Our children share bedrooms, with two to four siblings occupying a single room. This does more than economize space. It also teaches valuable life skills about getting along with others and working together toward a common goal, such as passing “Room Check.” Our handy little inspection form spells out clearly what is expected when Mom says, “Clean your room,” it defines an acceptable standard (rooms don’t have to be “perfect”), and it helps our neat-niks to peacefully co-exist with our pack-rats.
Other Ideas for Keeping Bedrooms Tidy:
• For younger children, try using just a fitted sheet with a comforter or a colorful quilt (no other top sheet or blankets). This makes it so much easier for little ones to make their beds themselves.
• We use bedrooms primarily for sleep or quiet study, not for play. Our kids don’t keep a lot of toys in their bedrooms – just a doll or two for the little girls and a couple stuffed animals for the little boys. This goes a long way toward eliminating bedroom clutter and frees up limited closet space for clothes. (For ideas on organizing the rest of their playthings, see Toys).
• Speaking of clothes, hang only clothes that fit properly and are in-season on the clothes rod, especially if you are tight on space. Out-of-season clothes and hand-me-downs can be stored in boxes on a high shelf, where they can be switched out quickly when the weather changes or a child hits a growth-spurt.
• Provide hampers nearby (we keep ours in the bathroom) for dirty laundry. Consider attaching a hook to the closet door, where your child can hang pajamas during the daytime, or clothes that are clean-enough-to-wear-again-tomorrow during the night.
• Since we don’t like our kids to wear shoes in the house, we installed shelves in the garage for their shoes. Most of us have only two or three pair of shoes to keep up with, anyway – a dress pair, a play pair, and sandals – and the shelves keep them organized and easy to find. Socks are kept in a small cabinet just inside the backdoor, one shallow drawer per child.
• Most homes being built these days are clearly designed to accommodate only one child per bedroom. Squeezing three or four little ones into such small spaces can feel a bit cramped. Bunk beds are an acceptable solution to this problem, but we prefer trundles. You can build a box yourself, just a few inches smaller than the bed it will slide it under, then trim a slab of 4” foam to fit inside for the mattress. These make great beds for toddlers and are much safer and easier to keep tidy than top bunks.
