Decluttering a playroom post COVID

The brief was straightforward – to declutter the playroom enabling the use of the room again.

We’ve all been through a strange few years and most parents with school-age children will have experienced the no-schooling, home-schooling and back-to-schooling. That left many of you with cupboards, playrooms, bedrooms full of more crafts, games, activities, toys, books, (you get my gist) than ever before. 

My client has a gorgeous house, with a perfectly located playroom. The sticking point – you couldn’t get into the room as it had become the storage room for everything I referenced above. And the result – both children playing in other rooms of the house, using spaces more intended for eating, relaxing and entertaining.

My goal was to not only declutter the space, but also improve the organisation and storage used in the space, to allow the children more ownership of their toys and activities. (And maybe even encouraging them to participate in the tidying up when needed.) We also discussed the idea of creating space in the room where the children could craft and do homework. 

I started this two day project in my usual way, popping my slippers on. I love wearing my slippers at home and there’s an automatic mindset shift when I pop them on in my clients homes, easing me into the environment and making myself comfortable.

First step is to set up sections where I can pile the items into their relevant categories;

> Rubbish (beyond repair or charity viability)

> Recycle (what it says)

> Re-home (can be sold or donated to charity). 

Anything that we are keeping doesn’t need a pile, I just find a space in the room and leave it ready for the next step.

This first step can be a minefield, so part of my initial consultation is to understand the level of involvement they want to have. Some will want to participate in the clearing out because there may be sentimental or valuable items and we agree set times for us to work through these. Others may have a more generic request to just keep anything suited to the child’s current age, or on brand for the child’s hobbies. Neither way is right or wrong, I work with you to find the most suitable one.

Once the decluttering is complete, in this case, pretty much by the end of Day One, the second step is the organisation. 

Prior to the project commencing I had worked on some new layout ideas for the room, allowing both children to have their own area within while also utilising most of the furniture that was already in the room. Sustainability is key and where possible I believe it is right to utilise as much of the current items as possible, whilst also acknowledging what is required for each project. For example, my client had the trusty Kallax unit in-situ however my biggest challenge with the storage boxes is you can’t see what’s in them. A quick bit of online research found some clear-fronted options on Amazon, much more child-friendly. Now my client’s daughter can see all of her toys and it’s easy to know which one she needs to pull out when playing with a certain category – Barbie, LOL dolls, Dress-up etc

Crafting is a big part of my client’s activities with the children and with plenty of cupboard storage it was easy to section them into different types, allowing them to be easily seen, and therefore could be rotated / removed if new items were purchased / gifted.

Lastly, with so much floor-space now available we ordered a fold-away table and a couple of chairs to allow a dedicated space for the crafting activities. The added bonus – my client’s son on seeing the room commented “Great, I can do my homework in here now” – such a heartwarming moment.