Spring Cleaning and Organizing Kids Rooms
For some reason this area of the house seems to be as bad or worse than the rest of the house. Accumulated clutter, outgrown clothes, broken toys, etc. Spring time is a great time to reorganize, purge and give their rooms a deep and thorough cleaning.
Grab 3 large and sturdy boxes– Mark them Donate, Sell, and Store. Set them off to the side in the room so they are accessible as you clean, otherwise you may set things back in drawers or on shelves until you can get them boxed up.
Flip and freshen the mattress- Spray well with rubbing alcohol, this will freshen and remove odors naturally, when it dries there will no longer be an alcohol smell.
Sort through clothes– After the bed has dried, make it up with clean bedding. Empty all the drawers and all clothes from the closet onto the bed. Take out clothes that your child has outgrown and determine if if goes into the sell or donate box. If you haven’t already evaluate winter clothes, items like coats that might fit next year can be boxed up. If they are too small they can either be handed down to a younger sibling or gotten rid of. Purge out holey socks and underwear, now is a good time to take inventory- list what your child needs- underwear, socks, a new swimsuit, t-shirts,etc. Do the same with shoes, purge, organize, and take stock.
Tackle Bookshelves– Books and movies, cull out books that are damaged or too young for them and movies they no longer watch. Set books out in a basket next to a cozy corner to renew interest.
Empty Toy Box- Go through it alone or with your child, are toys and games missing parts? Are you holding onto your 6 year old’s toddler toys? Duplicate items? Toss, sell, or donate. Only return the most loved and played with items to the toy box. If you have sorted and your child’s room still has too much clutter and you just cant bear to part with it yet- place some of it in large Rubbermaid bins in the closet, rotate monthly or so. It will feel like Christmas all over again for your little one when the ” new” toys come out.
Dust Blinds and art on the walls- Wipe out the window sill, wash the windows, and dust blinds well to banish the winter blahs. Dust the tops of pictures, clocks, and other art work on the walls. Don’t forget those fan blades!
Mop- Finish the room by sweeping ( under dresser and bed as well) and mopping well, my favorite cleaner for the floor is a combination of equal parts water, vinegar, alcohol, a squirt of dish soap, and 5 drops of essential oil. It gets the floor clean, smells great, and the alcohol and vinegar sanitize and deodorize the room.