This post contains Amazon Affiliate links. All opinions are my own.
Okay, let's just get right to it. These are kids' spaces. Kids need and
want to use their space for playing, right? They don't want their
precious floor space crowded with boxes of their own toys! But heaven
forbid they actually have to give up any of those toys!!! So what's a
mom to do?
First, I have to say that I'm a big fan of the "rotate" idea. If you
remember when I built our toy boxes, I built three of the huge beasts.
But only two of them reside in the playroom. One of them stays in attic
space, and the kids get to rotate toys in and out of it every 3 or 4
months or so.
I find this helps my kids realize just how LITTLE they play with certain
toys and helps them let go of them later on. If they can see that a toy
hasn't been "in play" for the last two or three rotations, it's
probably time for it to go to another home, so another child can enjoy
it.
That being said, the next thing moms are going to look for are
space-saving and utilizing ideas. That's what we'll be looking for
today!
Let's start with this great idea from Ana White. I'm the founder of the I
{heart} Ana White fan club. She's amazing! While building may sound
daunting to many, I can assure you, it's not as bad or hard as it seems.
And you can always simplify an idea to suit your own skill level. Like,
for instance, using pre-built shelves but attaching them to the back of
a closet door instead of building this entire thing!
Ana White - Grace's Closet
And if you're really afraid of building (or are renting and don't want
to put holes in closet doors), what about using a good ol' shoe
organizer to store those barbies or action figures?
The Container Store
found on Amazon
Also a great idea for keeping track of art and school supplies. This comes from Jamie at
Something to Do.
Another area that gets neglected or goes unused is under the bed. Or
perhaps it's used...just not like you want it to be! Well, one of my
blog bff's has come up with a great storage solution that's easy for
kids to roll out, but won't require you to build drawers (I've helped
build some drawers, and I'll admit I don't love it.)
These are an excellent and simple alternative! Go visit
Jaime (That's My Letter) and tell her hello. :)
If you're not ready to build, can I convince you to spray paint? Yeah, I
thought you might like that. We're going industrial this year, and
these lockers are perfect! Love the open top shelves of this one and the
different color inside!
Via Vickie Howell on Flickr
If your kids are a bit older, and you love a good knock-off project, Ana
White has some great plans for a similar teen storage tower. I haven't
seen these in person, but I'm not sure I'd recommend them for smaller
kids due to stability (and my children's affinity for climbing). But
perfect for a teen girl's room!
Here's a link for Ana's plans.
And here are the lovely originals from
PB Teen:
And you can't do an organizational post without showing some pegboard love!
This is from
House on Ashwell Lane:
All kids love costumes, right? Simply gut an old dresser and build a cute little wardrobe! Natalie at
A Turtle's Life for Me did an amazing job on this one for her daughter!
Can we talk about stuffed animals for a minute?
Does your child have a serious stuffed animal problem? Just go ahead and
throw them in the trash. No, really! Did you get the memo that
industrial is in?! What's more industrial than a metal garbage can? This
one was created by Rebekah Merkle on her blog
rebekahmerkle.blogspot.com, but I guess she is no longer blogging, and
the link to her site doesn't work. :( She actually used it as a garbage
can in her home, but I think her "scrunchy" looks like a cute liner,
and I can envision my 7-year-old having a good time putting all her
buddies in the trash at night. I'm not sure what sizes are available,
but this size seems more suited for older kids. It would just make the
little ones really mad. ;)
And this one just kills me! If I wasn't a renter, I think I'd put them
all over my walls! I originally saw it on Better Homes and Gardens.
No kids' room organization list would be complete without a classic "stuffed animal net"! This great tutorial is from
Lemon Squeezy Home.
This one doesn't have a tutorial, but they seem simple enough to make! You can see the whole room tour at Bees Knees Bungalow.
This is another cute knock-off project with a good tutorial. I think my kids would love this one! You can see the tutorial at
On the Banks of Squaw Creek.
Love this one! So simple! You could even just hang a rope from a plant
hanger on the ceiling, and then clip the stuffed animals right to the
rope with clothespins! Great way to utilize the higher spaces in the
room. But be prepared to be called in to help the little guys get the
treasures they can't reach! :)
Yes, yes, I KNOW this is a shower caddy. But can't you picture some cute
little stuffed animals chilling on those shelves, tucked away in a
corner?? You can find
more ideas at BHG.com.
And this one is kind of a combination of the trash can and the animal zoo! Very cute! See more pics at
Prudent Baby.
We can't neglect those small toys, though, right?
These clear toy storage bags from
Make It and Love It are
excellent! Kids can open them on their own, and they can see exactly
what's in the bag, thus lessening the "throw it all out to see if my
favorite toy is at the bottom".
And more fabulous storage ideas from
Make It and Love It. These ones are fabric storage boxes, and I am in love with the coordinating fabrics!
Love the color organization by
I Heart Organizing in her playroom!
This site has free printables for these canister labels. She's used them
on Folgers canisters, but I've been saving up my large cashew
canisters, and I think something like this would be perfect! Great that
the kids can easily see what's in the can! Visit Heart of Wisdom for the free printables!
Here's a tutorial for a fun little car caddy!
Love these under-the-bed storage bins from
Woman's Day.
Are you cheap like me? What about taking some of those heavy-duty diaper
or wipes boxes and covering them with cheap burlap? This has held up
extremely well over the last year of use and even during our move across
the ocean! Not bad for a $1 box. :)
Let's not forget all those board games!
Beckie at Infarrantly Creative is
a craft genius! Why not turn your usable board games into fun, colorful
wall art? All the pieces are stored in the framed boxes! Excellent!!
And here's one last art supplies idea. Also from
Ana White.
And on to books!
The
Ardent Sparrow blog has a good little round-up of some book storage ideas if you want some more ideas.
Remember when we talked about utilizing your space wisely? This is such a good idea from
On the Banks of Squaw Creek! Be cautious if you have little climbers, though! ;)
This is adorable, so I had to include it. My kids would probably drag
that thing all over the place! But so cute! I originally got it from the
site Cory Conner Designs, but it looks like the site is no longer
functional. :(
This lovely pic is from
Therese Hagstedt on Flickr.
These shelves are called "spine" shelves, and you can find them on
Amazon for pretty cheap. Or it looks like a simple DIY. Looks like a
1x10 cut in 10" pieces and screwed to a 1x3, and the whole thing is
screwed to a stud in the wall. Not sure how much weight it would hold on
each shelf without a bracket, but you could add a bracket below each
shelf as well...
And if you prefer sewing vs. building, these book slings have also become pretty popular! This one is from Domestic Adventure.
Turn an Ikea bookshelf on its side, put some legs (or wheels) and a
cushion on it, and call it a day! Image from Better Homes and Gardens
via
Apartment Therapy.
And here's another one that I think is just beautiful, but I'm not sure
of the practicality for a kid's space. Perhaps if you need something
mobile? There's a good tutorial on
Country Living from Halligan Norris Smith.
Or bring the shelves up off the floor! Inspiration at
Homespun Toronto!
Now on to paperwork and school!
Do you have some little artists in your house? Do you have a hard time
getting rid of thsie masterpieces? Maybe you'd feel more warm and fuzzy
if you did something like this and scanned the artwork and shrunk them
to fit in cute artwork?! This display is just gorgeous! Truly--I LOVE
this!! Visit
Jen's Thousand Words for more details on how she made them.
Need some tips on going through school paperwork? Click on over to get some ideas from
I Heart Organizing.
Or visit these cute "command center" boards from
Delightful Order.
And these chore charts were purchased from an Etsy shop, but I LOVE the idea of using magnets for chores! More great pics at
The Clay Family blog.
We've done sticker charts, and I get pretty sick of getting the
stickers down for every little thing. I like that they could do this all
on their own!
And if you're really looking to maximize kids' space, I recommend
looking UP! Kids are so small. Do they really need 8' ceilings? Nah.
Consider building in play areas or bunk beds if you live in a home and
area that will almost always attract families (for resell
consideration).
And I really love this one from designer Erica-Lynn Huberty featured on Apartment Therapy.
And with three girls, I have to talk about hair stuff, right?
Here's how we organize our stuff:
And all our pretty clips go on this fun DIY project.
Or if you have some cupboard space in your bathroom, a simple tension
rod, some clips, and some zip-top bags are an easy storage solution!
And here are just a couple little tips from me that work well in our house that I thought might also help you!
Do your kids make a huge mess of their dresser drawers trying to find
matching pj tops and bottoms? Or do they just end up wearing mismatched
pj's instead? My kids used to just wear mismatched pj's, but maybe I'm a
little OCD because it kind of bugged me. Nevermind the fact that I wear
sweats and "paint shirts" to drop them off to school every day... But I
just like it better when they match!
So here's what the good doctor came up with as a solution (he's brilliant, people!):
Folding pj tops and bottoms together! Duh!! This makes it so easy for the kids to just grab a pair and go!
And my next tip is another simple one. AND it also involves clothes.
With three girls (3, 5, 7), we have lots of clothing rotations and
hand-me-downs going on around here. I used to have some stored in boxes,
some in plastic tubs, and lots that didn't really fit, but I just kept
them in their drawers was such a tedious process. I hated "wasting
space" if one of those plastic bins wasn't completely full with one
size, so there was lots of combining and mixing of sizes, and it was
just a disaster.
When we made this last move (and after I emptied every single box and
put our house together in 6 days), I decided it was TIME to do something
about the clothing chaos.
I emptied every single bin and box we had into a huge pile in the middle of the toy room. YIKES!!
I had purchased some of these comforter storage bags from the Dollar
Tree, and I decided to see if they might work for clothes. When I put
the first few items in, I thought, "There's NO WAY all these clothes are
going to fit in here!" But I stuck it out and kept squishing and
cramming, and I was amazed at how much actually fit in them. Unlike the
big plastic bins, since these are smaller, and the zipper only opens
half way, it compresses a lot of the air out, so you have a nice, tight
fit. Like those vacuum bags...but no vacuum.
Every single bag, I thought the same thing, "There's no way these are going to fit." But they did!
So I ended up using 10 of the storage bags. Grand total of $10.
UPDATE: I've had many readers tell me their Dollar Tree doesn't carry this item.
I've found a similar one on Amazon that I'm sure will work just as well.
Here are a few things I love about them:
* Since a lot of the air is squished out, it saves lots of space vs the bins
* Since they're smaller sizes, I can give each clothing size its own bag
and not feel guilty about "wasting" space in a plastic bin.
* I can SEE the clothes! I considered putting labels on each bag for
the different sizes, but since I can see the clothes, I know exactly
what size is in it (after three kids wearing the exact same things and
washing them a gazillion times, I'm VERY famliar with every single item
of clothing in there)
* Again, since they're smaller, they're easier for me to move around, and I only have to take out one bag at a time!
Here's how mine are separated (in case you care):
1) 0-3 months
2) 3-6 months
3) 6-12 months
4) 12-18 months
5) 18-24 months
6) 4T (our 2T, 3T, and 5T+ are all in use)
7) Shoes
8) Soft shoes and socks
9) Winter coats and bibs
10) Receiving blankets
These two stacks take up an area 40" wide x 28" tall x 18" deep. Not bad for 2,000,000 items! ;)
If all else fails, just hide their messes with a cute curtain. ;)
You can visit our playroom reading nook
HERE.
But be warned, sometimes it looks more like this:
Ha ha!
And there you have it! Over 50 ideas to help get your littles organized.
If you're looking for more organizational ideas, please visit my
ORGANIZATION Pinterest Board.
And for kid craft ideas, my
KID STUFF Pinterest Board is a great resource. :)
Any other tips on how you keep your own kids organized? I'd love to hear in the comments!
If you're looking for other organizational tips, check out these great posts:
Bathroom with HomeMadevilleGarage with CondoBluesMaximizing Storage Space with Mural Maker
Thanks for visiting and aloha!
Charlie