Category: Organizing Kids | Organized To Perfection

Organizing & Converting College Kids Bedrooms

September 11, 2018 By Beth Fuchs Leave a Comment

I can not believe that summer is coming to an end and the kids are all going back to school. I know the weather will be great for several more months so I hope you enjoy this time of year! Also if you are sending your kids to college for the first time or they will be graduating soon, I am sure you have thought about converting your kids room into an office for yourself, a reading room or another sibling has claimed the room now!

When your kids go off to college you want to make sure that they know they still have their bedroom to come back to but you want to organize and declutter their room since they do not need all of the items in their room. Here are a few tips and ideas for you to organize and convert your college kids bedrooms:

Before your kids go off to school, I hope both of you were able to go through and clean up their bedroom while they were packing up the things they need for school. After they leave, go through their room and do a thorough cleaning of their room. If there is any furniture that is damaged or no longer needed, this is the time to dispose of it or donate the items if you feel it could be used by someone else.
Organize and collect the items that you and your kids feel is memorabilia and put them in clear plastic bins. Label them for example as “John’s memorabilia”. This will not only help with organizing their bedroom but it will save you from dusting all of the items!
Now that your kids are adults and off to college, I feel this is the time for them to take ownership of their items. What do they feel is important? What do they feel they can let go of? This is a major step in their lives and I know many of them are ready for the change and the challenges of college. The quote of “less is more” is very important here!
As you go through the bedroom, you may find dishes and silverware that you have been missing due to your kids took some food to their room and the dishes disappear there. Or you find items that the kids say that they lost and after you organize the room, you find them. And my favorite part of organizing is I always find money! The kids and parents are excited for the find and they say organizing is fun!
One of the most important ideas here is to make sure that your kids feel like this is their home and their room but is now organized and cleaned up. I have worked with many families with kids who have left for college and have returned for breaks and they LOVE their “new” rooms and really appreciate all of the work and organization that was put into their space.

When I help families to organize, declutter and set up a new space in a college kids room, I make sure that all of the family members are in agreement on how we handle the change. This is a great time to also use the 8 month rule of storing the items away or packing them up and moving them out of the space. And at the end of the time, if the items are not needed or wanted, consider disposing or donating the items. Especially after the first year of college, their high school years will seem like a million year ago!

I hope you all have a great fall season and if you have any questions or need help moving forward with the project of converting your college kids bedroom into another space, please contact me and I would be happy to help!

Organizing Children’s Bedrooms

August 1, 2017 By Beth Fuchs Leave a Comment

I hope you are all enjoying the summer months so far! The kids are home and may be bored at times so why not give them and yourself a project to get their bedrooms in order before school starts soon. I have a few tips and ideas that can help you and your kids with organization in your kids bedrooms. The tips here are for kids in grade school all the way up to college.

• Start with the clothes in the child’s bedroom. Determine if the clothes are too small or worn out. Then either save them for a younger sibling, neighbor or relative or donate them to charity.

• Arrange the clothes in the closet so the child can reach them and have easy access to them. For example, tee-shirts, pants or shorts. Also as your child gets taller, their clothes hang too low for some of the hanging space and the rods can be adjusted so the clothes fit better.

• Sort through all of the toys in the bedroom. Does your child still play with them? Have they outgrown them? Toys are then to be thrown away, donated or put in a memory box for safekeeping.

• Put only one big bin in the room for the toys that they play with consistently. The rest of the toys should be put in a playroom if the house has one. They should not be all over the house, but should be centralized if possible.

• Keep all books in a bookcase in the room. In a bookcase you can store books, display some memory items and papers for the child.

• If you have a desk in your child’s bedroom, make room on the desk for homework, if they are at the age for homework. A lot of the time the child has small items or things they keep on the desktop. Have a separate bin or drawer that the items can be stored in. Sometimes the child uses that space as a display area and that is fine.

• Every child’s bedroom should have a wastebasket in it. They need a place to throw away paper, tissues, etc. So when you or your child clean up the room, you have a place for garbage to go instead of on the floor.

• ASK your child what they need in their room. A lot of items land on the floor because they do not have a specific place for things. Many parents are surprised to discover that when they ask their kids what they need to keep the room tidy, the kids will tell them. It may be they need a bigger dresser for their tops or pants to fit into or need more shelving for books.

• MOST IMPORTANT— everything should have a “home.” Clothes in the closet, toys in a toy bin/basket, books in a bookcase. This will teach the child where everything should go.

These are just a few ideas and tips to help keep your kids room organized and a place where they can have their friends come over. I have worked with many families with kids and I always enjoy working with the kids and getting their bedrooms set up that works for them. Also getting it organized so they learn how to keep their clothes, books and school items in order and it is a calming place for them.

If you have any questions for me or would like additional information on how I can help you and your family with organization in your kids bedroom, please contact me. Thank you and I hope you all have a wonderful summer!

Teenager organizing

January 18, 2017 By Beth Fuchs Leave a Comment

When it comes to organizing teenagers, I know it can be a very tough project to take on but it does not have to be! In my 15 years in business I have always enjoyed working with teenagers in organizing their bedrooms and living spaces. Most of the time they are looking for guidance and once we start the process they are engaged and we work together to create the space and environment which they love and where they can be productive in their schoolwork.

Here are some tips and suggestions to help guide teenagers with organization. One of the first places I start with is their bedrooms which I know can be overwhelming! I know that clothes are a big issue with teenagers and the clothes cover most of the floor so we normally start with deciding what clothes are dirty and what is considered clean. I ask them do they not like to hang up clothes or is folding a better option for them? Or is there no space to hang their clothes or no shelving units in the closet? We talk about options or ideas and ways to add additional hanging in the closet or maybe move the hanging rods so it is easier to access. Another option is to add more shelves instead of hanging space because they prefer to fold more than hang their clothes. You can also consider adding a dresser or an armoire to their room for clothes or other items that do not fit in the closet.

Many times when I help teenagers in their rooms they still have memorabilia items and things hanging on their walls from when they were 7 years old. We end up removing many of the items from the room and put them in memorabilia boxes or toss them away if they have no direct memory or good feeling about the item. Most of the time they are so happy to have additional room on their shelves or bookcases for things that matter to them now! And one of the most important things that happen when we organize, we find money which is a great incentive for them to organize their rooms!

In addition, there are many times they have a desk in the room which is rarely used. I then ask the question is the desk truly used the way it is supposed to be or is it a place to dump clothes, paperwork and sports equipment? We go through the items on the desk and purge, sort and decide if we are keeping the desk and making it functional. Some teenagers like to do homework or school projects on the desk so we keep it but we purge the items that are not serving a direct purpose. Electronics is a big part of a teenagers life so having space for chargers and laptop usage is a must. So create space to have these items easily accessible so the desk becomes a functional part of their room.

I know that once you organize your teenagers room it may not stay as neat and organized for long but by removing items that are truly not used or have a purpose it will be easier to maintain and they will love their bedrooms! If you have any questions about organizing a teenagers space, please contact me at www.organizedtoperfection.com and I would be happy to discuss with you in further detail. Thank you and I hope you have a peaceful start of 2017!

3 Back To School Organizing Tips

August 23, 2016 By Beth Fuchs Leave a Comment

homework pic I cannot believe that we are talking about the kids going back to school already! Summer seemed to go by too fast and I am sure the kids are excited to see all of their friends again. Going to a new school or having increased homework this year can be hard to get adjusted to and starting off the school year on a good note is essential! Here are 3 organizing tips I feel are important to work with your kids to have a successful school year.

Number one on my list is always to ASK YOUR KIDS what would help them the most when it comes to organizing and getting their homework done in a timely manner. When I work with my client’s children with their school organization I always ask them what would help them the most to be productive with their schoolwork. I have worked with kids from 2nd grade up to seniors in high school and it is always best to find out what works best for them. It may be creating a homework station, or the right organizing school supplies for them or a homework schedule and routine that they can follow. And if the kids do not know what would help them, ask them specific questions about school to see where they may need help the most.

The next important organizing tip for back to school is to have all of the things they need for school READY THE NIGHT BEFORE. I know you have heard this before and this may not work for every parent but at least have your kids backpack and school clothes ready for them so you are not running around trying to find things in the morning and trying to get out the door. Some parents are night owls and they prefer to do this later on at night and others work best if they get up earlier in the morning to get things in order. Once you get in a routine of what your child needs each day, it should become easier with time. Also start working with your children so they can start taking responsibility of what they need for school so they don’t feel stressed about not having something for class.

The last important tip is to find a good HOMEWORK STATION for your kids. As your kids get older each school year of course will increase with difficulty and homework projects and finding the best place for your kids to concentrate on their studies is very important. Again ask your kids or observe if they work better at the kitchen table in the heart of the home or a quiet place like their bedroom or another room in the home. Also it depends on the age of the kids but create an area where they have easy access to all of their school supplies which includes paper, pens/pencils/markers, calculator, laptops, printers, etc. There are some great school supply organizing products at retail stores like OfficeMax, Container Store and Staples.

Getting your children ready to start their school year off on the right foot with organization is a big step in helping them to be successful in school and as an adult. If you feel your kids need help with organization at the beginning of the year or later on in the school year, please contact me and I would be happy to help them to keep them on the right track in school. I hope your kids have an amazing and successful school year!

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