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12 Tips and Tricks to Declutter Your Child’s Bedroom Successfully. 

If you feel like decluttering your child’s bedroom is an uphill battle, here are some suggestions to help you make progress and get the job done with the least amount of frustration. This guide is intended for children who are old enough to help with the process but young enough to need some assistance and direction.

I know it seems like it would just be easiest to do the job yourself, but actively involving your child in the process will teach them valuable organizing and decluttering skills.  It will also help them to remember where things go when it is time to clean up on their own. 

As you work, keep in mind that if your child has too many things stuffed in their room, it will continue to look cluttered even after it has been cleaned and organized. The more stuff you have in a given space, the harder it is to keep it all organized. Therefore, letting go of and donating the excess needs to be your biggest intention. This is a must if you really want to succeed at decluttering your child’s bedroom.

1. Keep Tasks Simple.

Break down the room and work on one small area at a time. Finish that space before you move on so that you don’t get overwhelmed and can clearly see your progress. Start with the closet and dresser drawers so that you are clearing out the storage spaces first. This will allow space to put away things that don’t currently have a home.

Give your child simple, short tasks that they can easily manage without getting frustrated. Engage your child in simple sorting activities and other tasks. For example, ask them to gather all of the Barbie dolls and their clothes and sort them into 2 piles.

2.  A little praise goes a long way.

Give your child plenty of positive reinforcement as they complete each task. To get them on board and keep them engaged, try to make the cleaning-up process fun, play music and make a game out of it if possible.  Let your child know that you both will celebrate a job well done when the bedroom is clean and organized, by doing something fun together. 

Young children can only stay focused for short periods of time, so make sure you take plenty of breaks to give their young brains a rest.

3. Decide what to donate together.

Designate a box for items to be donated and let your child fill it up with unwanted toys. Explain the donating process to your child to help them understand why donating unwanted belongings is important. Talk about how the toys are going to other children who will appreciate and use them. 

This will make it easier for your child to depart with their toys and help them to understand the value of giving.  If you want to, you could give your child a small incentive for letting go of unwanted toys. For example, offer a treat for each full box of toys they donate. How about offering them a new book, a trip to the park, or an ice cream cone?

4. Involve your child in making decisions.

It is important to let your child be involved in making decisions about what to keep and what to let go of. Be cautious about getting rid of anything significant without asking your child first.  If you toss or donate something that your child isn’t ready to let go of, without their permission, they may resent you for it. 

5. Control clutter-collecting hot spots with this trick.

If your child has empty space under their bed that inevitably ends up crammed with junk, fill that space with an under the bed tote made specifically for that space.  Doing this will eliminate junk from accumulating there. Label the containers and fill them with a sorted category of toys. 

Why are the tops of every child’s dresser covered with debris? Under the bed totes can also hold all those little keepsakes that your child isn’t ready to part with yet, but no longer merit being on display.  Let them store that bottle of sand art, painted rocks and all their other created or collected treasures under the bed in a container labeled “Keepsakes”. Simply clearing the clutter off the flat surfaces in your child’s bedroom will give the room a cleaner, more clutter-free feel. 

4. Make your child’s closet more functional.

Is your child’s closet appropriate for their height, or is there only one high shelf with a clothes rod that is out of reach? Older homes typically have closets made for adults rather than small children. Install shelves or purchase cubbies that are reachable. If possible, lower the clothing rod so that your children can hang up their own clothes. A closet system that can be adjusted as your child grows is an ideal solution.

Inserting Open bookshelves or cubbies in kids’ closets is a great alternative to keeping clothes in dresser drawers. Cubbies are also great for storing things like shoes, games, or books. Put items that are fragile or are not used often on the higher, less accessible shelves. You’ll want to store frequently used items where your child can easily reach them and put them away independently. Shoes can be kept organized using stackable shoe racks.

7. Use clutter-fighting containers.

It’s easier to keep your child’s room decluttered if everything has an easily identified home and specific categories of toys and other belongings are sorted into containers. Avoid using a toy box or a large container to store your child’s toys. Large containers end up inevitably being a place to stash everything under the sun, including a boatload of lost toy parts. It is much more effective to choose smaller, clear containers or open-topped bins to hold sorted categories of toys. 

Wait to buy containers until after you have completed the sorting process of your project.  That way, you will know how many and what size containers to purchase. If your child can read, label each container so that your child will know exactly where everything goes without having to put much thought into it.

8. Help your child take ownership and pride in their bedroom.

Let your child help choose where they want some of their belongings to go and which items they want to have displayed. Allowing them to take part in how their room is organized and decorated will enable your child to take pride in having their own space.

If they get to make their own decisions about how their bedroom looks and feels, they will be more likely to want to keep it clean and organized. Let your child’s room reflect their personality and preferences. Proud achievements, awards, photos, and artwork can be displayed on hanging shelves and bulletin boards. If your child enjoys how their room looks when it is clean, they will be more likely to want to keep it that way.

9. How to declutter your child’s bedroom so that it stops feeling chaotic.

Kids accumulate items quickly these days, constantly bringing home art projects, toys and trinkets. Look around your child’s room. Is every nook and cranny filled with stuff? Are walls and desktops completely covered? Encourage your child to display only their most beloved possessions.

Make sure that their room has some empty space as well. Having a lack of open space places a burden on our eyes and makes a room feel busy. Evaluate the amount of furniture in the room and get rid of anything that is not absolutely necessary.

Leave open space on the floor for your child to play. A room that maintains a balance of both stuff and open space will feel more clutter-free and welcoming.  If you would like more help with decluttering a playroom,  read my other post on how to successfully declutter a toy room.

10. Create activity zones in your child’s bedroom.

Designate specific areas for different activities, such as sleeping, playing, studying, and storage. This helps establish order and makes it easier to maintain cleanliness. 

11. Lead by example.

Set a good example by keeping your own spaces decluttered and organized. Involve your child in household cleaning and organizing tasks. Demonstrating to them the importance of staying organized will help instill lifelong habits that transfer into adulthood. 

12. Once your child’s room is decluttered, establish a maintenance routine to keep it that way.

Once your child’s bedroom is done, you will want to set up a routine schedule for quick 10-minute clean-up sessions to happen. For example, every night right before bedtime or every Saturday morning.

It is also helpful to make a “one at a time” rule; tell your child that they cannot take a new toy out until the one spread all over the floor is cleaned up. Keeping the daily cleaning up process simple for your child will help them keep things in their assigned homes and set them up for success.

Be sure that there is a hamper and a trash can in your child’s room, so that they can easily toss laundry and trash into them. Leave the lids off of frequently used containers for easy access and clean up.