You thought you were somewhat organized before parenthood, but those days are long gone. Now, your children’s toys, building blocks, stuffed animals and books are cluttering the entire house! There are so many ways to control the toy clutter and get your kids involved. In addition, these little tips can provide you with not only a functional space, but will complement your home décor.

Playroom Organization 101

Discard or Donate

Broken toys can pose hazards to children. Either repair broken toys or discard them. If your children have toys they simply have out grown, encourage your kids to donate them to others less fortunate.

Think function!

Involve the kids when designing their playroom; however, make sure to incorporate loads of storage within! Closet Tailors are experts and can help optimize your children’s storage space.

Have different activity stations.

Create different play stations in the playroom; this will help keep things orderly. Closet Tailors can design a space with flat file drawers, pull out baskets, vertical storage slots with adjustable cubbies to corral craft projects. If your kids need a computer center, Closet Tailors experts can design a kids office where they can do their homework and play. Lastly, Closet Tailors can design a library to house your children’s books, collectables, and stuffed animal zoo!

Keep cleaning simple.

Categorize your kids belonging. Separate the big stuff from the little. Incorporate bins, storage units, shelving, and baskets to organize the toy clutter. Having a place for the kids’ belongings will make cleaning much easier and less frustrating. Also, kids are more acceptable to cleaning when everything has a specific place it belongs. A label maker for organizing is handy for labeling and categorizing different drawers and bins, so supplies are located quickly and easy to put away.

Getting the kids involved with cleaning.

It is a smart idea to encourage your kids at an early age about organization and that everything has a place. Consider creating a house rule that the kids tidy-up before the next activity they want to start. Or make up a game to encourage your kids; how fast can you tidy-up or who is the fastest cleaner?

Make Your Clothes Fit… Without Dieting

Every fall we swap summer’s shorts and t-shirts for fall’s corduroys and sweaters. This is also a perfect opportunity to square away your closet. Here are some of our tips for making your fall wardrobe fit… without dieting!

You’ll need:

• 2-3 hours for a small closet; 3-4 hours for a larger closet or walk-in; Dresser, too? Add another 1-2 hours
• A vacuum
• Damp cloths
• Baskets or bags for sorting
• A table (nice to have)
• A hanging rod (nice to have)

GET STARTED!

• Start by emptying your closet. All of it must go!!! Place folded items on the table and hanging items on the rack.
• Find other homes for items that are not clothes. Put photo albums and books in a bookcase, seasonal decorations can be placed into labeled storage bins and housed elsewhere. Broken items should be tossed or recycled. Items that you no longer use but are still usable can be donated to your favorite charity. This will free up precious space for your wardrobe!
• Vacuum your closet thoroughly. Get into the nooks and crannies. This is probably the one time you are able to get into all the nooks and crannies. Take advantage of it! Wipe the rods with the damp cloth and inspect any hooks to make sure they aren’t rusting, and damaging your clothing.
• Now, start sorting your clothes into four categories:
  • Keep
  • Donate
  • Throw away
  • Repair
• Take the throw away pile to the trash bin. Place the items to be donated into the donation bin. Move the items to be repaired to the appropriate area. Put a date on the pile, because if you haven’t repaired them in six month’s time, chances are slim you ever will, and they should be donated.
• Collect all the hangers. If you have a rainbow of colors, separate the hangers by color. The goal is to use only one color hanger per person or per wardrobe. Perhaps use black for your fall/winter wardrobe, gray for transitional items and white for your summer wardrobe. Why? Using one color of hanger through a whole closet will make your closet look neater and more organized immediately!
• Now, turn your energy to the items that you wish to keep. Separate these into three categories:
  • Fall/Winter – Chunky sweaters, boots, woolens
  • Transitional – camisoles, t-shirts and other items that can be layered or worn alone
  • Spring/Summer – Shorts, lightweight cottons, etc
• Pack the Spring/Summer items in appropriate storage containers and store in a dark, cool and dry area. They are clothing so feel free to store them in the closet if you have the space.

Now, evaluate your space.

Count how many of each item you have. How many shirts, pants, sweaters, boots, shoes, etc. Map out your closet. Consider folding sweaters and placing on a shelf rather than stuffing them into a drawer or – gasp! – hanging them in the closet. Consider where your shoes should go. Back on the floor or in a shoe rack or shoe shelf.

If this step seems daunting or you determine that you really need a closet organizer, call one of the space designers at Closet Tailors. They’ll plan a space to fit your needs and will adjust to your seasonal wardrobe! If you have an impressive shoe collection, Closet Tailors can design a storage solution that will showcase it beautifully. If sweaters are your thing, we’ll design shelving that will allow you to see all your treasures. The more you see them, the more likely you are to wear them. Invaluable extras are available, too. Coordinate your outfit the night before and hang it from a valet rod. Store belts and ties on appropriate racks. Add tilt-out hamper bins for whites and darks, and make laundry day less of a chore.

Once you have the right storage solution in place, put your seasonal wardrobe back.
Enjoy the satisfaction of your perfectly organized closet!

If you find yourself overwhelmed by clutter, you’re not alone.A survey conducted by Psychology Today Magazine found more than 90% of respondents say they feel an overwhelming sense of “time-poverty.” 1 Nearly three-fourths of Americans spring clean because they are tired of clutter.2

These get started tips are the first steps on the road from cluttered chaos to organized bliss.

Use these tips to get started.

• Work with 5 piles/bins/baskets in mind
  • Keep
  • Donate/Sell
  • Discard
  • Repair
  • Goes elsewhere in the house.
• Scan and Can
  • Scan documents and throw the unimportant hardcopies in the trash can. Obviously, you’ll want to keep the originals of deeds, mortgages, insurance and the like, but the scanned versions will be there should disaster strikes. Also, can all the extraneous envelopes and bill stuffers that come with bills. Consider switching to ebills and epay. Ask your bank.
• Start Small
  • Instead of saying “Today, I’m going to organize the garage!” say, “Today, I’m going to organize these two garage shelves” or “I’m going to sort the vanity drawer.” Attacking the problem in smaller chunks allows you to feel a sense of accomplishment and will motivate you – or others in your household – to continue the task.
• Toss 50
  • Set a goal to throw away 50 unused, unwanted or broken items in a week. Start in one area and do your best to rid yourself of unused stuff that’s taking up space in your home.
• Use a Go Back basket
  • Use a Go Back basket on each level of your home. If you see an item that belongs in a different area of the house, place it in the Go Back basket and set a time each day to return the items to their appropriate places in the house. It saves time, too.
• If it’s been in the Repair basket for longer than 6 months, chances are it will never be repaired. Toss it.
• Just Eliminate Items in One Area.
  • This is like the “Toss 50” but you’re going to confine your attack on clutter to one area for a specified amount of time, say 20 minutes to 1 hour.

1Psychology Today, Nov/Dec 93, Vol 26, Issue 6
2Chicago Tribune, 04/13/04