Recently, my boys (4 and 2) decided that they wanted to share a room. My first thought…”Perfect! If they share a room, then we will have a spare bedroom and I can have my own office!” Selfish, I know. My second thought… “How are we going to fit all of their clothes, toys, etc. in one room?” I knew that if this was going to work, I would really have to plan out the space and make the most of every inch. There were a few issues we would have to tackle to.
Toys
When we first bought our home over a year ago, we knew we wanted to put 2 twin beds in my oldest’s room just in case the boys wanted to share a room, or for future sleepovers. The space was plenty big enough for 2 beds. We also added some open shelving for toy storage. At the time, this was enough storage for his toys. We added some large bins under the shelves for larger toys (cars, blocks, etc.). The open shelving was great for larger toys like the super hero houses. However, there was no way this would work for 2 children.
Not all of their toys are kept in their room.. We have a playroom in the basement. The decision about which toys were going to be kept in their room was up to them. They were allowed to pick out their favorites. The first part of the process was having my oldest son decide which toys could go down to the basement. He wanted to share a room with his brother, so he knew that meant making room for his toys as well. Once he decided which ones could go downstairs, I let my youngest pick out his favorite toys to bring into the room. Well, that went as well as it could with a 2 year old. He had a little help from mom.
After doing a quick sort of the toys we had left, I had to decide on storage. There were 6 distinct categories of smaller toys, so I knew I would need 6 bins. TIP ALERT: Measure before you buy. I knew I wanted bins to go on the shelves for smaller toys. So, I measured the length and depth of the shelves to make sure the bins I had my eye on would fit. Grey bins would match with the color scheme and also hide the contents, making for a cleaner look. Adding labels to the bins gave it a cohesive look and makes for quick and easy clean up.
Books
Books were another issue. Being a former kindergarten teacher means we have tons of books. The space between the beds was hardly used before. A small shelf sat between them and provided little storage. Something much bigger would fit and I had been dying to snag the IKEA Kallax. The Kallax would be great for more bins and open storage for books. Who doesn’t love a little ROY G. BIV. Not only does this look pretty, it makes it easy for the kids to but the books back and educational as well. Win-win!
Clothes
When we first moved in this closet was hardly functional with one single rod too high for a child to reach. We decide the ELFA system from the Container Store would be the best option for now and for my son to grow into. Little did we know this actually had to function for 2 children. I split the hanging clothes by child. My youngest, who is not quite ready to pick out his own clothes, would go on top, and the oldest would go on the bottom. This wouldn’t be a change for him. The same would go for the drawers. The two top drawers for my oldest, and the two bottom for my youngest. To make sure they knew which drawer was which I added some color coordinated labels. These are the same colors I use for other things around the house as well.
There was also plenty of extra storage available on the shelves, so I added bins for things like hats, legos, sheets, etc. Another quick tip I have is to designate a place for clothes that are too small. Whether you are donating them or putting them in storage, keep a small bin to put things in as you see they are too small. Once the bin is full, take it to donate, or transfer it to your storage area.
