switching it out seasonally might also be in your best interest. Kids lose interest in a toy after awhile. If every so often you put the toy away, then switch it out, a renewed interest in the toy is found. It can be like Christmas in July!
Like I said, I have almost tamed the beast. Using these techniques has changed my home, and hopefully they can change yours.
3 Responses to “5 Tips to Control the Kid Clutter”
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The bins do work … most of the time. Where they sometimes fail is when there are hyperactive playmates involved (e.g., neighbor, cousin) who don’t stick to the one-bin rule and don’t seem to care what state the room is in once they are done (after all, they get to go home afterward). At four years-old, while she gets the rules herself, our daughter is not one to enforce them well with others.
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Great tip on gettng them to play in their room more. I need to encourage that – otherwise that becomes wasted good space and the living room bears the entire burden for everyone’s stuff.
(Funny to read this, I just did a thing on just having too much stuff on my blog. Excess in general has really been bugging me recently!)
Cool post.
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You and I are kindred spirits (like I didn’t know that already). I despise clutter, and make it my life’s goal to rid my home of it. I have 3 plastic, different-colored bins at the bottom of my stairs. One says “Abby”, one says “Willow”, and one doesn’t have a label (that’s for mine and Nick’s stuff). Through out the day, I throw things I find around the house (shoes, barrettes, Webkinz, etc.) in each girls’ respective bin, and at night they must take it upstairs, empty it in their room, and bring it back downstairs. So far, it’s been working pretty well. BTW, I know what you mean about well-meaning relatives (AKA my mother) giving my kids an excessive amount of material possessions. It’s enough to drive me freakin’ nuts! Who needs all that crap??
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