Organizing Our Playroom
Photo by Ashley Barrett
I have been getting a lot of questions about playrooms and I probably will share a lot of playroom ideas with you on the blog because I love them so much. They are some of my favorite spaces to design because they are so fun! What isn’t always fun though is keeping them tidy and organized. Especially if your house is a three ring circus like ours. So today I sharing a few simple ideas that have worked for us.
I absolutely believe that kids should learn early that they should be responsible for helping to clean up after an epic play session. But if I had a dollar for every time I have been on my hands and knees putting toys away...well you get my point. I also have a 2 and a 5 year old, so it’s safe to say I have to manage my expectations. However, Emme is getting to an age where she gets it and I have found that organizing with that in mind has been really helpful! If I keep it simple and not terribly specific so it’s not as overwhelming for her (or me) to get things back in order.
When organizing our current playroom, I was faced with a whole new type of toy. Emme is really into Shopkins and small figurines. I went to The Container Store (ie my HEAVEN) and grabbed a bunch of colorful plastic bins that easily stack on top of each other and are also great for smaller collections. Emme broke down the categories the way it made sense to her and we went with it. I wasn’t going to hold my breath that there would be any luck having her help maintain the system, but turns out since it made sense to her she’s able to chuck the little creatures back into their box! Full disclosure, I’m still on my hands and knees a couple times a week making sure things don’t go too off the rails, but we are in a pretty great groove.
Photo by Heidi Ryder
The other big area that has always been a bit of struggle is the arts and crafts area. There are so many crayons and markers and stamps that go rogue in our house and that’s the kind of thing that keeps me up at night. See, my little one is as mischievous as it gets and homegirl will hoard these little weapons and attack every white wall in sight. It’s war people! I found this colorful tower at Michaels and it has been a lifesaver. Each little bin is perfectly kid height and super easy for them to get in and out of. And even better, it’s really easy for them to put things back! But the best part of this beauty is that it has wheels! I can wheel that puppy wherever the craft zone is in that moment and then wheel it right back into the closet that is ‘Sailor proof’!
Photo by Heidi Ryder
I also picked up a couple of office organizers from The Container Store and one functions as ‘art we want to keep’ and the other one is where Emme keeps her ‘works in progress’. I seriously laugh every time I say that. But ever since building out my office and design studio in our house, she sees me actually working in a new way. Normally she’s behind a monitor with headphones on feasting on craft service candy. Now she’s also pinning fabric samples to the pin board and giving her opinions on wood finishes :) So these little bins are her version of an ‘office’ :)
Photo by Heidi Ryder
Finally, I bought these 3 Sprouts toy boxes for the American Girl doll collection that is rapidly growing and the stuffed animals that my husband is convinced means more to me than the girls. Whatever the case, they have a box and they aren’t going anywhere...yet.
Photo by Heidi Ryder
I hope these little ideas are helpful and I can’t wait to share more! What are some of your tricks for keeping the playroom tidy???
Xx,
Jo