Organizing Kids Playrooms
Have your kids grown a bit since you set up their playroom? They do that and it never stops! I remember setting up my daughter’s playroom when she was tiny – it was a small alcove off her bedroom that we set up with soft toys and pretend play. Then she got older and it shifted to arts & crafts, play kitchen, and so. much. dress up. We moved shortly after that and the new playroom got a natural reset as she was starting Montessori school here in Tennessee but every year or so – we were making changes based on her interests and needs. For our clients – we see the pile up of outdated toys, completed craft projects, treasures, books, and more that seem never-ending. A spring reset on the playroom means you can head into the summer fun without missing a beat so read on for our top tips for organizing kids playrooms:
Organizing Kids Playrooms
1. Edit, edit, and edit some more!
This is the time to purge – and be ruthless about it. Studies have shown that kids play with more when they have fewer choices because large volumes overwhelm them. Toss or donate the low hanging fruit first: broken toys, books no one likes, crumpled drawings, the crap from birthday parties, outgrown items, etc. Then sort out the remainder by who uses it, type of toy, and grouping like with like. Once you have all the parts together that go together – it’ll be easier to make the decisions about what to keep and what to let go. Keeping things just because you hope they’ll someday want to play with it or because they once played with it means the stuff they actually will play with gets buried. Editing out everything that isn’t something they love right now means they’ll have space for what they actually want to do.
Pro Tips!
- if you have younger children who will grow into items or are planning to have more - bin up the best toys/books and label by age range to store elsewhere.
- if you are donating toys with small parts - use a Ziploc bag to corral the small parts and use packing tape to attach it to the larger portion so they don't get lost in transit or at the thrift store.
Organizing Kids Playrooms
2. Create (or add to) memory bins for each child.
A memory bin can be any type of storage box though we typically use either a weathertight tote or a deep storage box to hold art/craft projects, school milestones, awards, etc. Label each bin with the childs name and the beginning date of the memories (ex. Sam 3/2024). This bin can ideally be stored where it’s easily accessible to add new items until it is full!
3. Evaluate your infrastructure - and add as needed.
One of the biggest issues we see in playrooms is the lack of a place to actually store things – even if there is a closet, it’s a wire shelf or two that is usually not accessible to little ones. So creating storage is key because they can’t clean up if things don’t have homes. Elfa, Ikea, and Pottery Barn systems are our biggest go to options.
Tips & Ideas
- install a new shelving system like Elfa to maximize the space from floor to ceiling in a closet or on a wall
- add cubbies or storage furniture pieces especially if you can maximize vertical space (Ikea makes some great pieces for this especially their Kallax cubbies and the Trofast system, as does Pottery Barn Kids)
- use mobile storage such as 3 tier carts or Elfa drawer units
- add wall mounted shelving such as book racks, acrylic display shelves or art wires
Pro tip: always fasten furniture pieces to the wall with anti-tip child safety devices.
Organizing Kids Playrooms
4. Use clear bins that stack and are consistent in size/style.
I know it’s fun to find multi-colored bins and baskets and shop at places like Home Goods or the like, but consistency and calm are critical when setting up kids’ spaces. Kids’ toys and books are full of vibrancy and color for the most part so adding more on top of that can feel stressful. These clear bins from Container Store do the trick for most everything!
5. Create zones a la Montessori based on the current interests.
Zones we often set up in playrooms:
- Books! Use book ends/book holders on shelves and baskets near your reading nook to keep book chaos under control. Tip: create one tote that is just for library books and these always go back into that tote. When it's library time, just grab the tote and go.
- Kitchen! A 3 tier cart is perfect to corral all of the small parts and looks cute too!
- Dress Up! This dress up rack is so much fun, or a set of hooks on the wall with baskets below. We've also repurposed small closets for this.
- Legos/building! Legos can be it's own post all together but the key to organizing things with lots of parts is identifying how they are played with because that determines how you store them. Kids who craft by kit are different from those who like to rustle through a big tub. Some think by color, some by style, some by usage.
- Arts & Crafts! This can get messy so a table like this Carolina Table from PBKids is great to keep things contained - and adding a washable mat underneath can also help!
- Pretend Play! This is usually action figures, plastic animals/dinosaurs, Barbie's, baby dolls and the like along with all their gear. Stacking drawers can be useful here as well as soft baskets.
- And keeping some floor space for tumbling or active play is always amazing if space allows.
Organizing Your Playroom: Spring Refresh Edition
Getting your playroom organized for spring (or any time) can be a game changer for how your family functions and take a ton of stress off your mind in your day to day. We’d love to help so just drop us a line!
