Fredericksburg Parent

24 Fredericksburg Parent and Family • March 2021 ages & stages WRITTEN BY KARISSA TUNIS Tips for Organizing the playroom Over the years, I have tried dozens of organizing strategies for the playroom. Who doesn't love clean lines, order and almost no clu er? But the perfect playroom is all of this and also an invi ng space that encourages crea vity and inspires hours of non-technology play. Your kids might be the type that love to build forts and villages, and layer their play with bins and bins of toys. While it is amazing to watch their imagina ons run wild, it is just as important to clean up properly and start with a clean slate once the excitement is gone. In order for this cycle of play and order to con nue, it only works effi ciently if every single toy has a designated spot. This allows for cleaning to be done quicker and easier, and really allows for overall organiza on. When the playroom is a mess, you might fi nd that kids won't go in it. But when it is clean, it's invi ng and their imagina ons can run wild! Below are fi ve ps for keeping the playroom clean, dy and organized. Each sug- ges on might not be the one-all, solves-all, but these strategies together have been proven to be very successful! Give the playroom a thorough cleaning! This may seem a bit obvious, but it is the most important p of all. You may have heard that there are two levels of cleaning: LEVEL 1 – PICKING UP This is when the kids, and maybe you, pick up all of the toys, put everything away in its place, and possibly give the room a quick vacuum and dus ng. It's suffi cient to do this day-to-day or week-to- week. LEVEL 2 – THOROUGH CLEAN This level of cleaning is suggested before any holiday, birthday or event, and should be done especially when you know new toys will be coming into the house. Doing this once every two to three months is a great goal to help maintain order and mix-up the layout. You may want to warn your kids before diving in and star ng this very serious task. If they are old enough, you may even want to en- list their help. They might not really enjoy it, but it's good for them to learn where things go and take responsibility for their posses- sions. It also can teach them to be respec ul of the work that you do and appreciate what has been done for, or given to, them. This type of clean literally means going through every single shelf, bin and basket. Small toys and pieces o en mes end up in the wrong spot, and it is very frustra ng for kids when they want to play something specifi c and cannot fi nd all of the parts. Consider using this me to reorganize the placement of ev- erything. Visualize how your kids play with their toys and try to place everything that they might use together close by. An example of this pairing would be placing their rolled-up car mat next to their matchbox cars bin and alongside their bin of car tracks. Now, everything needed to play with cars is in one easy spot. If it is before a birthday or holiday, discuss how new toys will be sorted, and set me to make some extra room. Because they are excitedly an cipa ng their new surprises, they will hopefully be pre y good about saying goodbye to a few things to help free up space. If you have an idea of what new toys your kids will be receiving, keep that in mind when tackling this task. Of course, kids want to play with their newest toys frequently, so keeping that the focus really helps.

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