K e e p i n g  t h e  P L A Y R O O M  t i d y

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For me when I considered setting up a playroom in my house for the girls, these two words came to mind: c l u t t e r  &  c h a o s. I definitely do not enjoy picking up a million little toys off the ground as my wild toddler chucks them all over the room in an instant…but I suppose that just comes with those everyday motherhood struggles. I also hate the amount of clutter that can happen when toys begin to accumulate slowly over time and you begin to feel like you have lost all control over your home. 

The C H A O S. I asked my IG followers if they leave the mess or clean the mess when it comes to toys and children items at the end of each day. It was almost dead even at 52% saying to clean the mess and the remaining 48% to leave the mess. With this being said, I know that I am not alone about liking things to be left tidy at the end of every day. 

I am not one to leave a mess behind and just go to bed and forget about it…on a typical day going to bed with the mess left behind eats at me…l legit need to force myself to go to sleep and not leave my bed and go back down to clean it up quick before falling asleep…yes, this literally has happened, just ask my husband. Don’t get me wrong, there are certainly some days that I finish off the day totally defeated and run down… I leave the kitchen a mess after dinner, forget to run the dishwasher, leave the wash in the washing machine, or that I just don’t pick up all the rooms that my daughter managed to destroy in the minutes before bedtime. I try to tell myself that it is totally normal to leave things a mess most days. Mamas- if you can relate to this at all, do not beat yourself up if you usually are on the ball with tidying before bed- we all need a timeout on occasion and can benefit from the extra beauty sleep and self-care instead of picking up after everyone at the end of the night.  If you can…. ask for help. If your partner is home/lives with you, ask for support with certain “routine tidying tasks” at the end of each day to lessen the burden a bit and create more of a routine for the two of you.Once you get into the habit of doing it a few times a week, it will start to just come naturally (hopefully no nagging your husband involved, but sorry no guarantees there). 

A typical dream morning for me includes taking a shower, getting myself dressed and ready, coming downstairs A L O N E,  making my coffee & and getting things ready for the morning (toddler breakfast, baby waking up/feeding, packing the diaper bag, starting laundy, etc.)  I like things to be cleaned up and tidy so that when I wake up the next day, everything is in the right place and I am not scrambling to find or do anything. To me- and again this is just my personality that I am speaking on behalf but taking the extra 10 minutes or so at the end of every day to pick up the house a bit and tie up any loose ends from the day totally goes a long way in the long run. It creates a sense of order and routine and puts me in an overall better mood when I come downstairs every morning to a tidy space. This allows me to begin my day more open-mindedly which ultimately allows me to have a more productive morning and afternoon. This goes for stay at home mamas, working mamas, whatever you do every day mamas- tidy homes creates order, which helps us to be more productive and happier throughout the day.  

The  C L U T T E R. uhhh that word just irks me saying it aloud. If you know me even the slightest bit, you probably already know that I love an organized space and despise the “clutter look”. I am obsessed with keeping things looking clean and crisp! I feel like I am constantly purging and getting rid of things I just don’t need anymore. For myself it takes one good initial organization sesh which requires a bit of sorting, searching, and purging, but it is totally worth it in the long run. 

The  T A S K.

I have been wanting to create a seperate space for my daughters toys and such in hopes of gaining back my living room space. With the newest arrival joining our family this past May, I knew that having another daughter would mean endless hours of playtime together. Though she is only 2 months old currently, I wanted to create a space for the two of them to have together. My oldest, Olivia, already loves to go into her playroom with her little sister in hopes to make her laugh and smile as she shows her a glimpse into her little world. Juliette (the youngest Harrington) may not be able to play dolls or read books with her just yet, but she certainly loves to watch her big sister as she plays and explores new things. 

The P R O C E S S.

Here’s what I did to get started. 

1. Sort out the clutter. Make 3 piles and separate them.

1. Donate
2. Trash
3. Keep

2. Once you have sorted everything, take the keep pile and begin sorting that into like items/categories.          
             
         

Here are some of the item categories I sorted out in my playroom space. 

1. Crayons
2. Markers
3. Paints
4. Colored Pencils
5. Playdough
6. Coloring & Activity Books
7. Kitchen Food
8. Dollhouse Toys
9. Play Animals
10. Magnetic Play
11. Baby doll things
12. Mr./Mrs.Potato Head
    

**if it helps to write out your “categories” in order to sort it more easily you may want to do that first on your phone or in a notepad. You can add sticky notes to spots all over your floor, spread them out and start adding each item to the different section as you go to make sure nothing gets mixed into the wrong pile. 

3. Find an organizational system that works for your space and your items and begin putting like items in each storage system. 

**I am obsessed with these bins from iDesign that I am using for our playroom! They are perfect for this space and for the types of items that I had to sort out and organize. I love how they look (blush color) and how clean it looks when they are all together. 

**The best part about these bins is you can leave the lids off for easy grabbing for those small toddler hands or you can leave the lids on for a really clean and tidy look! I typically leave them off and store the lids in the closet for when I need them. Once she is a little bit older, I will probably start keeping them on. 

4. As you organize them into their new designated spot, create a label and slap it on! If it is a clear container, you may want to skip this step.

**Although my daughter is under two and cannot read yet, the labels are really there to help me (and my husband) when organizing and picking up at the end of every day. I am cautious about even moving the bins from one spot to another at this point because Olivia has already memorized what is in each bin and where they are on the shelf for when she is looking for something. 🙂 

**Here is the embosser label maker that I love for only $10 bucks! 

5. This last step is the most important step in order to avoid both clutter & chaos. Once everything has found its new home, give it all a final look over and try to remove a small amount of the contents of toys and store them elsewhere. 

*Every few weeks (I like to do it twice a month), swap out some of the toys and such to keep the playroom exciting for your little one. Not only will this seem amazing for your kids but it also saves you the hassle of picking up after a thousand toys each day. Try to minimize and simplify the space as much as you can!

**Store them in similar organizational systems to make it easy to grab when you need them again. Keeping them handy in the closet or somewhere else in the home makes it easy to know where they are when you want to make the switch. 

T H E  P R O D U C T S.

**Here are the storage systems I used for the playroom space. They fit perfectly with what I needed to accomplish in this room! 

iDesign: Cade Lidded Storage Bin in Blush

*these cute blush bins are perfect for my girls’ playroom. They fit all of their small toys and items so well and the color matches the theme of the playroom just right. You can also find the bins in gray as well if you’re looking for a similar system for a boy’s playroom. I have them in gray also and used them to organize my entryway closet! 

 iDesign Crisp Produce Storage Container (not just for produce…duh!)

**this bin is perfect for kids paint/art tools as it has the slotted bottom design which would allow paint brushes and such to dry out when stored. It is easy to be wiped clean when needed. Maybe if your little one is a bit of an artist, you use this style bin without the lid and keep it out on a little table by an art easel for ready to go painting and clean up! 

iDesign Crisp Stackable Food Containers (Small size and Larger size) 

**I love these for just about anything. I have them in my kitchen cabinets, pantry, fridge, freezer, bathroom… literally everywhere! They are the perfect size for kids’ art utensils & I love that they are clear so that they are easy to see what is inside of each one. The lids make it perfect for stacking and storing too!  You can’t beat this style for any of your organizational needs. 

The P O S I T I V E. 

Playroom Benefits:

1. Out of Sight/Out of Mind. You can close the door and leave the mess behind (if that’s your style or when you have company coming over at the last second! hah).
   
2. Tidier House. Most toys are all kept in one space and it is easier to find anything you or your kids are looking for which then makes it easier to keep up with organizing it as they grow in and out of new things to play with!
   
3. Something Different. It gives kids a change of scenery from playing in their bedroom and living room spaces. Toys will seem more exciting if you swap them out every so often and if they are using them in a different space than usual (bring the upstairs ones downstairs and switch out every few weeks). It also separates the bedroom from a place to play so it can then help with sleep if children know that their bedroom is for only (mostly) sleeping. They can get distracted if they wake up and see toys from their crib and then end up wanting to play (think naps and early mornings). 

I have found keeping Olivia’s toys in her room out of sight (on the shelves) helps her to be less distracted when she is trying to fall asleep or go back to sleep since she can’t directly see them from her crib. There have been times where she refuses to sleep and is calling out for her dollies on the floor when I didn’t put them away before getting her down for a nap/bedtime. 

4. Playdates & Sharing. It creates a cooperative play space for kids. Whether it’s siblings, cousins, or playdates with friends, having a space to play can create both structured and unstructured play for kids which helps with sharing and communication skills as kids grow. It also allows for mom and dad to be able to sit down and have a conversation with a glass of wine without worrying about what the kids might be getting into. If your kids are young you may need to stay in the room while they play, but as they get a little bit older and they become more independent- having this space is a definite plus! I will be adding a baby monitor camera to the room as they get older so that when the kids are watching TV or playing quietly independently, I can still keep an eye on them without worry as I get things done around the house.

The N E G A T I V E. 

While there are many benefits of having a ‘playroom”, there are also some things that aren’t too great about it….the biggest being that you lose an extra room in your home. It also may not work for everyone’s situation or it could only work for a short amount of time. For us… we will probably have to switch the room back to a bedroom down the line if we decide to have more kids, but for now it works! If you can’t dedicate an entire room for your kid’s toys, try to find a small space in your home to organize in order to keep all of their fun toys in mostly one spot! If you can dedicate one (or two spots) in your home it should help to avoid having toys scattered all over the place. 

When Olivia was small, I kept most of her toys in her bedroom and a small amount in the living room. Now that we have the playroom, she has some toys kept in a shelving system in her bedroom as well as her play kitchen in the living room. It feels great to be able to reclaim my living room space as to what it was before I had kids (mostly). 

Her play kitchen is really cute and it kind of matches my house decor so I didn’t really mind having it out in the living room. Plus, it gives her something to keep busy when I am in one of the surrounding rooms or if I am wanting to relax on the couch a bit while she plays.  

THE  T E S T. Try it! Start small and organize a small space for your kid’s toys. Let them enjoy the space all day long! Before going to bed each night, tidy it back up and see how different your mood is the next day. Enjoy how it feels? Set a routine of doing it most days and try sticking with it if you can. Let me know how it turns out 🙂

Do you have a space in your home that you keep designated for kid’s toys? Send me a DM on instagram @pencils_and_forks…. I love to see how other mamas organize this type of space! 

Some of the products shown and used in this blog post were #gifted.