Moms Talk: How do I tackle my child's messy room?

Moms Talk is a new feature on Watsonville Patch that is part of a new initiative on our Patch sites to reach out to moms and families.

Watsonville Patch invites you and your circle of friends to help build a community of support for mothers and their families right here in the Pajaro Valley. Each week in Moms Talk, our Moms Council of experts and smart moms take your questions, give advice and share solutions.

So grab a cup of coffee and settle in as we start the conversation today with a question answered by local moms.

How Do I Keep All of My Child’s Belongings Organized?

The challenge: Children’s rooms are often small in size with minimal storage space. Toys and clothing are the chief concerns when trying to wrangle a wild mess into some order.

First order of business—quick and easy—is to eliminate all broken and unused items. This sounds obvious, but 15 minutes focused on this portion of the job really makes a difference and begins to chip away at the feeling of overwhelm. Ruthlessness is encouraged here! Charity and recycling are green alternatives for usable things.

Access, access, access! A child trying to keep his own room neat needs an organizational system scaled down to accurately use his reach and motor skill level. When baby-proofing a room for safety, we are asked to get down to their height and look around carefully.

This same method is useful when streamlining your child’s space. Are the drawers and closet easy to open, can your child really put away their own toys, clothes and books alone? Creating independence in this area is a joy for parents and children, eliminating at least some nagging and stress.

Colorful storage accessories can be so very tempting to buy, but please resist this urge until after you have assessed your true needs. Looking around your child’s room and taking some measurements is key. A survey of exactly what needs to be stored will guide your buying and ultimately result in a more satisfying and efficient set-up.

Once your basic storage needs are ascertained, a shopping trip for supplies that includes your children allows them to become interested and committed to the project. Allowing them to choose their favorite colors or themes respects their tastes and keeps it fun.

Junk on the Floor! Solution: Box it Up.

Large bins or clean boxes/baskets of any sort are versatile and can collect toys quite handily. Choose specific bins for specific toys!

The ability to label them with either words or a picture indicator will help your child understand what goes inside them. Some families prefer clear bins so that the contents can be readily seen. Consider how they are opened and closed, because little hands need to be able to do the job. Stack-ability is another helpful feature. All the toys in one "toy box" leads to an imposing pile that is not as likely to get played with or cleaned up.

What goes where? Toys for today, toys for tomorrow. Storing some toys away will automatically clear clutter volume. Simplifying a child’s environment by having a smaller selection of daily play things available can be a relief to everyone and allows for “rediscovering” our treasures when they rotate in.

Out of Control Clothing!  Solution: Lower the Bar.

Closets rarely come equipped with a clothing bar low enough for children to reach. Bars can be installed at a lower level with basic carpentry skills, but the insta-fix is a device designed to hang from the top bar in two spots and creates a secondary bar about 3 feet from the ground. This requires no tools, is inexpensive and easily removable. Colorful hangers create appeal and look fresh and tidy.

Having clothes up off of the floor and hung up allows a visual of what is available to wear instantly. Use simple boxes or drawers for small items like socks and underwear. Unwieldy closet doors can be removed with the side benefit of eliminating the dreaded closet monster’s hiding place.

The value of order and cleanliness is something children can sense quickly. An open and clear space feels good to everyone. The skills needed to create and maintain this space are gifts we give to ourselves and our children every day, by simply picking up and putting things in their allotted location.

Watsonville has many resources for storage supplies: , , , and are treasure troves to get you started on your spring clean- up.