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If you have kids, you most likely have a room that looks like this. Yes, it seems crazy, but you also know kids love to make messes. This project was done with a client. She thought we were only going to work on this room in the two hours allotted for the session. Well, we ended up clearing out her family room too. Yes - two rooms in two hours! Here is how we made this playroom more organized for her two boys. I hope you pick up some playroom organizing tips from our experience. Here we go!
Before Image and "The Why"
First, she showed me the two places that the kids were using for their toys - the family room and the living room. We organized the family room and removed anything that she didn't want in there. The kids took some of the toys in that room from the playroom. The other misplaced items were from her husband, who temporarily brought the things into the family room.
The family room was a cozy place and was across from the kitchen, so she did not feel it was necessary to have all the toys in that room. She wanted the family room to be a place to gather and play games as a family (there isn't even a TV in the room) and a place where the kids could play when she was cooking dinner. We kept the kitchen playset, the kitchen playset accessories, and the board games in the room. To hide the bigger kitchen set and accessories, we moved the playing kitchen zone behind the large chair (Affiliate Link) to hide it from the company. You cannot even see it from the kitchen at all.
"I can't believe we were able to organize two rooms today."
Sabrina's Organizing Client
We then started working on the actual playroom. Then, we brought all the items that were not supposed to be in the family room into this room. We repurposed the existing bins shown in the image above to minimize the cost of supplies.
"I can't believe we were able to organize two rooms today," she said over and over. Learn more Super Easy Playroom Organizing Tips Share on XThe Plan - Take Action Tasks
Her kids were at the age where she could get rid of any baby toys, so that helped a lot. After accumulating all the unwanted toys, we talked about the items' donation plan.
She was going to have a yard sale, and if they didn't sell there, she was going to take them to a big consignment event in the area. If she didn't go to the consignment event, she was going to bring them to a donation store in the area. Keeping herself focused, she marked down the dates of these events on her calendar. Having a Donating Plan B and even a Plan C in place helped keep her from not finishing the purging process when she could not do Plan A.
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"Have a Plan B and a Plan C when donating/selling your items!" ~ Sabrina Quairoli
Going through the stuff
Then, we went through each bin. Touching each item once, we created two areas. The "Consignment shop" bin held the things that were going to be sold or donated. After we finished the sorting, we had three large consignment shop bins. The "Trashbag" area was for broken and missing toy parts. We ended up with three bags of trash. Sorry to say, none of it was recyclable. =(
The Results
This is the "After" picture! "Where did we put the toys?" you may be wondering.
We stored all the larger toys in the center bin. The smaller opening at the bottom we used for remote controls for cars and trucks.
The open bins to the left were for smaller cars and other smaller items. We didn't feel it was necessary to label (Affiliate Link) them because there were so few things in them that if the kids placed the items in the different bins, they would still be able to find them.
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The Thomas The Train sets bin and Lego Duplo bin were swapped out for larger containers. The balls were placed in the brown chest to the right, and the wicker bin on top stored the stuffed animals. We made sure to label (Affiliate Link) all the containers to help her family remember where the house items were.
What you can't see is there are two air vents on the left and right corners of the window, so to allow air to come through, we placed items that were easy to move and lightweight so the air from the vents would be able to go through.
I hope this inspires you to get your playroom organized. What do you think? Please leave any questions in the comments section. If you need more help with organizing a playroom, here are some posts I wrote:
Amazon has some adorable toys and storage bins for kids; check these out. (I receive a referral fee for these purchases.)
How can I help you? I offer virtual organizing services that will keep you accountable for your next project. Feel free to check it out and contact me to set up a meeting!
Five Creative Playroom Organization Articles
Creating Zones in an Organized Child Playroom
Games to Help Kids Understand How to Organize
Here are some articles I found online about playroom organization.
Realistic Playroom Organization and Toy Storage Ideas
15 Organization Ideas to Make Your Playroom Adult-Friendly
Janet Schiesl says
Very inspirational. Great work in 2 hours. It's amazing what can be done if you put your mind to it. I'm sure your client was thrilled.
Seana Turner says
What a terrific transformation! Playrooms are so much fun, getting down on the level of a child and thinking through how they can actually be a part of the process of putting things away. Easy is king in this kind of space, like those open bins in the sorter. Well done!
Linda Samuels says
Great job on organizing two rooms in two hours! That's impressive. I can imagine how much relief the family felt to have more order and less chaos. I like how you helped establish an exit plan for the toys they no longer wanted. That's essential to being able to let go.
Nancy Haworth says
Thanks for sharing this transformation! You and your client accomplished so much in just a couple of hours! I like how you were able to re-use the storage containers she already owned.
Autumn Leopold says
Great post and advice Sabrina! It's really great that you made sure she has a plan of how she was going to get rid of the toys that were still good. Also very smart to think about the vents and the airflow of the room. PS I love that Chesterfield couch! 🙂
Regina Sanchez says
I do remember those days myself when my children had their toys taking over the house. And in this day and age (unlike when I was younger), toys are much bigger. There is so BIG Little Tikes and all those Legos let along Matchbox cars. Nice work and what is even nicer your client was pleased.
krystle cook says
The room looks a 1000% better. Why do kids always make rooms look like a bomb has gone of!? LOL. My son does it too.
Hazel Thornton says
Nice client success story!
Nicole Ramer says
Hey Sabrina! I love how everything is now against the wall. The kids must love being able to find exactly what they are looking for!!
Jill Robson says
Great job Sabrina, I love doing playrooms, it's amazing how many toys they have that haven't been played with in years.
Sarah Soboleski says
What a transformation! I love the wicker bin for the stuffed animals. Your client must be thrilled!