It’s seems that 2019 is the year of the purge! Everyone is decluttering and getting rid of junk. Starting your kids room can be a daunting task but we have you covered!

From toys to clothes to books, there is no doubt kids have a TON of stuff and chances are, whether they have a lot of square footage or their room is on the more petite side, it’s everywhere. While we can’t tell you how to teach your kid to keep their room clean, we can give you few pointers on how to organize it.

Storage, storage, storage!

Like most areas of your home, finding or creating efficient storage solutions is Step 1. Every square foot in your kids room is precious storage real estate and you should be maximizing it as such. Teenagers aside, children’s clothes are typically shorter and take up less vertical space than their adult counterparts. Take advantage of the space by placing short, cube organizer in the closet and pairing it with a few baskets. This makes for easy clean up and doesn’t take up any space in their main play area.

Walls are real estate too.

If you live in an older home or you child just generally has a smaller room, you may not have a closet you can use creatively for storage. Walls are your friend- mount floating shelves and hooks to help get things up off floor and out of the way. Floating shelves can help keep books organized or partnered with baskets and bins, keep the endless supply of little Picasso’s art supplies sorted. Hooks can be particularly helpful during winter keeping the must have scarves, hats and coats in easy reach and out of the way.

Overflow goes under the bed.

The space under the bed often gets overlooked when it comes to organization. These under the bed bins are perfect for storing seasonal wardrobes or those “for the next baby” items you’re hanging on to. If you are looking to invest in furniture for your littles, you can always upgrade them to a bed with built in drawers as a two for one storage deal, freeing up space that traditional dressers take up.

Start from the bottom.

Take a children’s eye view of the room and start there. Place your child’s favorite toys at a lower level so they accommodate their smaller stature. The less frequent the use the higher up to goes. This can also be a very pragmatic tool when it comes to analyzing what your child actually plays with- are they constantly asking you to get the matching game down from the top shelf but never seem to play with a collection of Matchbox cars? You may want to consider swapping the placement of the two.

Keep a decluttering schedule.

Chances are when birthdays and holidays roll around, your kids suddenly have an influx of new stuff crowding their rooms and let’s be real, probably spilling out into communal spaces like living rooms. Establish the habit of going through toys, books, etc. at least twice a year. We’d like to recommend a pre-birthday and pre-winter holiday clear out schedule but this may make you December baby feel like they’re being forced to give up everything all at once. Opting for a summer and winter schedule may suit your family better. This can also be an excellent time to teach your children the importance of giving back to their communities and supporting local charities year round.

Have you found any solutions to keeping your children’s room organized that you just can’t live without? We’d love to hear about them!