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Storage
Solutions for Kids' Rooms
Children may be small, but add up all the things that come with
them and you may find yourself with an overflowing room! Creating
storage in a child's room is the first step to getting a room
under control, and this article has some ideas for inexpensive
solutions.
1. Closet organizers are easy to install and there are a variety
of price levels from hiring California Closets to do-it-yourself
shelving from Home Depot or Lowes. You can also find inexpensive
options like hanging shoe and sweater racks at discount retailers
like Target.
2. Over-the-door shoe racks are great for organizing smaller items
in kids' rooms. Choose a rack with clear pockets, or use a permanent
laundry pen to label each pocket of a fabric rack. Use the pockets
to store hats, socks, girls' hair accessories and brushes or anything
small enough to fit. Canvas racks can even be decorated with permanent
fabric markers to match the room's decor theme.
3. Bookshelves are a necessity for every child's room. Of course
they are great for holding books, but they also make super toys
shelves. Find some plastic bins or wicker baskets to hold the
toys and place on the shelves. Make sure to anchor any bookshelf
to the wall so that a climbing child won't pull the furniture
piece on top of herself or himself.
4. Plastic rolling carts
are an inexpensive alternative to wooden dressers. They can be
hidden in a closet in small rooms or where they won't complement
the child's room decor.
5. Toy boxes make great storage locations for blankets and extra
diapers in a nursery, and of course for toys as your child grows.
Unfinished wooden toys boxes are the perfect canvas for creativity;
visit our Decorating
Kids Furniture page for tips on painting.
6. Hatboxes decoupaged with WALLIES
cutouts or other images are a great way to store older children's
"treasures" and kids can even help do the decoupaging.
7. Coat racks are essential to a clean room, and it is easy to
make your own. Visit our Make
a Coat Rack page for instructions.
8. If space allows, place a filing cabinet with hanging files
in a closet. Label each hanging file to sort artwork, homework,
invitations, pictures and school information. Set an hour at the
beginning of the school year to organize the cabinet according
to that year's needs. At the end of a school year, sort through
artwork, etc. for things to keep and move to a permanent storage
location. Recycle the rest.
9. Place a net in the corners where two room walls meet for stuffed
animal storage. These are available through One Step Ahead.
10. Install shelves 12" to 18" below the ceiling on
one wall or around the room. This is a great way to display framed
artwork and store special items that don't need to be handled
regularly.
11. Paint an area or an entire wall with magnetic paint. Once
dry, it can be covered with regular indoor latex paint that matches
the rest of the room. This is a great way to display a child's
artwork or leave notes without cluttering the rest of the room
or house.
12. Schedule a day every six months to sort through toys and clothes
with your child. Have three labeled bins ready, one for storing
toys to keep but that aren't played with often, a second bin for
storing outgrown clothes that you want to save (labeled with size)
and a third bin for donating to a worthy organization. Or don't
wait for every six months...some families we know have adopted
a policy of "one toy in, one toy out" to keep the toys
under control.
It takes some effort, but organizing kids' rooms can be fun when
you get creative and you'll save time and headaches in the long
run!
©2006, WallNutz LLC. Contact customercare@wallnutz.com
for reprint permission.
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