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Quick Tips for an Organized Game Room

When you are putting together an engaging game room for your kids, you have to take into account many different things specific to their wants and needs. However, no matter what their desires, there are a few basic guidelines you can follow to ensure that your game room provides an excellent experience while not getting too out of hand.

What’s the Big Picture?

First off, think carefully about what you want to accomplish with your child's game room. Games can be integral in sparking thought in your son or daughter's mind while still being fun and interesting. For very young children, plastic toys and simpler items may be more appropriate, which would require shelves, chests, or other large storage. Older children may move on to digital and paper games and entertainment, which means you should think more about furniture such as couches, chairs, and entertainment centers. Art supplies are also an option no matter what age your kids are. If your children are creative, it might be a good idea to invest in ways they can express themselves in a clean environment.

Boxes to Bins

You’d think toy boxes would be a safe bet for a game room. Toy is in the name, after all! In practice, however, traditional toy chests end up being toy grave yards. Instead of helping to organize, toys are just piled into them. The room may look clean, but toys aren’t any more organized. Furthermore, toy boxes become havens for all the loose and leftover toy pieces or broken parts. Instead, opt for a multitude of bins. So that toys are out of site, and therefore left unused or played with, choose bins that are clear. That way, toys can organized can simultaneously visible whenever needed.

Through a Kid’s P.O.V.

We’re huge fans of labels in our everyday organization, but do you remember how many labels you read as a child? Mostly likely between zero and none. Part of the culprit is that young children have yet to fully grasp the skill of reading; therefore, instead of traditional labels, uses pictures so children can more accurately match toys to the appropriate bin. Seeing the room from your hands and knees, at the same level as your child, may be helpful as well. Place favorite toys at your child’s eye level or within their grasp while reserving more seasonal items for the tops of shelves, where they’re less likely to be included in play sessions.

Small Stages Prevent Larger Messes

Check in periodically on the state of the game room’s organization. Short weekly clean-ups prevent larger messes from becoming out of control and spiraling into weekend-long projects. During these weekly check-ins, you can also determine if you need to rotate toys. Are some being played with more than others? Move them within hands reach. Keeping some toys boxed away for a short time cuts down on the clutter, but it also creates a cycle to beat boredom. When toys are reintroduced again, kids won’t become burnt out on a singular toy. Get your children in on the action, too. Make cleaning a game, and teach them how to organize periodically, if not after each play session.

Using these three key principles, you should be able to figure out what kind of play room benefits your child. Additionally, with the right furniture, cleanup should be a breeze. Congratulations, you've got the framework for the perfect game room to suit your child's needs!

Last Updated: August 12, 2014