Organizing the Kids' Rooms

As usual, the holiday season has come and gone so quickly.  The New Year is here and the decorations have been put away.  Now that the gift giving season is behind us, it is time to find new places for those toys, books and clothes that the kids received.  Time to put some focus on their rooms! Eek! Typically, I try to ensure their rooms are well organized and cleaned before the busyness of the season takes hold, but I completely spaced it this time!  What was I thinking?!

I recently walked into my 4 year old's room and wanted to turn around and walk, well run, back out! Ha.  Do you ever feel that way when it comes to organizing and purging a room?

Organizing expert and owner of Organizing by Lisa of Sioux Falls, Lisa Soma, encourages that the best way to get started in a room full of toys, books and clothes is to "start making piles of like things."  This helps separating items into "keep", "donate" and "garbage" a much easier task.

But before you get started, Lisa suggests you round up "garbage bags, boxes and a bit of cleared floor space to make your piles".  Lisa recommends including the kids in decluttering and organizing their room, as these are "learned skills".  What better skills to teach your kids!  My 4 year old loves being given a task and feeling apart of the process.  I find it helpful to start with smaller tasks, gauging his interest and commitment, and build from there.

There are several different organizational options when it comes to toys. Shelving, totes,toy boxes, drawers and ziplock bags are just a few suggested by Lisa.  In my youngest guy's room I have utilized these plastic 3 drawer containers.  We stick like toys in each drawer (all his dinosaurs in one drawer, his tools in another, potato head items in another, etc.) so that he is able to remove a drawer when he is ready to play.

We use this over the door hanger for his beloved stuffed animals that seem to multiply overnight.  We have used under the bed totes for LEGOs and Pokémon Cards (wowsers – all things that multiply overnight).

My goal is always to ensure that there is a “home” for everything in the room.  This especially allows for the 4 year old to know exactly where his items belong and he can make a better decision about putting them away on his own instead of insisting that he needs my help.  No, he isn’t perfect at this, but we are learning together!

Be sure to get rid of those items that the kids no longer use.  Don’t just move them from one spot to another. Let them go.  It is easy, especially in the kids’ rooms, to hold on to things for sentimental reasons.  Be strong, try to enjoy the memory and then let the item go.  Most of things that I have let go, I haven’t really missed later. 

If your time is limited to get in the room and clean up, Lisa suggests focusing on decluttering first!  "Kids use very little of what they actually have. They get overwhelmed with choices, picking up, visual stimuli, being told to clean up their room. Make it easier for them and you.  Less is more!"

Of course, one of the best ways to declutter is to not acquire clutter in the first place.  A mom can dream, right!  As I suggested during the gift giving season, giving gifts of adventure is a great option for special occasions such as Christmas, birthdays, etc. or as Lisa suggests, "sponsor an agency for their birthday. Instead of guests bringing gifts for your child, request pet food donations for the humane society or a pair of new shoes to be donated to Children's Inn. This will help with the clutter from building and bless someone in need."

No matter what your organizing situation looks like, big or small, you've got this!  And if you are any bit like me, once I have figured out the seemingly overwhelming getting started part, I sort of find the organizing and purging part relaxing!

Once you have gone through the room(s) and have your Donate/Sell box(es) full, what do you do with the items?  First of all, don’t sneak any of the items back out of the box! Ha!  No seriously, put that back!

Here are some wonderful local options for donating and selling your purged items.  Great job by the way, you have gotten this far in the process!  Give yourself a pat on the back, you are amazing!

Donating

Donating is such a great way to bless others and get your purged items out of the house quickly, so there are no second guesses of what is in the box and what is gone, is gone.

*Your Child's School - I have often reached out to my kids' preschool and elementary teachers with a list of things I will be donating soon and have found many times the teachers/school are very thankful for books, games, shelving, stickers and craft supplies, etc.  I have also donated gently used winter gear for their child’s closet for these needs during the season.

*Donnie's Closet - If you find that you have sport shoes or sporting equipment ready to donate, Donnie's Closet collects and donates to those who reach out with a need.  This is a great organization run by a local boy.

*REACH Literacy - An organization helping with literacy throughout the Sioux Empire.  They accept book donations of all kinds.  Check out the book donation facts.

*Children's Inn - There is typically a "wish list" of items on the website that includes things like toys and books.  Currently the list is still set to their Christmas wishes, so check back and you may find an updated list.  The Children's Inn helps empowers victims of domestic violence and abuse in rebuilding their lives.

*St Francis House & Bishop Dudley House – both warm and caring places for the homeless of our community.  They typically have wish list items as well on their website, but following the holiday season these wishes have not been updated.  You can find their lists here: St Francis House, Bishop Dudley House.

*Savers – a thrift store that accepts donations of many household items. 

Selling

Selling your items is a great way to earn some funds to put towards your household budget or a special savings fund (like vacation fund).  Selling items can take some time, however, and the items typically remain stored in the house or garage for a while.  If you have willpower not to reclaim those items then this is a great option to earn a little cash for whatever your goals.

*Facebook Rummage Sites - joining a community rummage sale site on Facebook can mean for quick sales on popular items.  Just type in your city's name and the word ‘rummage’ to find some of these pages.  Individual items are listed, along with pictures.  The tricky part is getting committed buyers to show up for pick up.

*Craigslist - very similar to Facebook Rummage Sites.

*Just Between Friends of Greater Sioux Falls – is a one weekend consignment sale, where you earn a percentage of the sale of your items.  This sale takes place twice a year in Sioux Falls, with the next sale coming up May 4-5.  To consign at the sale, you are in charge of making sure all items are in good and working condition and marked with the sale price.  Nicole Day, organizer of the Sioux Falls Just Between Friends event, suggests working on the consigning process over a period of time, "set a goal of taking 10 minutes a day to gather 10 things and create tags online so that you can store the items ready for drop off!"  This is a great idea for those that don't have a lot of time to declutter all at one time as well.  Just tell yourself, 10 minutes a day over a period of time. If you find that you are extremely short on time, the Just Between Friends of Greater Sioux Falls can help you out.  They offer valet consigning where you simply drop off your items and they take care of the rest. There are limited spots available for this option and they fill quickly, so be sure to contact them right away to sign up, if this is the route you want to go.  Read more about how to join the consignment sale on their website here. You can check out and follow their Facebook page here for updates and tips as the sale gets closer. Don't forget that the sale is also great for shopping and finding good condition used items at a fraction of the price of new so you can save on the pocket book too.

*Rummage Sale – although a lot of work for setting up and time involved, it can be a financially positive solution.  Look for communications in your neighborhood for possible neighborhood wide sales that you can be a part of, as these are very popular with the buyers. (I may be a rummage sale junkie.)

With these simple tips and a little bit of self-encouragement, you will find the clutter less overwhelming and get those rooms back in order, finding a home for all those fun new items.  Want additional decluttering tips for your home?  Be sure to follow Organizing by Lisa on Facebook, as she shares tips.