Can organizing a child’s bedroom make a woman healthier? I believe it can! Any time a woman can reduce stress in her life, she has the potential to be more relaxed and her body will respond by using its innate ability to heal itself. It takes some time to set up a child’s room in a way that they can be successful in keeping it reasonably neat. The result is a less-stressed child and a less-stressed mom. Taking time to help children get their room organized this summer will pay off when school starts in a few weeks. The steps to an organized room are analyze, sort, purge, assign a home, containerize, and equalize.

Personal Story

Having five children has taught me a lot about bedroom organizing. Some of my children were naturally more organized than others, but they each needed my encouragement and praise to learn to keep “their space” livable. Here are some tips on how to do the real work of organizing a child’s bedroom.

My Favorite Books on Organizing Children’s Rooms

I love these books!

More Hours in My Day, by Emilie Barnes

401 Ways to Get Your Kids to Work at Home, by Bonnie Runyan McCullough

Organizing from the Inside Out, Second Edition: The Foolproof System For Organizing Your Home, Your Office and Your Life, by Julie Morgenstern

Just Do It!

I have found Julie Morgenstern’s book resonates with what my years of organizing has taught me. Here is a summary of the process she writes about that works for me.

Analyze

Set aside some time to analyze your child’s room. Ask yourself these questions:

• What needs to be done to make it easy for your child to take care of his/her belongings?
• Does the room need zones for sleeping, dressing, playing, studying, etc.?
• Is there too much stuff for the child to handle?
• Do they have reachable places to put their clothes or favorite toys?

Sort

• What’s important to the child?
• Group similar items

Purge

Decide what to do with each item.

• Throw away
• Give away
• Sell
• Put somewhere else
• Store

Assign a Home

This is where setting up zones comes in to play. Possible zones for a child’s room are:

• sleeping
• dressing
• playing
• hobbies
• studying

Containerize

Children need places to put their belongings. Containers should be sturdy.

• baskets
• boxes
• shoeboxes
• plastic containers

Make a place for everything, so everything can be put in place.

Equalize

After a week or two, analyze how things are going. Talk with your child and make adjustments according to what you discover. Put a maintenance plan together.

• Put things away at the end of each day
• Praise the child for doing the work of staying organized.

Training a child is worth the effort.

Action Step

Set aside a half day to spend time organizing your child’s room. Let the child give your feedback and help as they are able. The result will be less stress and better health!

May God bless your healthful endeavors!

Joni

P.S. What tips do you have for organizing children’s bedrooms?