My organizational systems: the kid

This is part two of a mini-series in which I attempt to document the physical items in my home as well as some of the systems I use to keep things organized. Over the years, I’ve tried to streamline my life in many areas so I can focus on the things that truly matter to me. I just wanna live my best life… without all the stuff!

Let's dive right in and talk about: The Kid.

---

What items does my child currently have?

Disclaimer: I’m not going to document many of the physical things that could be considered shared family items, or things that we had before having a child. For example, bathroom towels, placemats, blankets, etc. are things that exist in my house and things that she uses, but they’re not there solely because we have a child. I tried to list the things that are primarily for her.

Clothing

L has one drawer for each type of clothing: undies, socks, pajamas, shirts/tops, and bottoms. Hoodies, dresses, and dress-up clothes are hung in her closet. Shoes are stored in an over-the-door pocket organizer in her closet, with the shoes she wears daily on the shoe rack by the garage. Also in her closet are small drawers for accessories (jewelry, belts, hats, sunglasses, scarves). One drawer in her dresser is for gymnastic, dance, and swim clothes. The last drawer in her dresser is for clothing in the next size up. Bigger clothes that she won’t fit in for a while are stored in the basement closet with big labels so they won’t be forgotten before she has a chance to wear them. Coats are hung in the basement closet, and snow gear (pants, hats, gloves) are stored in a filing cabinet in the same closet. A bathrobe hangs on the bathroom door.

Books

We seriously have books EVERYWHERE. (The girl is a hardcore reader.) All of L’s books have two designated spots in the house: a small bookshelf in her bedroom and a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf in the playroom. Library books are kept separate on the side table in the living room. Extra books are always coming in and out of the car (they’re kept in the seat pocket when they’re in the car). Books are rotated out on a seasonal basis - donated to the YMCA, library, friends, or donation centers.

Toys

I’m going to list these with bullet points because there are just too many to type out sentence by sentence. While it sometimes feels like our house is exploding with toys, I think realistically it’s fair to say our daughter doesn’t have an insane amount of toys. She has a lot, don’t get me wrong, but generally speaking I am okay with the amount of things she owns. I’d like to pare it down a bit more as she gets older while making sure the toys she keeps are of higher quality.

• Barbies, clothes, cars, dollhouse

• Baby dolls, stroller, crib, clothes/food toys

• Puppet theater & puppets

• Bins of:

  • Miscellaneous characters

  • Dinosaurs & animals

  • Pop-its, sensory toys, noise tubes

• Lego

• Magnatiles

• Puzzles & board games

• Musical instruments

• Pretend play kits: doctor, construction worker, engineer

• Dress-up clothes

• Mini trampoline

• Balance bike

• Little People dollhouse, miniature treehouse playset, Encanto playset

• Barbie “Chelsea” camper & firetruck

• Stuffies

• LightBrite

• TonieBox with ~10 Tonie figurines

• (Coming soon for her birthday: an MP3 player!)

• Outdoor toys

  • Chalk & bubbles

  • Power Wheels truck

  • Scooter

  • Wagon

  • Playhouse in the backyard

  • Water table with various water toys

  • Splash pad

  • (Coming soon for her birthday: a bike!)

Arts & Crafts

L’s art desk in the playroom contains the usual coloring books, activity books, blank notebooks, and looseleaf paper. She has crayons, markers, dot-markers, colored pencils, watercolors, paints, and pens. On a rolling cart we keep Water Wow books, scratch-off sticky notes, stickers, and miscellaneous art supplies. We have a few craft kits including: Play-doh, slime kits, kinetic sand, bracelet-making, and sticker mosaic books.

---

How do I streamline it all?

I try to run a load of her laundry at least once a week, then spend 10 minutes folding/putting it all away as Dad reads a bedtime story. On the first day of each season, I take 15-20 minutes to sort through her current clothes to find things that no longer fit or need to be fixed up. I pull out bigger/newer clothes for the upcoming season. As the current season ends, I make a note on my phone of what can be kept for next year (assuming it’ll still fit) and what she’ll need new, such as snow pants, hoodies, bathing suits, etc. I keep an eye out for these at thrift stores and freebie groups online throughout the year.

Every toy item in the house has a designated spot. That being said, they don’t end up in that spot every day!! The closet & playroom are more meticulously organized once every other week or so (e.g., putting Barbie’s clothes back on, reassembling broken Lego sets if requested, small toys are returned to the right bins). Any walkways throughout the house are cleared of toys daily, even if that means just pushing them to the side at night.

Some toys are integrated into the flow of common spaces. For example, board games and puzzles are displayed on the consoles in the living room. Markers and a reusable drawing pad/placement are kept by the kitchen table. A small trampoline lives by the couch so she can jump while watching PBS.

Artwork is rotated out pretty ruthlessly, but special ones are kept on display in the playroom using a string & clothespins along the ceiling beam. If the string/line gets full, pieces get recycled to make room for more. Any loose stickers that L insists on keeping go on the “sticker pole” in the basement. Daycare papers/school art to keep gets stored in a scrapbooking box. Once that box is full it gets trimmed down again.

Daily Routines: L reviews a morning checklist at breakfast each weekday. The checklist features things she needs to do that morning, the daily weather, reminders, a daily challenge, a weekly schedule, and a word of the day. Bedtime follows the same general script every night, around the same time every night. (Of course on vacations or special days we are flexible about this) Habits are also stacked: for example, brush teeth when you change the date on your wall calendar in the bathroom.

School essentials are kept by the garage door. We don’t have a mudroom but this corner of the playroom meets the same need. One coat, 1-2 pairs of shoes, and her backpack stay there at all times.

Lastly, we are very selective about what comes home and are very generous in what is given away. I’ve intentionally taught my daughter from a young age that it’s okay and normal to part with things/clothes/toys that we no longer need or use. I make sure SHE is involved in the decision process! We are also very vocal with family & friends about gifts, random spoiling, handing stuff down, etc. to ensure “acquiring stuff” doesn't just become an expectation.

---

Honestly, I think I’ve gotten the kid stuff pretty streamlined in the past couple of years! I’m sure there are some random things throughout the house that I’ve forgotten to include here, but these are the main things/clothes/toys our daughter owns and uses. I’d say the biggest “hack” that’s kept our kid stuff in check is visualizing or planning where an item will go before we buy it or bring it home. This is especially helpful around the holidays, because I’ve definitely thrown several things in my cart without thinking about where we could actually store them! If I can’t think of a spot on the shelf, space in the bin, or drawer in the closet to put the item, it’s a very strong argument against acquiring the item - or an argument to declutter/donate items at home. It’s similar to the “1 in, 1 out” rule!

Next up in the series: The Bathroom