7 universal rules to effectively organise your child’s room
Whether pirate ship, princess castle, art studio or large construction site; a child’s room is not only the stage for many children’s fantasies but has many other functions completely independent of age. It is a bedroom, a wardrobe, a study and a huge playground! Of course, there will be no way that every object has a specific place. Objects in a child’s rooms have an amazing ability to change their location in a very short time, including the bizarre phenomenon of leaving the room and toys suddenly appearing in the living room, bathroom or kitchen.
Children have different interests and hobbies, which are accompanied by different toys and accessories. They change their interests at different stages of their lives, so of course the number of things in their room increases at a rapid pace.
The question quickly arises: how do you organise a room in such a way that the chosen organisational methods work for as long as possible? Every child has its own character and could be very neat and tidy or just a little chaotic. Nevertheless, there are universal tips that work in almost every child’s room.
1.Plenty of room to play in
In a child’s room, the space to play is more important than the amount of furniture. Consider whether there is furniture in the room that can be disposed of or moved to another room in the house. The bed is probably the piece of furniture that takes up the most space, so hide the bedding during the day and leave this space free for playing. After all, jumping on the bed is probably one of the best games.
2.Play area
It’s good to have separate zones in the kids’ room: to play on the floor, paint, study, read or wind down. The play area on the floor should be covered with a soft carpet or mat. However, artistic playtime or learning should rather take place at a desk. The first reason is quite banal: one does not want to spend hours picking clay from the carpet. The second reason is that the child can maintain the correct posture, e.g. when drawing, at the table. In order to ensure order in the individual areas, it is worth paying attention to organisation and making it as easy as possible to tidy up after the fun.
3.Fewer toys at once
No matter what organisational system you introduce, the surplus of toys will cancel out all positive effects. The truth is that children play with what they have at their fingertips. Fearing that a child will become bored, new toys are often placed in the room. This takes up space and can become distracting. After opening the drawer or cupboard, the child should immediately be able to see what is where. Otherwise they will throw everything out until they find the toy they want. The result: a big mess within the entire room. Storage in transparent containers is therefore ideal because the child not only finds the toy quickly, but the contents are also protected from dust.
4.Create variety with the “old-new toy”
To keep a child interested in their toys, it is worthwhile to introduce a cyclical rotation among the toys. This means hiding some toys and taking them out of the room for a certain time. If you notice that the child starts to get bored with a toy in the room, you can add ” old-new toys” and hide those that are already boring. This rule is not only a way to increase concentration on the game and create more space to play, but it is often a solution that relieves the toy budget significantly.
5.Storage of memories (This rule applies to toys and works of art).
It goes without saying that we want to keep some of our children’s works as souvenirs and that some toys have sentimental value. However, you must be careful with these objects, because in the heat of the fun they can quickly be accidentally destroyed by children. You should therefore regularly inspect your child’s works and keep them in a safe place. When the time is right, you can bring them back as a reminder and enjoy the feelings they evoke in you.
6.Organisation to support independence
When it comes to order, conflicts between parents and children quickly arise. Therefore, we recommend that you introduce your child to organisation in a friendly and playful way, giving them responsibility for their room at an early age! This way, your child will quickly become independent; at least with regard to maintaining and restoring order.
To promote your child’s independence, you can pay special attention to the organisation of their wardrobe. First of all, adapt the storage system to your child’s abilities, such as ability to fold clothes. If your child is not yet a master at folding, switch to clothes hangers, although you must attach the bar at the right height for them. Also try to divide the wardrobe into sections for different clothes so that your child knows where to look for a particular garment. You can use a label system for this. If your child is not yet able to read, pictures on the labels work well because your child can even make
7.Routine – a guarantee for effective organisation
Organisation is only effective if it is actually applied in everyday life. No matter how many containers, baskets or boxes you put in a child’s room, the organisation system will not work if things are not put away after the children have played with them. At the end of the day, organise a little competition with your child by asking: “Where do the toys live?”.
Effective organisation is not only hiding the mess, but also the art of finding things without making a mess. If keeping order in teamwork with your children is fun too, you’ve won the big prize!
