A Professional Organizer’s Guide to Taming Toddler Rooms

Last month, I showed you how I organize my toddler’s outgrown items and store them for an eventual Baby #2. It’s no secret babies and toddlers have a LOT of stuff at any given point. So what do I do with the myriad of items he’s currently wearing, using, and playing with in a small house?? Here are some tips you can take from my own home’s organization.

1. Set parameters on toddler clothing.

 

Some people prefer to hang their kids’ clothes. Others like to fold them. Whichever you decide – or a combo of both! – the key is setting parameters. Buy a specific number of matching hangers and don’t purchase more clothing for the season than that. If you fold like I do, let your dresser be your guide. Before I purchase new clothes for my toddler, I make sure everything is clean and put away in his dresser.  Then I can truly see where my gaps are – obviously this summer we need more shorts!. I use drawer dividers that adjust depending on how many pants vs. shorts or long sleeve vs. short sleeve I have for the season. I label the drawer edge so anyone from my husband to a babysitter can easily tell what’s what. Another tip to tame the madness – stick to a particular color palette each season so everything is mix-and-match!

2. Organize to make mornings easier.

 

I always set out my toddler’s outfit for the next day downstairs where he gets dressed. I recently implemented a game changer in this routine: the “weekend shirt” drawer! I got so tired of all our little one’s nice shirts having paint and marker stains on them from school that I decided to make a drawer for tops that only get worn on the weekends, to parties, out to dinner, etc. It’s lovely not even opening this drawer during the week or wading through too many choices when I am picking his school outfit! If you hang your kids’ clothes, you can easily section these off with a labeled closet rod divider.

3. Streamline your entryway.    

 

In our very small Italian home, we don’t have a proper entryway…just a narrow hallway with doors on either side. So I had to get creative with designing a mudroom area to contain shoes, coats, and bags. I can’t stress enough how much pressure a good entryway can take off your kids’ rooms! Here, I settled on a corner Ikea wardrobe in the nook just inside our living room. I keep the toddler shoes on a shelf along with a basket of socks and seasonal accessories. His jackets and hats are hung on Command hooks inside both doors. I carved out a shelf for his school backpack and diaper bag and even saved a few inches for a stack of diapers to reload those bags every day. It may be a small cabinet but it is extremely useful for our little family!

4. Rotate your toddler toys.

 

This is a hard one, I know!

I always say parents are just one checkout aisle impulse purchase away from drowning in toys. That’s why I’m a big fan of the Montessori style approach of having fewer toys out and rotating them frequently. All my two year old’s toys are either in the living room or his bedroom. In the living room, we have a play table, a ball pit filled with stuffed animals, a big basket of books, and a small basket of toys. We rotate those every week so he gets a new set of activities downstairs and our small living space isn‘t overwhelmed with stuff. His bedroom contains the majority of his toys – his play kitchen, a set of blocks, a train set, a bookcase of displayed toys and books, and a three-tier shelf with play kit toys that rotates every few months. Every single toy is easily within even a three foot tall kid’s reach. This method makes for a happier kid with fewer overwhelming choices…and happier parents with less time spent cleaning up!

5. Purchase stuff you don’t mind looking at.

 

 

I say this all the time whether it’s about kiddo stuff or not – purchase functional items you don’t mind looking at. From bottle brushes to toy baskets to sippy cups, inevitably things are going to be sitting out. Especially with little kids, the daily stuff will be strewn about most of the day unless you pause every ten minutes to clean up. I use that as an excuse to purchase pretty practical items so I’m not swimming in a sea of brightly colored plastic. I am much happier looking at a neutral modern dish drying rack when it’s filled with coordinating kid cups than I would be if it was all neon orange. These perfectly wipeable leather placemats are amazing for messy toddler meals and look nice hanging on a wooden wall hook. Our toy and book baskets are all stylish enough to eventually be used for blankets or pillows. And I love my son’s play mat so much I guarantee I’ll steal it someday to use as a giant yoga mat. These purchases were all made with the understanding that they’ll be sitting out in the open…so I might as well like looking at them!

For more tips on how to organize your space, check out  Laura’s post 9 Things a Professional Organizer Does in January