Organisation in the children's room - Storing toys perfectly
The first thing to do is to sort and group toys into different categories. Such categories could be, for example, cuddly toys, Lego, soft toys, books, children's art, handicrafts, etc.
Tip: Go with your children to find ideas on how best to categorise. Because this creates greater acceptance and is fun.
After sorting, you know what's there and now you have to find the perfect organising system. Like many other parents, we recommend using the versatile products from IKEA. Because there you will find countless organisational aids and storage options for your toys.
Storage with IKEA TROFAST
Make sure that you store the toys in such a way that the child can use them without help. You should also make sure that your children always have an overview of what is available. You can achieve this very well with the transparent IKEA TROFAST boxes, for example. In addition, you can support your child with our tidy stickers.
KonMari in the children's room: Tidy up according to Marie Kondo in 4 steps
Bestselling author Marie Kondo convinces everyone of her tidying method. Known as the KonMari principle, it promises to get a better grip on the flood of material things. Minimalism is the keyword here! We met Jasmine Dünker from JOYFUL LIVING, who was one of the first German KonMari consultants to learn the tidying method from Marie Kondo herself in New York. With JOYFUL LIVING, Jasmine is on the road as a furnishing and tidying coach and helps to systematically and sustainably eliminate the chaos in one's own home. She visited us in Limmaland and explained why tidying up with children is great.
Doesn't sound like your child at first? Jasmine explained to us that the biggest contributors to clutter are the vast amounts of toys and clothes. This means that children's rooms are usually too full. Most children and parents don't even know what's there anymore. A cluttered children's room makes for excessive demands. It is important that there are only toys in the children's room that the little people like to play with. A cluttered children's room may be well-intentioned, but it slows down your children's creativity and their drive to discover new things.
Children have to process a flood of information every day. Then, when they come home, they need an orderly retreat that gives them structure and thus security. In a structured children's room, the body and soul can recover well.
But can children part with toys at all? Is it even possible to get children to clean out? We think YES!
In 4 steps to a sustainable organisation in the children's room according to Marie Kondo
- Clean out toys and clothes
- Letting go with gratitude and respect
- Get rid of the discarded toys and clothes in a timely manner
- Each toy and item of clothing is given a permanent place
Clearing out the children's room: toys and clothes
According to the KonMari method, first clear out all the cupboards and put all the toys in a pile. This way you can see the full amount. Quite a lot? Don't worry - now it's time to clean out! Together with your child, you can now ask yourselves the following questions:
- What do we want to keep?
- Which toys do we enjoy?
- Which things have not been used for a long time or have never been used?
It is especially important that you leave these decisions primarily to your child. Jasmine told us that children are real masters at sorting things out. This is mainly because children usually don't hold on to old things for so long. They don't think about whether they will use the toy again someday. Either they use it and play with it or they don't. It's as simple as that! Unlike us, they don't know any obligations like "That toy was so expensive" or "I have to keep that because I got it from Grandma Marta." Moreover, children very rarely attach hopes to a toy like "Once I'm 5 years old, then ...".
Jasmine says that children are still free inside and act purely intuitively. They usually know much faster what they like and what they want to keep. In the same way, they know what is allowed to go and what they simply don't need. Compared to adults, they can quickly sort out superfluous things.
This applies not only to toys, but also to clothes. They know exactly what they like and what they don't like to wear. Here, too, you can separate more easily.
The expert has given us these tips for you:
- Clean out at the right time: take a morning, because that's when your mind is still fresh and you're still full of beans
- Don't keep categories too small: Cars, building blocks, dolls etc. make sure not to get too small, because then it is difficult to keep organisation permanently
- Let your children decide: what stays and what goes is up to them. Even if the toy was expensive or a gift from grandma.
- Clean out regularly: This is the only way to avoid piling up too many toys and clothes again.
- Dispose of discarded toys promptly or give them away: Otherwise there is a risk that they will be unpacked again.
- Find the perfect storage facility for current toys: Purchase the right boxes etc. These should be practical and make tidying up easier.
- Parents have a role model function. It is important to set an example for the children organisation . If parents attach importance to organisation and manage to give the term organisation a positive connotation, the children will also adopt this. Children are then open to the topic of "cleaning out" and organisation in the children's room.
- Find a rhythm for tidying up: It doesn't have to be tidy all the time. But you should find your own rhythm. Once the room is sorted, it is enough to tidy up once a week. Daily tidying can lead to tension, frustration and therefore bad moods on both sides. Maybe this is also a good approach for you: The access to the bed as well as the bed itself must remain free and once a week, when the children's room is vacuumed, everything must be tidied up.
Letting go according to KonMari: with gratitude and respect
Parting with things once loved is sometimes not so easy. According to KonMari, it helps if we thank each item in order to part with it respectfully. Do you think that's a bit dumb? But it can help with KonMari in the children's room, Jasmine knows. Because this is the best way for children to say goodbye to toys. And where to put the stuff? It's too good to throw away!
Getting rid of superfluous toys and clothes promptly according to KonMari
Clearing out doesn't mean that everything that isn't useful for your child has to end up in the bin. We all know that most things are in great condition - just not interesting enough for your child and much too good for the rubbish bin. But other children are happy about the things that have been sorted out. Maybe you will get some money for the toys and you can decide together with your child what you want to do with them. Complete toys that are in good condition can be passed on:
- Classified ad portals on the internet: Here you can usually sell or give away sorted toys quickly and easily. The interested parties can either come to your house and pick up the items or you can send them as a package.
- Flea market: Flea markets are great fun for the whole family. Children's toys in particular are very popular flea market goods!
- Circle of friends: Often there are children in the immediate circle of family and friends who are happy about the discarded toys. Children's interests change, and what was much sought-after a few months ago is no longer interesting today. But maybe the neighbour's child still loves to play with it.
- Donate: You can donate your discarded toys to charitable institutions or aid organisations. Someone there will surely be happy!
Whether youwant to give away, sell or donate the things you have sorted out, it is important that you get rid of them as soon as possible.Because once the boxes have been sitting around for several weeks, they will eventually be unpacked again. And the same game starts all over again. Therefore: After you have made organisation in the children's room, quickly think about where the sorted-out toys will find a new home quickly and sensibly.
