5 EASY WAYS TO ORGANIZE A GIRL'S BEDROOM
Sugar and Spice, and everything nice, that’s what little girls are made of.
Yes. And makeup, and jewelry, and art projects, and books, and clothes, and…
Does walking into your daughter’s room make you want to walk back out again? It probably does to her, too.
I have had some of the best conversations spending the day with my kids organizing their bedrooms. I view my kids’ rooms as their mini apartments in our home. As they age, I update the décor in their rooms as well as the furniture.
Just like I regularly purge and organize my home, I am teaching them to do the same in their little mini apartments.
If you have a girl and a boy, I suggest starting with your daughter’s room. It will take longer than your son’s, but it will be more familiar to you, and she will tolerate organizing longer.
1. Clothes.
Start with the clothes. If it’s too small, she doesn’t like it, or it’s not her style… get rid of it. She isn’t going to wear it no matter how much you love it. Saving clothes in your child’s room makes you think she has more to wear than she does and overwhelms her when she is looking for what she wants. Let her wear her fancy dress… any day.
My mom had me calculate my “cost per use” on clothing. So, if we bought a $5 shirt and I wore it 2 times, that shirt was worth $2.50 per wearing. Likewise, a $30 pair of shoes worn every day for 100 days makes the shoes worth 30 cents per wearing. I mention this because clothing is a life-long decluttering challenge, especially for women. Help your daughter develop good clothing management skills from a young age.
2. Books and Playing “School.”
Books multiply like rabbits. I highly recommend investing in a vertical skinny bookshelf for your kids’ bedrooms to house their books.
In addition to books, old workbooks, dry erase boards and school supplies often fill a little girl’s room as she mimics the instruction she has received that day at school. For some children, this stage lasts a few short months. At our house, we have been “teaching school” for almost a decade!
When organizing your daughter’s room, think about how she plays and what she likes to play, then incorporate that into her room.
3. Toys.
4. Makeup and Jewelry.
As your little girl ages, so will her collection of beauty products! In 2013, I turned my 12 year old’s dresser into a beauty station to alleviate the amount of girly products our son had to wade through in their shared bathroom.
First, gather all the makeup, beauty and bling in ONE location. Once your daughter can see it all in its entirety, she will be able to let some of it go. Then invest in organizers for the space you have so she can see everything she has. If she can’t see it, she can’t use it.
5. Decorations.
Like I said earlier, I view my kids’ bedrooms as their little apartments. So from a young age, I have let them decide how to decorate their rooms. I am teaching my kids how to plan their space, create organizational zones, maintain their “stuff,” and express their style as they age.
My son’s room is full of pin holes from posters. My daughter had tape everywhere. I don’t care. I once organized a lady who let her teenager spray paint on his walls. I probably will let my son, too.
Organization is not about lack of creativity or stifling a child’s expression of themselves. It’s actually the opposite. When you, your child, or anyone has an organizational system that functions for them and their “stuff,” that is when they are the freest to express who they are.
What an awesome gift to give your child.
