How to Organize a Playroom: Part One

Kelly and I had the bright idea to bring more traffic to our website by making video tutorials. Holy moly what a difficult task. Still I did manage a tidy and reorganize of the playroom and it’s looking pretty good if I must say so myself. The worst part was having to do the physical organizing which took me a lot longer than I had hoped. The other difficult thing was putting on full make up and swallowing my pride and sucking in my stomach after a particularly festive holiday season. Good news is I’ve got some solid pointers on the best way to organize a playroom for all personality types.

1. Break it down into steps.

Perfectionist types — Organic Freedom (NFP), Smart Freedom (NTP), Funs (SPs) — often put off doing huge tasks because they under or over estimate how long it’s going to take them. And just looking at this mess can exhaust someone. So don’t tackle it all in one go. It took me three different days with big breaks in between to tackle my folks’ playroom. About three hours altogether.

2. It shouldn’t take more than 1/2 hour to tidy a play room. Preferably ten minutes tops.

If it takes any longer than that then it’s time to reorganize and put the stuff that makes a big mess out of the reach of little hands. Yes it’s their playroom, but they don’t have to play with puzzles, for instance, without adult supervision.

3. Watch how your kid plays to get ideas about how to arrange all the toys.

I’m not saying you have to let your kids play in the room while you’re organizing as this would probably drive Classics, Organic Freedoms, and Smart Freedoms insane. Frankly it would probably bug most types, but if you’ve got the patience or time, or aren’t afraid to take well needed breaks, go ahead and let them mess it up so you can see what’s working and how they actually play with the contents of the room. I decided to use a wicker vanity cabinet my mom had let become part of the toyroom as a cupboard for toy food when I saw my two year old using it just like that. Made it much easier to surround the rest of it with all the other kitchen gear. I also put it all on a shelf at her waist so she can use all the stuff as if she’s in her own kitchen.

3. Make sure you have good structure.

This playroom already had good bones — matching built in bookshelves and some matching medium sized bins on shelves. This is the best structure for any playroom as the matching shelves provide cohesion and design aesthetic but it’s also practical and can be used for other things when the room ceases to be a playroom. Don’t bother with crappy toy storage that doesn’t match. It looks terrible, never holds all the stuff, and is not designed to last.

4. Put small parts like Legos and puzzles out of reach of small hands and unwatched children.

Otherwise it’s all going to end up on the ground, making things look messier and make you feel like Sisyphus. Even whilst organizing, two year old Sam came in and dumped all the puzzles I had spent 20 minutes putting back together. Yes, it took me 20 mintues, but at least the second go round I cut the time in half!

5. Like with like, but not too detailed.

Think trains, planes and automobiles versus Planes. Trains. Automobiles. The perfectionist types might try to get too detailed with their bins. Classics (SJs) too. You can definitely and should have categories as otherwise kids don’t tend to play with them, but there’s no need to have a separate bin for Barbie’s shoes.

6. Always have a miscellaneous box.

There are always going to be bits and bobs that don’t fit anywhere. The miscellaneous box is the only way you’d ever be able to quickly tidy the room. When every container is a miscellaneous box and they’re all full, it’s either time to reorganize, do a deep tidy, or call PixiesDidIt!

7. Get your kids involved with the clean up.

They really get overwhelmed with the messes they create. Getting them involved, breaking the gargantuan task into manageable steps, “You tidy up the American Girl Dolls…which means just put the clothes away and put the dolls on a shelf.” Is just the direction they need. I can even get my two year old somewhat involved, but only for a minute until she wants to start playing again with something else I tidied.

8. Don’t be shy telling other people about the new organization.

I didn’t have a chance to do labels, but I will. In a playroom where different people are cleaning up it’s essential to label where everything goes or in two seconds the whole room will become a miscellaneous bin. It’s also wise to tell EVERY person in the household who tidies that room where everything goes. Otherwise you’re just going to drive yourself crazy, no matter what your type!

Next week I will either have a video of this project OR perhaps a video of me doing labels.