5 Steps to Master A Messy Kid’s Bedroom

In family life, those former bundles of joy aren’t always the little angels you’d like them to be. And messy bedrooms are often the source of arguments in most households.

We’ve uncovered some sneaky tips you can try to finally get that mess (and your sanity) in order.

How to Keep a Kid’s Bedroom Clean

Set aside some time during the weekend and spend a couple of hours getting the room clean and set up properly using our pointers below. You’ll be amazed at how much easier keeping the room clean will be in the future.

1) Rethink The Layout

Before you start, it’s a good idea to take a look around the room and reconsider where you currently have furniture or storage set up.

Check where you may be able to add in additional storage, such as under the bed, a wall shelf for books and knick-knacks or space in the cupboard for a shelf up high.

Is there anything in the room your child has outgrown or no longer needs anymore? Is there anything that could be moved into other areas of the house?

Our daughter has a huge range of books in her room, and we recently put half of them into our book storage downstairs. It’s created additional space for a few of her favourite toys, and she is now spending a little more time playing in her bedroom as a result.

2) Storage is King

If you read our blogs regularly, you’ll know we firmly believe that good storage is the key to a decluttered home.

Stores like Big W and Kmart have some cute collapsible storage boxes that the kids will love, and that don’t take up a lot of room if they aren’t being used and need to be folded down.

One great idea I saw was putting a shoe or pantry organiser in the cupboard or on the back of the cupboard door, and using it to store figurines, barbies or stuffed toys. Purchase a clear version and it’s even easier for your child to see their toys, rather than them being stuffed into a toy box.

3) Involve Them in The Process

Keeping toys clean can be a tough task. To help with sorting through the stockpile, firstly sit down with your child and have them pick out their favourite toys or books to keep. This will help them feel like they’re part of the decision-making process.

When organising items and deciding what to keep, discuss the concept of donating items with your child, to other children who may not have as many toys as they do. You’ll be getting the room clean while sharing some valuable life lessons too.

Sort everything into categories with input from your child as well, before placing them into the storage you’ve created in Step 2.

The great news is, once you have your storage set up and if your child is across where everything should be getting stored, tidying up should be a breeze.

4) Instill Pride

If your child has been involved in the decision-making process so far, you’ve already almost mastered this step.

These are a few other ways you create a sense of pride so that your child is more likely to keep their room clean.

• Have them assist you in picking a piece of furniture or bedding for their room. It doesn’t have to be anything expensive, but they are more likely to look after it if they’ve had a hand in choosing it.

• Put a piece of their artwork from daycare or school up on the wall.

• Work together on a project for the bedroom, such as painting the bedside table or making photo frames.

5) Make It Fun

There are a few things you can do here. Making it fun or making menial tasks into a game will ensure everything runs smoothly, with minimal fuss.

• Change the language around cleaning up. Instead of saying “put your dolly away”, try saying “put your dolly back in her home”. Be specific with your clean-up request too – name what object needs to be cleaned up, not just “clean up your toys”.

• Make ‘take one out, put one home’ a playing policy – simply put, a new toy can’t be brought out for playing with until one has been put away.

• Label storage bins with stickers for children who can’t read yet.

• For children aged 5+, work together on a colourful cleaning checklist (for daily chores like bed making), laminate it and pop it on the wall. Your child can put a star sticker next to each task once done.

• Challenge your child to a race against you or siblings to get as many toys back home as they can.

This site has some fantastic additional ideas to make housework tasks fun. Enjoy!