Storage solutions for kids rooms to help keep them clutter free
Discover how combining a little child psychology with the right storage solutions for kids rooms can help the whole family live with a little less clutter.
Discover how combining a little child psychology with the right storage solutions for kids rooms can help the whole family live with a little less clutter.
It’s no secret that storing things isn’t high on any child’s list of priorities. Why put your toys away when you’re only going to use them later? Who can be bothered with putting things away when you can be doing something more exciting?
A little child psychology combined with the right storage ideas can turn the tide in your favour.
Your kids can enjoy organising things. They just like having fun more. If it's easy for them to store their clothes and toys and they have bright, colourful storage boxes and bins, tidying up the room can be an enjoyable pastime rather than an unwelcome chore.
Imagine you are a bundle of energy that views the world from a kid's-eye perspective. You’ll want your storage boxes to be at eye level or below and won't want to have to open and close drawers and doors.
Store clothes you don't want to be readily accessible to young children in drawers and provide hooks at kids' height for jackets and other clothes they need when they go outdoors.
You can make tidying up interesting and enjoyable for kids if you get them involved in the process rather than present it as a chore that must be done. Let them help choose their storage items and ask for their input on where they want to store things.
Letting children help choose their storage containers empowers kids. It makes them feel like the containers are theirs and is an opportunity for them to learn what the containers are for.
When everything is set up, you can make a game of putting different types of things in their separate containers. This helps make clean-up time fun rather than a chore and make them feel like they are in charge of their room.
Scheduling a clean-up time can help children understand that tidying up has to be done regularly. They will be more willing to help if clean-up time doesn't interfere with their other activities.
Help them clean-up and make a game of it. Before you know it, they will automatically put things back where they belong, even outside the scheduled time.
As adults, we tend to organise storage from adult eye-level. Children are much closer to the floor than we are, though. Organise storage from ground level, with the most frequently used items near the floor.
So that your kids don't have to reach up for things like books on a shelf that could easily topple over, store them at an accessible height. Little used items or things you don't want them to access without supervision can be stored on higher shelves.
A kid's closet can be a disorganised mess or a tidy masterpiece. If your child's closet is the former, an IKEA installer can put together a kid's closet for you that will be easy to keep organised and prevent children from just tossing everything in a heap on the closet floor.
Children quickly learn to put things in their place if they can recognise it by its size, shape and colour.
Having small baskets for crayons and other small items makes it easy for them to clean up their tables.
They can put balls and other larger toys into separate boxes or crates and easily remember where each type of toy goes by the colour, shape and even texture of the container.
A child is far more likely to get into the habit of hanging their coat up rather than tossing it on the bed or floor if they can easily place it on a hook.
In your child’s bedroom have two types of storage areas. One for easy-to-access everyday storage. The other, for items they need, but don't necessarily use every day or without supervision.
When you're planning storage, look at the walls and closet and think about what you want your child to have easy access to and what should be put out of their reach. For example, if they have a lot of stuffed toys, you might want to put most of them on display on a higher shelf and take a few down for them to play with and store in a basket when they aren't using them.
Look for storage and shelving suppliers that sell storage specifically for kids.
Look for storage bins, baskets and boxes, that can simply be placed or stacked on the floor. Others, like closet systems and shelving units, require installation.
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