Controlling the Clutter When You Have Kids

If you have ever paged through a home and garden magazine, it's evident from those winning photographs of pristine living spaces that those households don't have children.

When children arrive they bring many blessings -- and also a lot of stuff -- into your life. What starts out as baby bottles, diapers and playmats quickly transforms into toys, toys and more toys. Every birthday, holiday and special event seems a ripe occasion for doting relatives and friends to bestow another toy upon your darling boy or girl. Very quickly your house can become overrun with kiddie clutter.

Parenting involves making wise choices for your children, and one of the important ones you can make involves teaching them about responsibility and maintaining their personal property. Involving them in the organization and sorting of toys can be a worthy lesson.

So how do you take back your house from the legion of toys setting up roosts in every corner? Here are a few organizational tips that can help.

* Create an area of the home that can be a kids' play area. If there isn't space in a basement or a spare room, the child's bedroom will have to suffice.

* Purchase storage solutions according to the child's age. Younger children will benefit from several open bins that are easy to reach. Older children can use under-the-bed storage, drawers, pegs, and hooks.

* Skip large toy chests as a catch-all for the toys. This can create an overwhelming mess for a child and they will be less likely to want to play with their toys. Instead, consider smaller bins that can separate toys according to themes, such as action figures, dolls, blocks, and cars.

* Low-level bookcases attached under a window or in another cozy location can store books, magazines and coloring books in an organized fashion.

* Keep a basket handy in another area of the house to gather up the toys that inadvertently will spill over to the living room, kitchen or car. It can be a great chore to have your child take those toys back to the play area and put them away.

* Build a maintenance routine into your child's day. Just as an adult can get overwhelmed by clutter, so can a child. He or she starts with a clean room, plays and then finds stuff everywhere. Have a twice daily "clean-up" routine. In the morning your child can straighten the bed, put dirty clothes in the hamper, and neaten up his or her room. In the evening he or she can put away toys and get the room ready for the next day of play.

* Go label happy. Labeling, especially labels with images and words, help children learn where things belong. Stick labels on toy bins, inside of drawers where socks and underwear are stored, etc.

Controlling kiddie clutter can make for a happier and more organized household.