Playroom organization tips?

[spotty_dog]

Oh, man. Tidying the playroom is totally my Achilles heel. I haven't done it properly in about a month...I put it on my to-do list, fail to do it for a week or more, then do it half-heartedly and check it off with the justification "I'll *really* do it next week."

I know that the job is just too overwhelming. I need it to be easier to put stuff away, and I maybe need to break the whole job down into sub-tasks that I can tackle separately.

My biggest problems are books, Legos, and school papers. I also keep my own hobby supplies in there (portable spinning wheel, some fiber and some knitting projects) and these don't have good storage solutions or a place to stay confined.

Any tips or ideas? If I get brave I'll post a photo, that might be good motivation for me to do something about it.

[civilspouse]

No advice, just commiseration. I will be following this thread. Our toys and books aren't as organized as I'd like. I think if they were better organized it would be easier for DS to help keep things put away when he's done with them. I did add some of those Ikea spice racks for book shelves in the kids room (like on Pinterest). They don't take up much space and look cute but I'm guessing they wouldn't be as effective for chapter books.

[poky]

You need to post a photo! I have no idea what kind of space we're talking about, or how much lego or books or papers, or what ELSE is in there, and how much fiber and what kind of "not good" storage solutions you currently have. I'm also not sure of your definitions of "half-heartedly" and "done properly"

Off the top of my head, for lego, I'd recommend a quick google image search of "ikea lego storage" - looks like *lots* of people use the trofast drawer/shelf things to store lego, in all sorts of configurations. I know the nearest IKEA is a long way away, but it might be worth the trip. For books, do you just not have enough shelves? What do you mean by school papers? Workbooks? Textbooks? loose papers brought home to complete, loose papers brought home because they're finished? How much are we talking about, and how do you need to be able to use/get to them?

[spotty_dog]

Photo coming. It's shameful though. For me, "Done properly" means the floor is picked up enough to sweep it and piles elsewhere are at least tidy ones. What I have instead is paper grocery sacks full of school papers (some from previous years that have no home, some from this year that I plan to sort through some day.) Bookshelf space is borderline, and fluctuating amounts of library books means that sometimes there's just noplace to put stuff so it ends up scattered or piled on the floor. I have a Lego system -- jumbled quickly picked up bricks go in one of two Trofast buckets, then every so often I organize by color into clear plastic "shoeboxes". This system falls down a lot though, and currently I have more shoeboxes than shelf space for them. I have a three-drawer plastic organizer that has spindle and knitting projects in progress; a basket on top of it holds some loose fiber and sometimes I pile other stuff there too. My Pocket Wheel lives in a canvas bag and its project-in-progress is in a big Ziplock that goes around with it. But there is no specific in which to put this stuff (sometimes it lives in the living room behind a chair but it gets booted when I tidy the living room and then lives in the middle of the playroom floor.)

Okay, I'm tackling this as soon as I'm dressed (maybe after hiking) so, photos to come!

[GreyhoundsRUs]

Playroom organization tips?

Here is what has been working for us so far. Keeping in mind that my kids are a lot younger, but they actually can put their stuff away by themselves for the most part. For Legos we just have everything in in one of our shelving are in an open cube on our shelving area as well. We have some smaller IKEA Trofast boxes stacked into one of the cubbies to hold a few smaller kits of things.

As far as your stuff goes, I really have no idea what any of your crafting stuff actually looks like, but when I have them in my office is the following: a corner with boxes underneath the desk, and a Rubbermaid "dresser". My philosophy is that it either needs to go in a container or it needs to look tidy!

I can post more detailed pictures later if you're interested.ImageUploadedByTapatalk1422378291.865635.jpg

[poky]

Photo coming. It's shameful though. For me, "Done properly" means the floor is picked up enough to sweep it and piles elsewhere are at least tidy ones. What I have instead is paper grocery sacks full of school papers (some from previous years that have no home, some from this year that I plan to sort through some day.) Bookshelf space is borderline, and fluctuating amounts of library books means that sometimes there's just noplace to put stuff so it ends up scattered or piled on the floor. I have a Lego system -- jumbled quickly picked up bricks go in one of two Trofast buckets, then every so often I organize by color into clear plastic "shoeboxes". This system falls down a lot though, and currently I have more shoeboxes than shelf space for them. I have a three-drawer plastic organizer that has spindle and knitting projects in progress; a basket on top of it holds some loose fiber and sometimes I pile other stuff there too. My Pocket Wheel lives in a canvas bag and its project-in-progress is in a big Ziplock that goes around with it. But there is no specific in which to put this stuff (sometimes it lives in the living room behind a chair but it gets booted when I tidy the living room and then lives in the middle of the playroom floor.)

Okay, I'm tackling this as soon as I'm dressed (maybe after hiking) so, photos to come!

OK, you've identified some *really* obvious things: Not enough shelf space for fluctuating amounts of books, and not enough shelf space for bins of legos.

Would the legos be easier if you had a bunch of small trofast bins intead of closed shoebox bins for sorted colors? That would also free up shelf space currently used for the shoeboxes for more books. Not knowing the space makes it harder, but do they play with the lego on the floor, or if you made a table out of trofast shelves, would they use that, and would there be room for it in the room? (see: google image search for ikea lego storage). Are there books that are too young for them that they don't read any more that you could donate or store in a closet or attic?

ETA: the school papers sound like a separate sorting project, not necessarily a "tidy the playroom" project. How much paper are we talking about? I'm currently staring down an 18 gallon rubbermaid tub FULL of papers I have intended to file or otherwise sort through and deal with for several years. I can't imagine you've got anywhere near that much. First step is deciding what the options are for each piece. Recycle or store for posterity, I would imagine, unless there's another option I'm not thinking off. Go through it all once, just dumping into two big piles, then see how big the "store" pile is, and you can figure out storage from there, once you have an idea of volume.

I have no idea on the craft stuff; I'd probably recommend finding a place in another room, if possible? Things not having a "home" drives me nuts.

[MrsK]

I'll post soon. I'm at school with K1 and he just announced that he needs to potty.

[spotty_dog]

MrsK, I don't need to get your professional services for free! Thanks though. This is the one catch-all room in the house. The kids keep little in their rooms, and I keep the living room picked up...it all goes here.

Click for large view - Uploaded with Skitch

Click for large view - Uploaded with Skitch

[spotty_dog]

Okay, more to come, we're on our way out the door!

[poky]

This is the one catch-all room in the house. The kids keep little in their rooms, and I keep the living room picked up...it all goes here.

Ah! See, THAT is the root of the problem. If you don't know where to put something, it goes in here...and then you still don't know where to put it. I'd be tempted to pull the furniture out completely (do you need the little loveseat in there?), take everything that isn't kids books off the bookshelf (for now, but I'm thinking all that non-kid stuff on there should be gone through and consolidated till it just takes up a couple shelves; that'll give you plenty of room for the books and legos), and go from there, piling like things together, and then figuring out where each pile goes, and putting it there. Am I seeing books and other random stuff in the colorful angled bins - the toys on the floor should probably be in those bins, no?

Gah! I want to get in there and just spend an hour or two helping you organize; we could totally whip that room into shape!

[MrsK]

As poky said, a picture is worth a thousand words.

First, you need to sort and purge. Start with a small area, like one book shelf. Give yourself 5 minutes to just pick out anything that is trash. Trash would be books that are torn, crumpled papers, broken toys, games and puzzles without pieces, etc. Then go through it again and figure out what you can donate. Do this with your kids too. If they have outgrown a book, you have duplicates, the story is creepy anyway...donate it! A lot of public libraries sell donated books to raise funds for new books. If a toy drives you nuts, the kids just scatter pieces around, it bores them...let it go! Finally, group like things together and figure out how much space you need for that type of item.

For artwork, I'd recommend a sort and purge too. Grab a handful and pick out your favorites. Personally, I don't keep stuff if the teacher "helped" a lot, if it's coloring pages, scribbles, etc. I don't keep stuff for holidays that aren't relevant to my family. If it is for a holiday that is relevant, I store it with the supplies/decorations for that holiday so that I see it again that time of year. Then I'd go through what is left with the kid that created it, pick out a couple of the best pieces for framing, and then put the rest in a portfolio. One portfolio per kid. If you are really ambitious, you can photograph each piece and make an album via snapfish or the like and then throw away the originals. I'd also consider hanging a clothesline for a rotating gallery and employ a one-in-one-out system for displaying current work. Then you can make a decision when you change it out as to whether it will be saved, photographed, framed, or tossed.

For legos -- I wouldn't bother sorting. The more tedious the system, the lest likely it will be implemented. I'd get a big, shallow clear container that is big enough for all of them and then just toss them in. Use an under the bed box if you have to.

For library books -- I like to keep them separate from the kids' collection. I keep them in a tote bag that I take to/from the library (which lives in my car now so we can take the books into restaurants and waiting rooms) or a separate basket or a magazine rack.

[MrsK]

Consider dividing the room into sections. The library, lego section, craft dept, mommy's crafts, etc. Then organize each section according to use. Think kindergarten classroom. Remove anything that doesn't have to be in that room. Are there any large toys or pieces of furniture that are not used? If so, get rid of them and you'll be amazed at how great an impact that makes. I'm seeing a lot of storage place that is blocked, bins and shelves that are behind other furnishing so it's hard to get to them. You might want to consider moving the sofa away from the wall too so you can put a bookcase or cubbies behind the sofa for more storage.

[MrsK]

Also, can you "go vertical" and put more shelving or a cupboard on another wall? An up high cabinet or some shelves with baskets might be good for your craft stuff.

Consider this a test case for virtual organizing.... The difficulty is that you have to be willing to follow through and do the heavy lifting yourself.

[spotty_dog]

Thanks, guys. This is motivating. It's another example of I *know* the best practices, but implementing them...oi! We've done variations on the "centers" theme and this is only the latest iteration (I did this furniture arrangement about 1-2 months ago.) The couch has been a thorn in my foot since we moved in, it *never* gets used for sitting, it has been mostly a place for piles to accumulate. I'd rather put in a bean bag and strong light to create a reading nook. But when I propose Freecycling it or getting Habitat to pick it up, DH is strangely resistant. I just need to do it I think. The Calico Critters table is annoying too. It only gets played with if we have friends over, and the rest of the time it impedes access to the whole room. I wonder if it would fit in DD's room.

We did a book purge last week and could stand to get rid of a little more. Part of the problem there is that I'm trying to build a library of classics, but many of the books are just a *smidge* above their current reading level and they tell me they'd rather have it as a read-aloud. Well, I'd love to read these books aloud too but there are only so many hours in a day! So maybe a bit of deep storage for some of those...

When I do my regular tidying, I do the standard pass through: garbage, recycle, donate, put away in another room. Then put away things that belong in the room, dust/sweep, sometimes deeper clean by moving things and cleaning their shelf or bucket. When I stay on top of it, this works fine for us to be able to walk through the room and use it in a reasonable fashion. But it's just always a sticky wicket for me, I see that task on my list and I avoid it. Then it builds up to REALLY overwhelming and I can't get started! So better organization and task assignment will help.

I'm going to Skitch a couple more photos, just to really wallow in my own shame and motivate myself to get started. I'm seriously considering a dedicated trip to Walmart and Home Depot this afternoon for organizing materials once I get the surface-level stuff cleared out.

[spotty_dog]

Click for large view - Uploaded with Skitch

Click for large view - Uploaded with Skitch