I need some organizing help!

[scrappyknits]

My children's rooms are always a mess. It drives me CRAZY, and it bothers them, too, but I just don't know what to do about it.

My sons room is the worst. There are two of them sharing a "double" room. (not a master bedroom size, it's smaller then that - it's wide enough for two single beds to go in, side by side. They touch each other, and three walls, leaving about 2 feet at the ends of the beds) We've put in a loft bed for the 9 year old, and a toddler-sized bed for the 4 year old, coming out from the loft bed at a right angle. The boys two dressers are under the loft bed, also. This leaves a 2 foot area of "unusable" space where the 9 year old has tossed a bean bag to make himself a cozy corner. Hard to picture? Maybe I should have taken a photo of it.... hummm...

anyway, the issue is storage space. They do have a small bookshelf in their room... if we remove it there is nowhere else to put it in the house. There is a radiator behind the small bookshelf, so I don't know if we could put something bigger there or not... (do you know??)

My eldest desperately needs some place to put "treasures" and more books - and having somewhere that the 4 year old couldn't access would only be a bonus. We have to be careful about the walls because we're renting.

What can we do to create more space for the boys within that room?

[RiverRock]

What about something like this: http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/70115578
It could be in reach from the loft bed...like a hanging bedside table. I think they also come in half that height, and might you might be able to hang a few of them from the ceiling.

It looks like this one can be hung from the wall: http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/60139301

[Tuesdayschild]

I'm struggling to picture the situation :poke picture? but would an underbed storage chest work for treasures? Can one of them sleep somewhere else? Could you change the beds for somehting smaller?

[cbmk4]

if the beds were raised a bit (I don't know, by putting them up on cinder blocks or something) maybe it would make more room underneath for the bins the pp mentioned. I don't recommend those plastic risers to put under a bedframe. I got a set for my dd and within two days, one of them broke and the bed kept falling off them!

[Tuesdayschild]

Throw stuff away? :duck

[HomeyT]

i know you are concerned about the walls...but a little shelf in the loft bed might give a place for treasures. we have those hanging things from ikea. they store alot of stuff. but the higher cubbies are not accessible to the kids. so good for putting things you don't want them to have direct access to.

yes a pic would help :)

[Brittany]

when i was in college and had a loft, I had a 1 foot square bookshelf that was 7 feet tall to use as a bedside table. something like that wouldn't have a large footprint, and would have space out of reach. Is the loft wooden? Or would you be able to rig hanging storage either from the mattress frame of the top bed down or from some kind of frame mounted above the top bed? Doesn't have to be shelves, even an over the door shoe pocket thing would hold quite a bit in the way of treasures. For that matter, hang it over a door as it was designed ;)

[scrappyknits]

I'm struggling to picture the situation :poke picture? but would an underbed storage chest work for treasures? Can one of them sleep somewhere else? Could you change the beds for somehting smaller?

The boys don't have a lot of toys, simply because we haven't the room for them. Right now there is a bin of toy cars under the bed that is on the ground, and sleeping bags stored there, also. (did I mention we have NO storage? no cupboards, no closets, no basement, nothing)
There is no where else for them to sleep unless we give up our bedroom and take to sleeping in the living room ourselves. The one bed is already a toddler bed... the loft is bigger (but not huge - it was the smallest one we could find - thanks ikea!), but elevated to maximize floor storage...

Good questions!!

---------- Post added at 12:35 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:33 AM ----------

if the beds were raised a bit (I don't know, by putting them up on cinder blocks or something) maybe it would make more room underneath for the bins the pp mentioned.

is that safe? I like it! We do have some things stored under the little bed already, but it might increase the useability of that space. :thumbsup

---------- Post added at 12:41 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:35 AM ----------

Throw stuff away? :duck


yup, we did that when we moved - they really don't have very much :(

Most of the treasures he has are books. He also has some small games, a small remote control car, a few things he's made, a couple of lego models, a couple of trophies, toiletries, knitting needles and yarn, etc. He has a very reasonable amount of stuff, and I want to respect his stuff, but we just haven't any idea how to keep it tidy. :-/

---------- Post added at 12:43 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:41 AM ----------

i know you are concerned about the walls...but a little shelf in the loft bed might give a place for treasures. we have those hanging things from ikea. they store alot of stuff. but the higher cubbies are not accessible to the kids. so good for putting things you don't want them to have direct access to.


We do have some hanging basket things - but there's no where to hang them where they're not in the way! ugh! :-/ What would "a little shelf in the loft bed" look like? I can't picture that - that sounds like a good idea, I just can't picture it in my head. :thumbsup

---------- Post added at 12:48 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:43 AM ----------

when i was in college and had a loft, I had a 1 foot square bookshelf that was 7 feet tall to use as a bedside table. something like that wouldn't have a large footprint, and would have space out of reach. Is the loft wooden? Or would you be able to rig hanging storage either from the mattress frame of the top bed down or from some kind of frame mounted above the top bed? Doesn't have to be shelves, even an over the door shoe pocket thing would hold quite a bit in the way of treasures. For that matter, hang it over a door as it was designed ;)

I like the idea of a 1foot wide, 7 foot high bookshelf -- most of what he has would fit on something like that, save for a few of his books that would be too tall. I'll have to stalk IKEA and see if they have such an item, thanks!

I'm not sure if the door shoe pocket thing would hold the things he's got in a reasonable way - some of it would, it might be worth getting just so there are some extra storage pockets for new items!

I'm wondering about the hanging shelf idea... I like it... must go measure when the kids go off to school tomorrow... hum....



have I mentioned you ladies are fantastic??? Even without pictures you've given me some really great ideas! Thank you! :heart:heart:heart

---------- Post added at 12:57 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:48 AM ----------

PICTURES!!

here you can see the two beds - one's a smaller loft, and the other is a toddler bed - a standard single wouldn't fit against that wall, its too long.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v476/Sweetie_luvv/P1030671.jpg

Here you see the dressers, tucked under the loft bed. The one beside the toddler bed is the 4 year old's, the other one is the 9 year old's.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v476/Sweetie_luvv/P1030676.jpg

This is the little space between the loft and the wall - it's just under 2 feet. (22 inches, actually). My son put a bean bag there to make a "cozy" reading space for himself. You can also see some of the clutter. The brown box contains more of his books. The blue bin is legos.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v476/Sweetie_luvv/P1030672.jpg

This is the little bookshelf that holds a few books - it's against a radiator... I don't know if this space could be used more effectively (safely), but it seems it should be able to be.... I wonder if a pocket over the door thing would work here, or some other kind of shelf?
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v476/Sweetie_luvv/P1030674.jpg

just a picture of the 9 year olds dresser, and some of the clutter, again. He doesn't really keep a lot of "projects", it's mainly gifted items and lots of books.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v476/Sweetie_luvv/P1030677.jpg

[HomeyT]

have you read this thread: http://www.gentlechristianmothers.com/community/showthread.php?t=390275&highlight=book+storage

i wonder if this suggestion would work? http://pennycarnival.typepad.com/penny_carnival/2009/02/tutorial-hanging-book-display.html

i'd put it up in the loft. you'd have minimal holes 4 total.

otherwise, i was thinking you could get a narrow shelf, about 3 inches wide to put along the wall up in the loft, your son could put books on it, or little trinkets.

what if you hung a hanging basket in your sons reading corner? one at the very back? the corner? or this might be a good place for the hanging book pocket (in the second link). you could even have 2 rows. but that would mean holes in the wall.

also, i put my DDs books in baskets. it's much easier for my 2yo than a book shelf. but you could do this with your older son's books, he could put this basket on his dresser, at least it would be a little tidier...or in his reading corner. even up in his loft at the end of his bed?? one of those fabric storage boxes might work well.

does he use all the drawers in his dresser? maybe you could make some space for his books/treasures? give him a 'junk' drawer.

[mommylobster]

http://www.containerstore.com/shop/closet/overdoorStorage/accessoryStorage?productId=10010675&N=62195

These are great for organizing ANYTHING. I use one on the back of the bathroom door for toiletries. You could hang it on the back of the door for organizing shoes, small groups of toys, crayons etc to help free up space in other places. The one in the link is the best picture I could find but you can get them cheaper at other stores (like walmart or target). The best ones are the ones that have clear pouches because you can see what is inside.

---------- Post added at 02:30 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:22 AM ----------

http://www.containerstore.com/shop/storage/stackingBinsBaskets?productId=10006896&N=71232

Maybe these could work in the space between the end of the top bunk bed and the wall? Another thing you could do back there is put a couple of netted laundry baskets. Any of these could work for balls, stuffed animals or there original purpose, dirty clothes :D
http://www.canopy-manufacturers.com/kp-walmart-netted-laundry-baskets-122192.html

[Tuesdayschild]

OK!

1. That loft bed has huge storage potential! Can you sew? If so, make pouches with ribbons that you tie to the rails and hang down over the edge of the bed. PJs, the book he's reading now, some of the other treasures would fit for sure!

2. A big lined basket on top of each dresser would mean the clutter was semi-out of sight.

3. next to the radiator there's a little shelf thing - can you replace that with a little special corner shelf thing for some extra storage?

4. I think one thing that would make a big difference is if you 'pretty up' the room, with nicely stacked, uniform storage containers (who cares about the mess inside them, right? :giggle); clear and tidy the pinboards - maybe one huge one instead, with a nice coloured frame?; posters stuck on with blu-tac.

I think when things look nicer it inspires kids to look after them better too.

---------- Post added at 10:57 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:32 AM ----------

I've just looked again- could you hang a large cloth off the foot end of the bed, down to the floor? This would mask some of the cluttered look, and make the reading corner a bit cosier. Put a standing lamp there, and instead of the Legos and cardboard box, use the (little tikes?) bookshelf or somehting similar for storing the books in the reading corner. move the lego etc to near the radiator, in nicer looking tubs.

http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/70148932

[mokamoto]

Can you build a bookshelf into the head and/or foot of his bed? Just an idea that I had as I pondered your dilemma last night. Hth :heart

[scrappyknits]

Well, ladies, thank you so much for all your help and suggestions.

Here's what we've done so far:
1. Small bed on bricks so that the bin of legos fits beneath it. That bed has always felt a little low, so now it's just at a "normal" height!
2. Dressers on one brick each - they now each have two small (shoebox size) clear bins underneath them for "treasures"
3. cleaned up pin boards
4. Little bench with books actually converts to a bookshelf. We haven't used it that way because the books on it would have to be turned sideways (so you can't see the spines), but we've done it - converted the bench back to the bookshelf, and turned the books. This gives a "shelf" above the books for... more books! :giggle
5. I got a set of hooks for over the door (to hang towels, bags and sweater)
6. One over-the-door pocket holder - but it's not over the door. It's been hung in the "cozy corner" for the 9 year olds bits and bobs. He also got a large, clear bin of his own that has been tucked under the toddlers bed, too, for larger items.
7. One single pocket hanger hanging off the side of the loft bed to hold books (so they aren't all over the bed)

So, we've left the set up basically the same and just gotten ORGANIZERS -- what a difference already! We're also considering a radiator bookshelf - that would mean getting rid of the little bench seat/bookshelf that's there, but it would afford us 3-4 shelves instead of two... but it's costly.



For my daughters room.... (which we didn't discuss, but I was taking notes anyway... lol)
1 - two sets of plastic drawers - one for polly pockets/my little ponies/etc, and one for baby dolls/clothes/accessories/stuffed animals. (I had to search hard to find ones that fit the measurements, but eventually I did!)
2 - two plastic shoeboxed sized boxes for hair accessories
3 - One over-the door shoe holder put at the end of the loft bed (over-the-end-of-the-loft-bed-holder -- these really should be marketed differently, I never even thought to put them anywhere but the door 'till you all suggested it - I'm so close-minded! :doh) Each shoe pocket holds one groovy girl perfectly! (I'm sure they'd work for barbies, too) I'm so pleased - they look so much neater, easier to find the doll she wants, and decorates up the room!
4 - two fabric boxes - one to sit on the bottom corner of her loft bed to store books, and one on top of one of the sets of drawers to store craft sets and stuff


So, :heart THANK YOU :heart to you who left suggestions and ideas, that was a HUGE help, and I'm very pleased with what has been done so far. We'll give it a month and see how this goes -- but I'm already seeing a difference in tidyness in their rooms.

Now....
on to organize my earrings somehow... :-/

[mommylobster]

Pictures!! :cheer

[RiverRock]

Yay! Let me know what you do with your earrings. I have been considering getting a pill organizer (long and narrow) to fit my earrings and keep stored in the medicine cabinet.

[scrappyknits]

Pictures!! :cheer

I'll work on that tomorrow - kids are in bed asleep right now ;)

[Tuesdayschild]

:poke photos!!!