Kids and mess go together, don’t they? That’s what many parents assume, and it’s easy to despair of keeping a child’s bedroom tidy as they seem to acquire endless new bits and pieces that get left all over the floor. Well-planned storage, however, makes it a lot easier to get on top of this problem – and even to get the kids to help.
Planning from the outset
The ideal time to work out storage solutions is when your child is about to move into a new room. This means you’ll be able to work out exactly what’s needed and fit it all in sensibly without having to work around what’s already there. One of the best storage solutions for a child’s bedroom, assuming they’re old enough, is the cabin bed, which gives you lots of room to store things underneath in combination with the added excitement of a top bunk experience. It’s easy to dress this up like a castle or pirate ship to make it even more fun to use. You can also create useful storage space using an ottoman or a window seat that could double as a chest, and you can keep boxes in the space underneath standard items of furniture. Shelves are useful, of course, but make sure they’re well secured because kids will often see them as a climbing challenge.
Creative storage solutions
There are many creative ways you can solve your storage problems:
- Pockets – a sheet of cloth hanging from a wall or wardrobe and covered in pockets make a great home for small items.
- Transparent jars – these enable you to store small items on shelves and easily see what’s where. Stick to plastic ones for younger kids.
- Pegboards – these are great for hanging up awkwardly shaped items such as super soakers and toy spaceships.
- Folding cylinder drums – collapsible and available in a range of cheerful colors, these make great laundry baskets or homes for toys.
- Winches – for older children who can use them safely, these are great for storing items such as bikes high and out of the way.
Make storage fun
What’s even better than having a well-planned room with really good storage? Having one where the kids do the tidying themselves! It might sound impossible but there are all sorts of tricks you can use to get them interested. With a bit of cloth and some white cardboard triangles, it’s easy to turn a bin into a hungry monster or dinosaur who’s ready to eat rubbish. Sliding boxes underneath the bed make great mini-beds for dolls and soft animals who need to be tucked in at night. Separate boxes for different colors or types of Lego bricks mean kids learn that sorting things out makes it easier to find what they want the next time they play.
Getting kids involved in tidying encourages them to come up with storage solutions of their own and makes it easier to adapt to their changing needs as they get older. It also helps them get into good habits for life.