Taming the Playroom

While I may not be a great decorator, I am an avid organizer.  I like cute little baskets and putting like things together and finding a home for everything.  I can go through my house and pick everything up and get it put away in no time which gives the illusion of a clean house.  I’m a tidier, not a cleaner.  I could go eternities without vacuuming or dusting (I’m very lucky that hubby cannot so often takes these tasks upon himself).  There are two general areas, though, that I find overwhelming to keep tidy: the playroom and laundry (I’ll save that one for another day!).

The house we were living in when Honeybun was born had fairly small living spaces and by the time she was 18 months and we moved, she had taken over our living room with her toys and books.  When we picked our house in Dublin, we were fortunate enough to have enough space to have an almost dedicated playroom (it was also our dining room but we rarely used it for that purpose and kept the table shoved in the corner with the leaves removed).  The nice thing about our Dublin playroom was it was right off the kitchen so I could hear them playing while I cooked.  It also had doors so I could easily close it off when the chaos got too much or if we had unexpected visitors.  The only problem we had was the girls were not keen on being in the playroom by themselves and the toys tended to migrate to wherever hubby and I were (usually the kitchen or family room on the opposite side of the kitchen where TV and computer were).

When we moved into our current house in Florida, we decided to dedicate the largest family room off the kitchen to being a playroom/office and keep our large TV and couch in what should be the “formal” living room.  This arrangement has worked out perfectly for us.  Generally the toys stay in the playroom and the girls are great about entertaining themselves while I cook or use the computer.  The only problem we have is the girls’ bedroom is on one end of the playroom and our room is on the complete other side of the house so anytime we need to attend to them in the middle of the night we risk stepping on a myriad of toys which are constantly splayed all over the floor.

I’m working really hard with the girls to keep their playroom clean, though.  I’ve arranged my playroom similar to how I used to arrange my classrooms and try to also have the same rules.  I’m trying to get them to put away things when they are done before moving onto something new but this is hard as I’m not always right with them while they play.  What I have found helps with clean up, though, is labels.  I label where each toy or type of toy should go.  This helps even the youngest child learn how to put things in the proper place instead of just piling everything haphazardly (it’s also really helpful when well-meaning babysitters, grandparents and husbands try to help clean up too!)

I’ll admit the labeling process can be a little tedious.  I do mine by taking pictures of each item then making labels with a picture and name of each item.  The dual labeling helps Honeybun with her sight words and helps Sugarplum know where things go by matching the pictures.  I then affix the labels to either the bin (if it will stick) or directly to the shelf with clear contact paper.  The contact paper makes the labels like a sticker and my girls generally don’t try to take them off (though we did have a friend come over once and remove every label!)

I don’t expect our playroom to be fully cleaned up all the time, we do an all-out clean up about once a week.  I let the girls pick a CD and I decide how many songs they have to clean up (based on how big the mess is and how long the songs are).  I am trying really had to get them to take responsibility for their own things so don’t usually put things away but I do help guide Sugarplum to finding the correct place and keeping her focus.  Honeybun has become really efficient at clean up time so long as she’s not in an argumentative mood.  I usually entice the girls with some kind of reward after clean up, generally something they would get anyways like a chance to go swimming or ride bikes or have dessert.  And if all else fails, just pulling a trash bag out of the cupboard is a very mighty incentive!

This is our current play room.  I brought back Honeybun’s armoir from her room in Dublin (where they notoriously don’t have closets) and use it for dress-up clothes.  All the other toys have a home in a bin or on a shelf, each with it’s own label so the girls know where to put everything away.