The Best Way to Organize Your Child’s Room Today

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“A place for everything and everything in its place.” It’s a well-known saying that seems to state the obvious regarding organization, but a mama (like me) can really avoid a lot of early gray hairs popping up by heeding this popular phrase.

And while it’s definitely a piece of advice we as adults do well to obey, we might mutually agree that it isn’t always as easy for kids, to follow through and do…

Or is it? 

I’m the type of person who feels that my job isn’t done unless everything is pretty much back in its place. 

Messes make me restless.

I’m the kind of person who, if I have a pile of dishes in the sink at night or if it’s bedtime and toys are left everywhere, I just don’t feel like my job is done. I personally don’t feel like I’ve officially earned the right to “flop”(our family’s word for just kicking back and relaxing).

If “what goes up must come down”, what comes out of place must go back in place too… at least before I feel I have the right to relax.  

And since that is just how I’m wired, I find that it’s also important to teach my son to know where things belong, so that as he grows, he can follow through in being organized as well.

No, I’m not saying that he has to be just like me, but it certainly helps a mama out if I teach my son to do the things that will make life a little easier for everyone…while also teaching him personal responsibility.

Although each person is built differently and we may not all have that inner craving to be super organized (and I’m not saying I always am), if we do happen to be around someone who prefers organization, we do well to be a blessing on our end by arranging the environment to meet that desired expectation…

Which is one reason why… I… Love… Bins.

While it didn’t just occur to me overnight, I’ve learned that as long as I designate a place for something and continue to follow through in making that place the object’s “home”, it is much easier for my toddler to also identify that location as the designated place.

So, what does this look like in my home? Well, upon walking into my son’s room, the first thing you’d probably notice is the large 16-cubby shelving unit that we purchased at IKEA. (Love that place! And I think every teacher I’m friends with does as well.)

It’s on this unit that you’ll find an assortment of things that range from blocks to trucks to a couple of stuffed toys. (This arrangement changes as we reorganize, rearrange, and weed out toys.)

But….

What I love the most about this organization unit are the bins that hide and store all of the little toys my son enjoys playing with. No, not everything has to be front and center in the room or have its own special place on the shelf. Some things can simply be categorized and tossed in a container with other similar objects.

If you notice in the picture, there are a total of eight bins on the unit. The four red bins were cheaply picked up at the local Dollar Tree (for $1 each) and the bottom blue bins were purchased at a slightly higher cost from the Container Store (for $14.99 each). 

This simply goes to show that it doesn’t have to cost a whole lot if you’re in the market to purchase a few items to help you organize your child’s room. Our Dollar Tree bins have worked just as well as our Container Store bins.

Categorize

In the blue bins, you’ll find one holding books, another two containing Legos, and a fourth housing small toys.

In the red bins, you’ll find another kind of assortment, such as: tools, gadgets, gears and science items, squishies, sorted toys in containers, and various kinds of sports balls in the fourth.

Over time you tweak things to make the organization process fit even more to your lifestyle. For example, I recently decided to have books lining the entire top shelf rather than storing them in bins below.)

In having this kind of set-up, where everything basically has a categorized “home”, I’ve been finding that my son is more equipped to help me during clean up time…something that will at first take more intention to teach but which definitely gets easier over time.

Teaching Responsibility

Yes, it’s usually so much easier for us moms to quickly pick up the mess of toys, and in the past and on occasion at times I still may. But while it’s true that I can quickly get the job done, always doing this for my son doesn’t serve in helping him learn personal responsibility, which is something we need to begin teaching our children now while they are young so that it doesn’t become more of a challenge later. 

When you first start teaching your little one to clean up, they’ll definitely need help. A big mess can be overwhelming to a little person for sure. But I noticed that by asking my son “where” things go or holding a specific object for him to put away that the task became a little more do-able. Providing simple step by step help is always much better when teaching a toddler than giving general commands. 

A Place for Everything

For me, being purposeful in having a place for belongings as well as intentionally giving easy directions to help my son learn to participate in the cleaning process is an important key to helping things run a bit more smoothly in my home.

No, a clean and organized child’s room doesn’t happen by accident. But with God’s help, patience, continued effort and practice, I’m expecting my son to learn important skills like this that will help him not only learn personal responsibility but also foster a well-deserved sense of pride after the task of cleaning up is finished.

Yes, it’s definitely something I need to continue working on if I want it to become a personal habit in my son, but I do look forward to one day seeing it become so much a part of his nature as we continue to work on it, with God’s help, that he won’t need reminders from Mom when he’s a teenager.

Faye Adams is a wife, mother, and a devoted follower of Jesus. Faye’s faith plays a central role in her life, and she is passionate about sharing Jesus with others through Bible study and everyday interactions. Believing that our relationship with God through Christ impacts all aspects of life, Faye aims to bring others closer to experiencing the peace, joy, fulfillment, and freedom that come from knowing Him.