Playroom Ideas - Organizing Your Playroom

a continuation of my posts on revamping the playroom...

I would be remiss, here at Organized Mommy, to conclude my series on revamping the playroom without talking about organization!

As you know, I like to keep things really simple.

1) A place for everything and everything in its place
- Make sure your playroom has a home for all the toys. Either add storage, or remove some of the toys. When in doubt, remove some toys rather than adding storage.

2) One in one out
- For every new toy, get rid of one toy. Have your kids help you choose which one. Hand it down to another kid you know or donate it to charity. It's good to purge right before those times where you are expecting an influx of toys, like Christmas and birthdays.

3) Keep toys visible and accessible
- Having fewer toys makes this easier (see #1 and #2). Traditional toyboxes are the worst kind of toy storage! It is chaotic, overwhelming for kids to find something, and ensures that they will dump out lots of toys before finding the one they want. I prefer this Tot Tutors toy shelf. For items that don't fit in the toy shelf, I like these fabric bins. We have two bins for dress-up items, and one bin for AB's baby toys. Books go on a regular book shelf, and other larger toys are lined up along the wall in specific places.

4) Designate one bin for each toy or type of toy.
- One bin for blocks, one for legos, one for the kitchen play set, one for doll clothes, one for puzzles, etc. That way, kids can see what toys they have, and know that each of their toys have a designated place. Very Montessori.

5) Leave lots of open space for kids to run around
- Having fewer toys makes this easier (do you sense a theme here?). I dislike it when playrooms have a big table in the middle. I would move it off to the side and leave the center open. I think that kids are a lot more creative when they have more open space.

How do you keep your playroom organized?