Organization Ideas and Hacks for Your Child’s Room
Living with small children is like living with a continual tornado. AmIright?! I can be diligently cleaning up a mess in one room, while my two year old simultaneously destroys another. For someone who likes things neat and tidy, this can get pretty frustrating. I have found, though, that the more organized my house is, the easier it is to keep clean. This is especially true when it comes to kid rooms. Organization is key in keeping any child’s room neat and tidy.
We just recently moved my daughter into a new, and bigger, bedroom in order to make room for baby #2 this fall. I absolutely love the way it turned out! (You can check out the full reveal here.)
We don’t really have a dedicated play room in our house. So, the new bedroom is serving as a bit of a playroom for her, as well. A larger bedroom, with more toys in it, means even more reason for good organization.
This piece of furniture is one of my favorites in the room. It is actually the piece that sold me on the whole set. I knew I had to have it, and it has been such a fantastic piece for organization.
The cabinets on either side are great for storage. We had a small bookcase in her nursery, that didn’t make it into the new room. She absolutely loves books, though, and loves to read. So, I knew that I needed to have a fair amount of books on hand in her room.
I had to get a little creative here, as there wasn’t much extra space in her room. I decided to empty one of the cabinets (which originally held a number of blankets) and fill it up with books. The cabinet is low, so she can access them with no help. It also keeps them out of sight, which is awesome, because I find that bookcases tend to look cluttered.
I did get a small basket to keep in her nightstand, as well. We sit in this chair and read books every day before nap time and bedtime. So, I keep a few of her current favorites close to our reading spot. Then, I rotate them every week or two. This also prevents the top of the nightstand from becoming cluttered with books.
Here are some of the other things I’ve done to organize her room.
How to Organize Accessories
I purchased drawer organizers for some of her drawers. This prevents her drawers from becoming messy and makes it easy to find, and access, whatever I need.
I made a bow holder to keep the majority of her bows organized. It was a simple project that not only helps with organization, but looks pretty in her room, as well. See how to make your own here.
Easily Accessible Clothes & Shoes
There were already a few hooks on the wall in her closet. I use them to hang out whatever she is going to wear the next day. This is so helpful on mornings when we need to get out the door at a specific time. It eliminates the frustration of not being able to find what you are looking for and helps keep our mornings running smoothly and on time. This would be great for those of you who have older children that will be heading back to school soon and needing to get back into a morning routine.
I also purchased a wall file holder to keep all of her shoes in. This metal one makes it easy to see what she has available; it’s right next to her outfit of the day, so we can easily grab shoes to match; it holds quite a few pair of shoes; and it’s easy to throw her shoes into at the end of the day.
Creatively Containing Toys
I keep a small toy box in the closet, which contains most of the toys. As with the books, it is easy for her to access, but also allows me to keep most of the toys out of sight.
The one toy that she does have out in the open of her room is her Little People Princess Castle, along with her 7,394 princesses. She absolutely loves the little princesses and will spend all day playing with them in the castle. I needed a way to easily contain all of them at the end of the day, though.
When I found this piece at Hobby Lobby one day, I knew it was perfect.
I gave it a couple of quick coats of spray paint and hung it up. She loves the fact that her princesses now have a new “home,” and so do I. I also love the fact that this piece can grow with her. I imagine it will eventually hold craft supplies, and the clothes pins will be perfect for displaying her latest creation
These are a few of the ways I keep the clutter contained, as well as ensure that I maintain my sanity.
If you have little tornados living with you, hopefully this has given you some ideas for damage control. 🙂
As a professional organizer, I love all of these tips. Having a container for the princesses near the castle is perfect, especially because it is open and easy for her to use. Sometimes organizational systems are difficult to use, and those typically don’t get used. That is a nice cabinet, and opening that door still leaves pretty easy to the books. What a lucky little girl! (fun to “meet” you on Janine’s sight…)
A professional organizer? How cool! That sounds like so much fun! And thank you for the compliments. 🙂 It has been so nice to have her things contained, but easily accessible. It also allows for her to help in the clean up process, which is great. Thanks again!
Lots of great ideas Amy. I love how you removed the door from the dresser and used it for the books. These are all great ideas. And those tiny shoes are soooo cute.
Thanks, Mary! I didn’t actually remove the door – it’s still there. It’s easy to open, though, so my daughter can access her books by herself, and the cabinet keeps them hidden out of sight. Win-win! And yes, the shoes… She has way more than she needs. Ha!
I love all these ideas Amy. Having that little basket for all the shoes in the closet is just brilliant, it makes it so much easier to see them and they’re not in a big heap on the floor, which is great. Wish I’d thought of some of them when my kids were still little. though Their bedrooms always looked like a mini tornado had come rolling through 😉
Thank you! Her room still does look like a tornado has rolled through sometimes, but at least these ideas make clean up easy. 🙂 They also allow for her to help with clean-up, which is great.
You did a wonderful job on organizing your daughters room, it turned out lovely! I LOVE that chest of drawers, I do believe that would of sold me too, it’s beautiful! That is a very clever idea for storing shoes, I will have to tell my daughter about that. I really like your Hobby Lobby purchase, when I go in there I want one of each item I see. It is so hard to go in there without coming out with extra items that I didn’t plan on buying.
Thanks so much! I still love her furniture – so much, actually, that I purchased a couple of pieces from the same line (in a different color) for the nursery. 🙂 And Hobby Lobby is such a trap, isn’t it? So much great stuff there!
I love all of these, when the kids were little I wish I would have thought it through as well as you have. Stepping on little toys, in the middle of the night especially, is painful! All of these organizers will help that not to happen. I really love the shoe idea, how adorable is that? And to have all the shoes on hand, brilliant! I imagine growing up with these processes in place will help her to be an organized grown up. That’s priceless. BTW, her room is so adorable!
Thank you so much, Nikki! I’m a pretty organized person myself, and she is already showing signs of being the same way. My husband often says, “Great, now there are two of you!” Haha! It does help keep the clutter at bay, though, as well as make it possible for her to be involved in the cleanup process. So far, it’s all been working brilliantly. 🙂
Amy, what great ideas for organization! Such practical ideas. I totally agree with you about bookcases. They always look cluttered no matter how many times they get straightened. You have everything looking so pretty! And I absolutely love that thing on the wall where you keep her 7000+ princesses! That is so cool! Also love her little princess bed. You’ve done a superb job with organization!
Thanks, Florence! The bookcases are tricky, because I love books. But they always look a bit cluttered. So, I’m loving the hidden books in the cabinet! Thanks for the lovely compliments. 🙂
Great ideas! I agree that cabinets are very useful. We have an old sideboard with a cabinet at each end, two big drawers in the middle, tall legs so there’s lots of space underneath, and a top surface nearly the size of a single bed. It was in my room when I was little, then in my parents’ laundry room, then in my dining room, then in my son’s room since he was born. Those cabinets are great for diapers, stacked T-shirts, toys, or books! The space underneath is perfect for big toys or sliding in baskets of toys or the laundry basket. And that huge top is my son’s Lego display area! When I was younger, I used to climb up on the top and lie on my tummy drawing, or use it as a craft surface to work standing up when I was tall enough for that.
One organizational trick that’s been great for my kids’ toys is using the drawstring or Velcro fabric bags that some sheet sets come in. They are the right size for a whole set of toys with little parts! You can’t see into them, but having different colors and prints, you can remember what is in each bag. My 3-year-old daughter is obsessed with toy food, so she has her toy salad kit in a leaf-print bag, toy baking set in a purple bag, etc.
How do you prevent the shoes from getting the wall dirty or scattering dirt through the basket to surfaces below? We have a shoe rack by the front door, and that area gets very dirty very quickly!
Thank you! That sideboard you have sounds like quite a piece! Those are the best, though, aren’t they? So useful for so many things. And it’s funny that you mention those fabric bags that sheets come in. I just purchased some crib bedding for the nursery I am currently putting together, and I now have 3 of those fabric bags. I didn’t get rid of them, but I wasn’t sure what to do with them. They are fairly small, since it was crib bedding, but I may see if I have any toys or such that would work in them. Thanks for the great idea! As for the shoes, my daughter has 2-3 pair of outdoor play shoes that we keep downstairs by the back door. Any time she is going out to play in the yard/playground/etc., I make sure she has play shoes on. This helps keep the rest of her shoes pretty clean and in good condition. 🙂
Been organized in a little girl’s room requires a lot of effort and time. But all these ideas are very clever and cute!!! Thank you very much for sharing at Sweet Inspiration Link Party 🙂
Thanks so much! It is definitely tough! I had to think a bit outside the box, but it has all been working really well. 🙂 Thanks so much for looking!
Clever ideas. There’s so much little stuff that comes with having little kids. It’s always hard to figure out where it all goes. Pinning!
I agree! She recently required a whole plastic tub full of Duplos that I am trying to figure out a storage solution for. So many little pieces! Thanks so much for the share!