Snakes and snails, and puppy dog tails, that’s what little boys are made of. And just might be what you find when you start organizing their bedrooms!
Boys collect unique stuff. It’s especially unique to the female moms who attempt to help them organize that “stuff.”
While a girl will spend days with you organizing her room, your time is limited with your little man. You need a clear plan of action and quick execution.
1. Clothes.
Start with the clothes. If it’s too small, he doesn’t like it, or it’s not his style, get rid of it. He isn’t going to wear it no matter how much you love it.
It was hard for me, but I let my kids pick out their clothes at the store since I was so tired of getting rid of clothes they barely wore, even if I did buy them on sale.
Boys like a certain style of clothing and tend to wear a different color combination of that “uniform.” I buy 7 coordinating days’ worth of clothing for my son and that is enough.
Getting over my expectation of a “full” closet, and a child who wore a certain style of clothing, has relieved a lot of stress and saved our family a lot of money.
2. Books.
Books multiply like rabbits. I highly recommend investing in a vertical skinny bookshelf for you kids bedrooms to house their books.
I find boys like to keep a few collections of their favorite book series and a few special children’s books.
3. School Papers.
School projects, papers, supplies, yearbooks, and art projects come in a steady stream. They are the equivalent to the mom’s kitchen paper pile.
Decide what and how you want to save this memorabilia. Start by designating a box or boxes to hold these papers until you are ready to pare them down and create albums, binders, or displays out of what you want to keep.
Having a designated box will give your child a place to put these papers as they come home from school.
4. Collections and Creations.
Boys have interesting collections. Finding a box or binder for the collections worth keeping will give the collection a defined space.
Boys are hardwired for building and creating. These future engineers love to keep the Lego creations they make on display.
I bought my son this 16 cube piece from Ikea to give his various collections and creations a home.
5. Toys.
In my experience, boy toys are really pieces to make or use in creations that are built.
Pieces of track are built for cars or trains to run on. Lego’s, K’Nex, Erector Sets and Playmobil are all built and then morphed onto settings for imaginary wars, adventures, and villages.
So, in addition to storage solutions for your child’s favorite building supplies, you need plenty of space to play for the created villages, transportation systems, and battlefields.
Again, the Ikea cubes work great for storing building supplies in bins that can be “cleaned” up.
A train table for your toddler will suit him well through about 10-11 years old as a place for him to set up his latest created backdrop in his imaginative play stories.
By the age of 12, most boys can survive week long car trips with a few electronic gadgets. Their childhood favorites can slowly be purged as they age.Each boy has his own sentimental barometer. Some boys at the age of 13 are ready to get rid of all the toys. Others want to “save” them.
Either way is just fine.
