A couple years back, I worked with a client who was about to put her house on the market to buy something bigger. Well, after decluttering and organizing her family room (and several other rooms in the house) suddenly, the need to move no longer existed. In fact, they liked their house and it felt like they had moved.
It’s nice when, at the end of the day, after the kids have gone to sleep for the family room to resemble an adult-like space, free of toys and kid paraphenalia. To accomplish this, choose a coffee table with storage that houses games and books. If you have them, utilize built-ins to house baskets of toys, and perhaps what was once used as a sideboard, you could place DVDs or other electronics. Dual-purpose ottomans are great too!
Always keep in mind that much of organizing has to do with how much space you give to something…and sometimes there just isn’t enough space. This doesn’t mean that you can’t have a place for your child to play, it just means balance it out. If there are too many toys, pack some up and give those you “leave out” a home in the space.
Making space for your children’s things is important, and having a dedicated space will not only help you easily transform your space to watch a movie late at night, but will assist in teaching your children to put things where they belong and to respect that it’s not just their space, but the family space.
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Hi Stacy,
Your book sounds wonderful! I’d love to review it on One Chic Mama (www.onechicmama.com). Let me know if you’re interested. Take care.