What Every Kid’s Bedroom Needs to Stay Decluttered and Organized
How in the world do kids collect so much stuff?
It’s like their junk multiplies at night when we’re not looking!
The volume of the possessions and the various sizes of things that there are is what is so confounding!
Trying to organize kid rooms is one of the biggest struggles clients ask for help with.
In any kid room, the object is to get rid of the absolute junk (Happy Meal toys, prizes from school and birthday loot bag contents to name a few), keep what they need and play with, then contain what’s being kept.
This is the oversimplified, way boiled down one sentence summary of how to organize a kid room.
Which makes it seem more simple than it actually is, as anyone who has ever tried to organize kid rooms can attest!
Here are some specific solutions that will work to organize kid rooms and to help keep them organized and clutter free!
Problem: The room is getting overrun with (stuffed) animals
Kids are notorious for their collections of stuffed animals!
They can quickly take over a space and are kind of hard to keep organized.
That is unless one of the fabulous solutions are used!
Make the stuffed animals work as the stuffing of a chair!
This is a fabulous solution for keeping the animals dust-free too!
And I’ll bet your kids will get a kick out of their animals hiding in plain sight!
Hang the stuffed animals from a chain!
This is a good solution for a child with a smaller collection of animals- either in amount of size of animal.
The animals are clipped to the chain, so they can easily be added or removed.
Or how about putting them up and away in a hammock?
This option gets everything up and into a corner that probably isn’t being used.
If you really don’t like the look of the hoard of animals, you can tuck it in a corner behind the door!
One last solution for organizing stuffed animals is to corral them all in a nice tall basket!
I like baskets like these because they will grow with your child.
It would fit in to a teen’s room as well as a younger child’s room.
That’s a big plus in my book!
Problem: You want to make use of the under the bed space for storage
Ideally, the space under the bed should be kept open and clear, but sometimes it makes the most sense to add some storage there.
This is true for tight spaces as well as kids rooms.
Because if you don’t put something there, then the space will inevitably get filled with all sorts of dirty clothes, candy wrappers, toys, and dust bunnies!
Add a set of drawers under the bed!
I think the look of these is so lovely and streamlined!
The white color scheme will grow with your child and will add a pop of brightness to a dark space.
This wire frame rolling basket would be good for larger item to tuck right under the bed.
One last open top under the bed storage option is this fabric collapsible storage box.
Nice to have the option to fold it down to keep the sides unbent and strong when not in use.
Prefer closed top options?
This under bed storage box is nice because it has a lid that’ll keep the contents dust free.
And since the bottom is clear, you can see what’s inside without having to pull the whole thing out!
I prefer plastic bins that have latching handles for kids, like this set of Sterilite bins.
They seem to have an easier time than with the non-latching bins.
Not looking for something so fancy?
These zip top storage bins from Amazon Basics are wallet friendly.
They’re probably best for older kids and teenagers.
Need More Vertical Space Under the Bed?
If you’re concerned about having enough clearance for any of these solutions, maybe give the bed a slight boost?
With these risers, the tops of the containers won’t be damaged if your monkey jumps on the bed!
Problem: Storing lots of toys and books
Kids room are hard to keep organized due to the sheer volume of stuff.
If you don’t already have ample built in storage, add some into the room!
I love these ClosetMaid shelving units so much that I have two of them!
I use them to store books and toys in my youngest son’s bedroom and to store toys and video games in the playroom.
We do use them very similarly to the picture here, with smaller books living in the canvas bins.
The bins make it more visually appealing and help make full use of the vertical space.
Make the most of these units by putting smaller containers in them. Like these!
I also adore these Ikea bins.
They are a really good size for smaller toys and are also good for hair clips (mine, not my boys’).
These bins are also awesome because they stack very nicely.
One way to use bins successfully with kids is to use them as limit setters.
As in, “you can keep what fits in these bins, and the rest needs to go!”
This forces kids to keep a limited amount of stuff that you very well may consider to be junk, but they view as treasure.
These fabric bins are nice because they come in a variety of color schemes and have a built in place for a label!
Speaking of labels, use this set of printable toy labels to keep all the toys in your home, no matter where they’re stored, organized!
These solid plastic bins are another good option to add into a cube organizer.
Problem: Clothes everywhere
Kids do have trouble keeping their clothes picked up!
Add in ways for them to organize both their dirty, worn clothes as well as their clean clothing!
Every bedroom, especially a kid’s room, needs a hamper to manage dirty clothing.
Each of my boys has this hamper from Ikea:
They are very durable and have withstood the kids hiding in them, rolling around in them and getting dragged up and down the stairs. I really like how much the hampers hold, especially as my children grow and their clothing gets bigger!
Another good option for a laundry basket is this grey and white striped tall basket.
Its neutral color palette will blend in nicely with many color schemes and grow with your child!
If you prefer a different pattern, check out this laundry hamper option that comes in polka dots, floral, stripes and stars!
Clean clothing organization
If there’s space available, take advantage of the vertical space in the closet to organize clothing that’s ready to wear:
Use a hanging clothing organizer to help your child organize their rooms. We’ve used a similar organizer in a few ways over the years.
First, we used it to store games. The boxes slid in so nicely and it made it so that the lids stayed on and pieces didn’t fall out.
Next, we used the same organizer (I love to re-purpose organizing products in my home!) to organize clothes for the week.
My oldest son would put his clean clothes away by putting outfits in the bin for the day of the week.
Yes, he wore the pretty much the same thing each week, but he was taking something off of my to-do list AND there were no clothes strewn about his room.
Currently, we use it for all my oldest’s hockey clothes in his closet.
It’s a nice way to easily separate out his athletic wear and base layers so that he can grab them quickly when it’s time for practice or a game.
If you’re now down with the primary color scheme, here’s another hanging clothing organizer option.
This organizer comes with mesh pockets to handle accessories like belts and hats.
To keep the clothing in drawers organized, I recommend adding a set of labels, especially for younger kids.
This set is also available in the Streamlined Living Shop in blue and pink!
Problem: Wrappers and other Trash Littering Up the Room
Since my oldest became a teenager, literal trash being in his room is a continual problem!
To truly organize kid rooms, and ensure they don’t literally become a trash heap, make sure that the room has a trash bin.
And make sure that the bin is plastic so that it can be washed out.
Inevitably, something sticky or gooey will be tossed into the bin (when there’s no bag in the bin, of course!) and if the bin is a nice woven bin, it’ll be difficult to clean. Ewwwww!
This type of waste bin is small, making it perfect for bedrooms. Not too much will fit in before it’ll need to be emptied.
And ti comes in a big variety of colors, so you’re sure to find the perfect shade to match the room’s decor!
Another option is this shatter proof waste can.
My kids have cracked a few waste bins, so I should probably upgrade to this one already.
Over to you!
What is your favorite idea for keeping kid rooms organized?
Tell me in the comments and let’s chat!
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