They'll be getting all their new school supplies and their back to school wardrobe, and adding to the clutter in their rooms. So sit down with them in their room and discuss how to organize it.
The basic requirements are:
- A comfortable place to sleep - you may give the kids your old bed when you get a new one. But if you don't like sleeping on it, what makes you think it'll be good for them? They need a good supportive mattress and a good nights sleep.
- Space for clothing storage (hanging and folding) - If the closet is big enough, include folded clothing and shoe storage in there along with the hanging clothes. This saves so much space in the bedroom itself.
- A place to do homework - Of course a desk is good, but if that's not possible, how about mounting a decent size shelf on the wall, or over two bedside or end tables. Just be sure to keep it at a height that works for the kids. And then you can mount a second shelf above the "desk" for their notebooks and homework binders. Better yet, have a place by their bedroom door or the door they exit in the morning where they can hang their book bags so they won't forget them when they rush out the door in the morning!
- Artwork display space - The younger kids, and some of the older ones, will be doing artwork in school. A designated space for displaying it on the wall, will keep them from poking holes in the entire bedroom. Plus if you use some of that magnetic primer under the wall paint, they can stick papers up with magnets and you'll have no holes. You might also get a roll of cork and cut it into strips about the size of wall border and mount this to their walls at whatever height works for them.
Nice to have but not requirements:
- Dressing area - this could be adjacent to the clothing storage or to the bathroom whichever works best. The kids can store their primping stuff in that area in baskets or totes, or even a small dresser. Have a mirror on the wall or on the back or front of a door.
- In addition to a space to do homework, have an area for the computer. Seems like everyone's got one these days. They tend to take up a lot of space on the top of the desk, and don't leave any room for writing or working on homework. And if they're not using the computer for homework, they tend to be a distraction!
- Of course what they all want, is a place for their electronics, which may include the computer and games plus TV and any other media they may have. If you can compress this into one unit that saves on a lot of space.
