Most parents would like to see order in their children’s room. But reality usually looks different – much to the displeasure of Mom and Dad. But a clever arrangement can help avoid getting lost in the chaos of toys every day. Here we reveal the tricks you can use to get your child to tidy up.
To create order in the children’s room, you need a well-designed system of cabinets, shelves, chests of drawers, and boxes. Flexible keepers of the order are the keywords here to involve children tidying up. Whether you prefer to screw shelves to the walls or place a large cabinet in the children’s room depends on personal preferences.
Important that children can easily reach and use the existing furniture. Toys and books should, therefore, always be placed within reach of the children. This way, children can easily reach the toys and put them back without help. Hooks or shelves that are hung too high are usually out of reach for the little ones, meaning that toys end up lying on the floor in the children’s room instead of tidying up.
It is best to buy so-called system furniture that grows with the child and can be used multifunctionally. For example, a pull-out bed can remain used for several years, and the adjustable desk offers opportunities for change over time.
Timeless Furnishings for More Order in the Children’s Room
The interests of children change over time. Whether diggers and dolls or rather books and audio games. Older children’s hobbies and collecting passions demand more shelf space and force you to create more storage space if you want to keep order in the children’s room. It is especially advantageous if matching parts from a furniture program can be purchased later. Before buying, check whether the selected children’s furniture can withstand a move – can it be easily dismantled and reassembled without losing stability?
Equally important is the design. After all, if you choose a durable, high-quality, and therefore expensive product, you should consider how long the pink or bright blue lacquer surface will please the child. Therefore, timeless colors such as white, gray, or beige are much better for cabinets and shelves. Decorations, pictures, and toys can always set color accents and be easily changed repeatedly.
Tested children’s furniture
If you redesign the children’s room, you should play it “safe”. After all, it’s a place for fun, games, and a creative zone where the little ones can let off steam – the furniture has to withstand a lot in the process. Buying only tested products that meet strict legal requirements is advisable. Products with the RAL quality mark (golden “M”) are built according to all safety, health, and quality criteria. It is the only officially recognized quality mark for furniture in Germany and is also considered a strict proof of high quality throughout Europe.
How to Tidy Up the Children’s Room Successfully? 8 Tips
1st tip: Involve your child
If tidying up your child’s room becomes a daily ordeal, you must think of something else. After all, constant admonitions and prompts do not bring the child closer to tidying up but fuel their reluctance. Even if you as a parent are one of the tidying fanatics, give the child some time and try to take the whole thing in hand together. Avoid putting away what has been built with effort and agree with the child which toys are unnecessary and can be returned to their place. The smaller the toys, the more they should be stored.
So hordes of wooden animals and rubber urchins are placed in stackable boxes or baskets where the child can get to them quickly. Also, try labeling the boxes or drawers or sticking pictures on them to give the child clues as to where what belongs – this will create structure and prevent different toys from getting mixed up.
Tip 2: Clean out the children’s room regularly
At Christmas, Easter, and birthdays, the offspring always receive toys, cuddly toys, and much more. Over time, many things pile up, often left unused in the corner of the room. All these things take up an incredible amount of space and hinder the child’s creative development. If toys are oversupplied, the little ones tend to get distracted more quickly and never really get into the game.
That’s why it’s even more important to clean up the mess regularly – it’s best to do it with the kids, even if it takes longer. For example, the game “Parents Ask, children answer” helps: “Which things do you use most often, and which rarely?” Regular sorting out should also be done for clothing. What is to no takes up space unnecessarily. Whether you give away or sell the sorted-out items, other children will be happy about them, and you will have gained storage space.
Tip 3: Important things are always in the same place.
There are some things that the child needs again and again. So that they never have to search for them for a long time, school or other important objects, for example, should be given a regular place that is quickly accessible. If a thing never lies where it belongs and is on the move throughout the apartment, then this may not be due to the carelessness of a particular family member. Rather, this object needs a new place – where it will be used – this also helps keep the children’s room tidy.
Tip 4: Create mobile storage space
Before going to bed, clear the children’s room of toys lying around and create order. For example, buy rolling wooden boxes with a padded seat lid and collect the toys with the child—the box then “parks” on the shelf along with its load. A less sophisticated but less expensive alternative is rolling shelves or shelf carts, often found in the bathroom or kitchen: Doll clothes and Lego bricks are neatly stored on their two or three shelves.
Tip 5: Taboo zones make tidying up easier for the child.
To better keep order in the child’s room and avoid annoying arguments, you can set up taboo zones where the child can safely put his most important toys in. A bed drawer can be storage space for cuddly toys but also provides an optimal base for all the games that have what it takes to be “listed” for a while: If your child builds a zoo landscape or a birthday table for his favorite doll on the bottom of the box, his works can be saved from the vacuum cleaner and also escape other troublemakers in the sibling room. Choose the bed base as large as possible, with a smooth bottom (especially pay attention to this in the case of products made of rattan or wicker), and preferably on rollers – this will make it much easier to pull out and push in.
6. Tip: Make cleaning up an adventure for older children
A children’s hammock provides a lot of fun for the child and can also be a good gathering place for dolls and teddy bears at clean-up time. The same goes for hanging shelves that show off cars or books. If you want to give your kids a special treat, you can buy some squared lumber and boards at the hardware store and build a high seat with railings. Finally, screw on a ladder (as for the loft bed) or hang a climbing rope. Place more boxes up there and watch as your child happily transports his toys to the top – especially if a small pulley helps.
Tip 7: Increase appreciation
Children appreciate things that their parents have made themselves or that they can even make together with their parents. For example, find beautiful shells, stones, and pieces of wood on vacation, pierce them, and wrap them with string. After that, you can screw them to the wall or door as clothes and bag hooks.
Colors also help tidy up a child’s room: for example, paint dresser drawer handles different colors or, as mentioned earlier, stick pictures on identical toy containers to show the child what belongs inside. If you know how to sew, you can hang a wall or door with colorful pockets for sundries. However, refined storage containers made of fabric are also available for purchase.
8th Tip: Chaos Magnet Clean up desk
The desk is one of the central places in the children’s room and is usually used daily. To enjoy working there, children need enough storage space for books, notebooks, pens, and other utensils. However, make sure that the surface remains uncluttered. There should only be the bare essentials; otherwise, the child will be distracted too quickly. So store school books in a cupboard next to the desk and put loose sheets in a letter tray to avoid losing anything. Organizing aids such as bookends and a hook to hold the school bag are also practical. Slots integrated into the children’s desk offer space for cables and save PC workers from cable tangles and tripping hazards.
