Ask any seasoned parent and they’ll tell you that keeping a kid’s playroom organized is next to impossible. With all of that kid energy, it’s no surprise a playroom can quickly become messy and unorganized. Sometimes all it takes is 5 short minutes! There is help, however, when it comes to keeping a kid’s playroom tidy, including strategies, furniture, and well-chosen storage. Many of them won’t just help you keep the playroom pristine but also spark your kid’s creativity!

Large or small, if you’re in desperate need of keeping a kid’s playroom organized, read on! The storage experts at NSA Storage put together the following must-have organization tips just for you, mom and dad! Discover them all to become a kid’s playroom organization pro, below!

Why Does an Organized Playroom Matter?

Well you might not think it’s that important, a clean and organized playing space offers several excellent benefits for children. They include:

• Reduced episodes of overstimulation
• Encourages a child to play independently
• Makes finding toys easier and faster (taking the task off of your shoulders)
• Teaches children responsibility and clean-up habits
• Reduces stress levels for the entire family

Our Top 9 Playroom Organization Tips

1. First, Get Rid of Stuff

Trying to organize a completely cluttered playroom isn’t an easy task. Better to declutter first by getting rid of stuff that your child no longer wants, uses, or needs.  For example:

• Broken toys
• That are missing parts or pieces
• Toys that the children have outgrown
• Old or broken child furniture
• Furniture that doesn’t add anything to the playroom

Donating, or giving away, your child’s unwanted toys can teach them an excellent life lesson in generosity. Once everything is out of your way, you’ll have a blank slate, more or less, to work with. 

2. Make It Easy for Kids to Grab Their Stuff

Depending on their age, and height, keeping things too far off the ground might be problematic for your kids. Instead, make it easy for them to reach their toys. For example:

• Use storage systems that are at ground level.
• Use storage bins that are easy to fill, empty, and move around.
• Hang hooks, hammocks and other storage devices at  your kid’s level.

The best benefit of making it easy for your kids to grab their toys and stuff? It also makes it easier to put their toys away when they’re done! 

3. Use Vertical Space Wherever Possible

If your kids are older and have no problem getting things that are stored higher, you should definitely use vertical space. That way, all of the things they like to do, including drawing, reading, playing, etc., will stay up off of the floor. Here are a few examples of using vertical space:

• Use pegboards to hang your child’s art supplies
• Wall hooks at different levels can be used for hanging dress-up items and much more.
• Toy “hammocks” not only keep things organized but also add some color and fun to a child’s playroom.
• For older children, bookshelves are a great choice. Be sure to mount them securely to the wall.

4. Store Things in Clear, Stackable Plastic Bins

If your child only has a few toys then a regular toy box is probably just fine. However, if they have a lot, storing them in clear, stackable plastic bins is recommended by organization experts. The reasons why include:

• You can easily see what’s inside the bin.
• Since they stack, they will take up less floor space.
• They can be emptied, and filled, quickly.
• Toys and stuff stored inside the bin will stay clean

5. Get in the Zone(s)

Depending on the size of the playroom, experts recommend creating different zones to keep it well organized. The zones will then be used for different activities, including:

• A reading zone for reading and exploring books.
• An art zone with crayons, paper and other creative items.
• A construction zone with Lego and other building toys
• A nap (or “time out”) zone for smaller kids

By creating these zones, your kids will tend to keep items from a certain zone in that zone. That will make toys, games, books, and other stuff easier and faster to find. It will also, as you might have already guessed, help you keep the playroom organized.

6. Get Furniture with Hidden Storage 

Storage is always at a premium in any home, especially in a playroom. For that reason, getting furniture that has hidden storage is definitely a plus. For example:

• “Cube” bookshelves with bins that can easily be taken out or put back in.
• Reading benches that have storage space inside.
• Tables and desks with drawers for storing art supplies.
• A trundle bed to make sleepovers easier.
• An ottoman with hidden storage.

7. Rotate the Playroom Toys Regularly

Researchers have found that too many toys can overwhelm a child and cause them anxiety and stress. For this reason, the same researchers also recommend rotating the toys in your playroom regularly. For example:

• Take any toys your child hasn’t played with lately and store them in a storage area.
• Bring other toys and games back into the collection and re-introduce them to your child or children.
• Take the opportunity to clean or repair toys while they are out of rotation.
• When bringing toys back out, ask your child if they still want them or want to donate them.

8. Create a Clean-Up Routine with Your Kids

Children learn from seeing and doing. If you create a cleanup routine with your kids they will see you do it and learn how to do it themselves. Here are a few tips to set up a cleanup routine for your playroom:

• Clean up at a specific time every day. After dinner or before bedtime work best.
• Pick a song that you can play every time you clean up. Something fun, upbeat but not too over-the-top.
• Turn your cleanup routine into a game with a small reward like a cookie or piece of gum.

9. Set a Good Example

As we mentioned earlier, children learn from seeing and doing. That’s why, as a parent, setting a good example for them is important. If your children see you cleaning up after yourself, and keeping your house tidy, they will do the same.

Use NSA Storage to Get Organized

We hope the tips provided today for organizing a kid’s playroom have been helpful and actionable. By keeping your playroom organized you will create less work for yourself, and more fun for your kids.

At NSA Storage, We know about organization. Our customers rent our storage units and organize them the way they want every day. It’s easy and, with our month-to-month leases, our clean, safe, and secure storage units are also affordable. You can reserve a storage unit online quickly and easily and it will be ready when you arrive. Until then, we wish you the best of luck keeping your kid’s playroom organized, neat and, most importantly, fun!