 Messy room - before
Finding a place to play may not be so easy for some kids, especially if they can’t see the floor in their rooms. Pam Hughes, professional organizer and co-owner of Streamlined Living Solutions with her husband Tom, recently helped a family of five with their spring cleaning.
“That was one of the things the little girl and boy - who were sharing a room - expressed to me. They wanted to be able to play in their room, but they couldn’t even walk through their room,” Hughes said. “And the mom was just beside herself because she had picked up the room so many times, and it always went back to the way it was before.”
When attacking clutter, be specific, Hughes advised.
Off the floor
“When we cleaned up the kids’ rooms, the first thing I said was, ‘Let’s pick up all the clothing off the floor’. If you tell a child the generalized statement, “Go clean up your room,” it is too overwhelming,” Hughes said. “You need to break it down,” she said.
“Say, let’s organize this drawer. That helps with adults, too.”
For organizing stuffed animals, Hughes recommended negotiating and donating. “You can ask them to pick out their five favorites to keep on the bed,” she said. “Because that makes making the bed easier.
 Messy room - after The little girl I was working with bought into the idea of the check-out box.” Basically, kids pick out some of their favorite toys.
The others that they still want to keep go in a check-out or swap box. “We put the swap box on a high shelf in the closet,” Hughes said. “Whenever she is ready to swap out toys, she just asks Mom.”
Rolling canvas hampers also can be used for surplus stuffed animals and as swap-out baskets.
“You can also place stuffed animals in toy hammocks or on high shelves close the ceiling,” she said. “When you do that, however, you need to remember that they are going to collect dust.”
What works best
For storage, try to find what works best for your child. Hughes is of the firm belief that you need to find out if your child is a dumper or a stacker, because it will make a difference in the type of storage and shelving you use in your child’s room.
“Large toy boxes usually don’t work that well, because what happens is the child just throws everything in there and never sees the bottom,” she said.
What does work well is bookshelf-type storage with room for containers that hold smaller toys and items.
“For the Barbies, for example, we pared it down from 25 to 7 and we had one container for all the Barbies and another container for all the accessories,” Hughes said.
 Fun box for Legos If your child is into Legos, Hughes highly recommends the storage boxes, called Box4Blox, specifically designed for Legos. “There’s also a container, or Fun Box, that I use quite often that you can find at Wal-Mart and other stores,” Hughes said. “It is a plastic box with a lid and handles on the side. But it also has a hole on top. So can drop small items into the box without having to take the lid off.”
When donating items, Hughes encourages parents to take children with them as often as possible.
“Make it an event and celebrate,” she said. “Goodwill, Salvation Army and Medina Children’s Shelter all offer pickup services and have drop-off bins.”
Six easy steps to a clean room
1) Decide how many books and toys can be enjoyed
2) Take your children with you when you donate items
3) Rotate toys - use the check-out box
4) Choose the right kind of storage
5) Have children help you label
6) Use the three-toy rule - no more than three toys out at one time
(Source of information and photos courtesy of Pam Hughes, Streamlined Living Solutions)
Donation Stations
Goodwill - Drop off stations and pickup, 924-8581
Salvation Army - Drop off stations and pickup, 223-6877
Medina Children’s Shelter pickup, 733-8888
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