7 Ways to Organize Kids’ Bedrooms for the New Year
As another year comes to a close, take advantage of getting your child’s bedrooms nice and tidy.
Cheryl Butler
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7 Ways to Organize Kids’ Bedrooms for the New Year
The holidays are certainly one of the “most wonderful times of the year,” but along with this festive season comes more than jingle bells, beautiful decorations, and homemade cookies and egg nog. Yes, something else arrives with all the ho ho ho’s and fa la la la las, and that dear friends, is more “stuff.” 
Sure, it’s exciting and magical to watch kids open heartfelt gifts, but you and I both know that all that such merriment means our kid’s bedrooms are going to collect even more things than they had before the holiday season began. Now we face the reality of finding places to store and keep all of it.
No need to panic or get all worked up about how you’re going to help your kids manage their new inventory. Instead, use this time of the year to get your family inspired. Mighty Mommy has seven tips to help get your kids’ bedrooms organized from top to bottom so that the New Year can start off on a fresh and orderly note.
Tip #1: Purge Before the Holiday Arrives
Prior to Christmas Day or the New Year, get your family inspired to make room for the new by purging the old. Now is the time to have everyone in the house sort through their existing toys, accessories, and clothing and make an honest assessment of what is truly being used and loved and what is no longer needed and played with. When my kids were very young, I turned this into a fun event of sorting and categorizing by games, action figures, and arts and craft supplies, and we pretended we were cleaning up our toy store and getting ready for an updated inventory to arrive. This kept them involved and interested as well as taught them how great it is to share their unused things and clothing with others. See Also: Declutter with Get-it-Done Guy and the Domestic CEO
Tip #2: Create a Rainy Day Toy Stash
When you have younger children, they usually have and receive more “stuff” than they could possibly need, so as you purge and prepare for new holiday gifts to arrive you can create a “rainy day toy stash” with some of the items they don’t play with regularly. Simply get a plastic storage container such as a tucker tote with a snap on lid and place the chosen items in here. Store the container in an out-of-the way place for several months.
Some rainy or cold winter’s day, bring out the toy stash for your kids to play with. The stored toys will have regained their interest and freshness—and they won’t have been cluttering up your child’s room.
Tip #3: Holiday Clean Up
Springtime isn’t the only time for a thorough cleaning—the end of the year is also a great time for a good-old fashioned cleaning of one’s bedroom. Once your bedrooms are purged and a bit less cluttered you can get down to the nitty gritty and really spruce things up.
Again, get your kids involved in the process. Gather together your favorite cleaning supplies and go corner to corner. Remove dust bunnies, cobwebs on the ceiling, clean the windows and windowsills, baseboards and walls where little (or big) fingerprints have been left. Thoroughly sweep hardwood floors, including under the bed or vacuum if carpeted. Change the sheets, pillowcases and mattress pads. Clean your carpets if you have access to a carpet cleaning system. Let your kids feel how satisfying it is to use a little elbow grease and, in the end, have a sparkling, clean space.
Tip #4: Rearrange the Floor Plan
If you haven’t taken the time to evaluate the floor plan of your child’s bedroom in a while, now that you’re in the groove of purging and organizing, you can take it one step further by hanging out in his/her bedroom for a bit and seeing if the furniture arrangement still works. Does the way your child’s bed is positioned make the best use of space? Even in a small room, is there enough space to move freely about given the existing set up of the bed, bureau, and other pieces of furniture like a bookcase or desk and chair? Try moving around your furniture to create a new look. If that’s not enough, and your child’s furniture is looking old and tired, try re-painting some of it or even replacing existing dresser knobs to freshen things up. We recently gave my daughter’s desk a complete makeover with a simple can of aqua blue spray paint. It made her entire bedroom look crisp and new.
Tip #5: Show Those Walls the Love
Speaking of changing the feel of a room with color, while you and your child are evaluating how the existing floor plan of his/her bedroom is working, take a good look at the walls. Are they looking a little dull and tired? Get your child’s input for a new color scheme. You can really make an impact by just painting one wall a bold accent color. There are also very cool wallpaper murals available now that you could place on just one section of the bedroom to freshen it up or how about letting your child choose some vibrant new posters or artwork to hang in his/her bedroom to give it a bit more personality?
Tip #6: Add a Fun Factor
A child’s bedroom can serve more purposes than just a place to sleep. It’s also his/her private retreat from the rest of the household, a place for some quiet time, and a space where he/she can be creative and also dream big. If you’re looking to perhaps add some whimsy or unexpected delight to your child’s bedroom, this might be a great time to interject a little fun factor. When my sons were pre-schooler’s we made one corner of their bedroom a permanent fort using large cardboard boxes that we painted to resemble a log cabin. To this day, now in college, they still talk about their special fort. A fun factor can be something small or something elaborate. Check out some of these clever and dramatic ideas on buzz feed.
Tip #7: Create a Maintenance Routine
If there’s one thing most kid’s bedrooms have in common it’s the ability for these areas to be caught up in a frustrating cycle of being clean and organized only to suddenly become chaotic and messy within a matter of hours. Help guide your children to establish healthy maintenance routines so that they can stay on top of the clutter and such by managing the care of their rooms on a daily and weekly basis, not just when it reaches a point of a disastrous mess.
Come up with a daily and weekly list of bedroom maintenance items such as making the bed each morning and putting all toys and books that have been used away by the beginning of each weekend to help your child (and you) stay on top of things. If they learn young how to care for their personal belongings and their sacred space they’ll be better apt to do so when they become young adults. See Also: How to Get Kids to Help with Chores
How do you help your kids keep their bedrooms in order? Share your thoughts in the comments section at quickanddirtytips mighty-mommy, post your ideas on the Mighty Mommy Facebook page. or email me at mommy@quickanddirtytips.comcreate new email. Visit my family-friendly boards at Pinterest MightyMommyQDT.
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About the Author
Cheryl L. Butler was the host of the Mighty Mommy podcast for nine years from 2012 to 2021. She is the mother of eight children. Her experiences with infertility, adoption, seven pregnancies, and raising children with developmental delays have helped her become a resource on the joys and challenges of parenting. You can reach her by email.