I don’t know about your kids but for me December always felt like a constant stream of toys entering the house in our family. But now that we are nearly a month past the holidays it is important to remember that toys and your kids CAN be organized! Toys, like kids clothes, can be an […]

I remember years ago during one of the first days of summer after my girls had started elementary school I heard the dreaded words: “I’m bored”.

As adults, it’s common to walk into our closet and complain that we have “nothing to wear”. I’ve been there, my clients have been there, and chances are you’ve been there on a regular basis as well.

See, for kids, their version of our closet complaints is oftentimes their play space. So many options, but for (what seems like) the majority of the time nothing seems appealing. More than likely, there are dozens of toy options at their disposal and yet as parents we hear the dreaded “I’m bored!” more often than we would like. It can be frustrating to stare at a room full of puzzles, board games, dolls, legos, and more, and  think about how they can’t find something to do, but it’s possible that it’s not what the options are but how they are being stored. Yes, believe it or not organization–or lack thereof–could be the culprit behind your kid’s boredom.

When we decided to redesign my kids’ playroom, I wanted to make sure that my 10 year olds were involved in the process. As a professional organizer, I encourage my clients to get their kids involved wherever possible so that the kids get excited about the process. Plus, when they are involved in the decision-making and final result, I’ve seen time and time again that it helps them keep up with the organization and in general, a more organized lifestyle. Organization becomes a way of life rather than a one time event. And, I don’t know about in your house, but anything to get my kids to put away the ingredients to their most recent craft experiment sounded ideal to me!

When we moved into our home nearly two years ago, it was easy for us to designate each room and space purpose, and we made a conscious effort not to fill up a space with furniture and stuff just for the sake of filling it up.

During move-ins I always remind my clients that it can be helpful to live in the space a bit before settling on a plan. In some cases you’ll need to wait to identify how you are using the space rather than forcing a purpose on it. In our home, we had an extra area in our basement that sat purpose-less for a year and a half before it became clear how we should transform it.