How To Get A Minimalist Kids Room

If you’re looking to simplify your kid’s room and want to create a streamlined calm environment for your children to sleep and play in, we have created a step by step guide to get you started on your journey towards creating a tranquil minimalist kids room.

How to successfully declutter your kid’s stuff.

Decluttering other peoples stuff is a tough decision to make, especially when its a small child’s stuff, as their toys have often been given as a gift, or their clothing may hold special memories for us.

I’ve done lots of research on the best methods to declutter with kids and have tried various methods to include my children in the process of decluttering their possessions. None of them worked and many ended with tears and arguments. My conclusion is, that it is better to make the decluttering decisions on your own if you want to create a minimalist kids room.

Why you need to declutter toys 

My kids get vast amounts of gifts from family members despite me suggesting experiences rather than actual presents. While I am very grateful my kids have such kind family members it does mean that our house can be bursting with toys, this, in turn, makes it difficult for my kids to see what they have got to play with. Decluttering without your kids enables you to:

  • Get rid of anything broken without any tears.
  • Qualify which toy your kids play with,  without any protests from the kids
  • Pack stuff up without it getting dragged back out of the donation bags
  • Cull unloved soft toys
  • Get rid of paper junk
  • Throw away any unusable stationery, broken crayons, felt tips with no lids and dried up pens without any protests from the little ones!

 I try to rotate toys but it can still get out of hand very quickly if I am not on top of decluttering unused and broken toys. Although I do donate heaps of  toys that have not been played with, my kids have honestly never missed anything of theirs that I have given away.

Look upon decluttering your kid’s stuff  and creating a minimalist kids room as a gift giving day and spread the love!

Time needed: 1 day

How to declutter toys 

  1. Wait until your kids are not home.

    Trying to declutter toys when your kids are home is almost impossible. They will hang onto broken stuff, old toilet rolls, old socks and anything else they see going towards the bin! Trust me get your kids out they was before you get the bin bags out!

  2. Get rid of any broken toys 

    When the kids are away, its easier to get rid of broken toys. broken toys do not have a place in a minimalist kids room! Decluttering broken toys is a no-brainer!  If a  toy or game has a piece missing or broken, throw it away immediately and don’t look back!

    A tremendous amount of toy storage is often taken up by broken toys. Kids can’t play with broken stuff, so get rid of the car with one wheel or the doll with no head!

  3. Ditch the excuses

     It was expensive
    It was a gift
    It was their first pair of shoes
    It was your great aunts
    It was her first doll

    Think of all the people in your life who would benefit from your unused toys, clothes, prams and games it will help you to feel more positive about letting go, share the love !

  4.  If your kids have never played with it, give it away!

     Even if it cost you a fortune,  or if they begged for it for weeks and they’ve only played with it once get rid of it!
     If you think they are too young for it and may play with it at a later date, in my experience, they most probably will never touch it! the heart of minimalism is to create space for the stuff you and your kids really love by getting rid of the stuff they don’t love and use. 

  5. Cull the paperwork!

    Try to give your kids a sketchpad for drawing, and a notebook for writing instead of loose sheets of paper. So at tidy
     up time, your kids are not shoving handfuls of used loose paper into already overstuffed drawers.
    A  pad of paper is less overwhelming for little ones to tidy up, so they will be more inclined to help at tidy up time!

  6. Make sure every toy has a home.

    Kids bedrooms are much easier to keep tidy if every toy has somewhere to live.
    Kids are keen to put stuff away if it’s easy to stash,
     If they don’t know where to put a toy you can’t expect them to put it away, or find it when they want to play with it.
    After you’ve decluttered, make sure each toy has a designated storage area where it can be returned to.
    The less stuff  (clutter) they have, the more care they take of their treasured possessions. To learn about how to create a toy rotation system click here

  7. Clear the bedroom floors!

    Except for train or car tracks, keep floors and surfaces free of clutter in kids rooms. This habit should encourage them not to drop stuff on the floor or surfaces and to put it away instead, without you having to nag them.

  8. Get rid of their clutter asap!

    After you’ve decluttered, get it all out of the house as soon as possible.

    Run, run, as fast as you can to the charity shop or the tip, because if those little people see that unworn itchy jumper or the headless doll in the charity bag, you can bet your last dollar that they will make your life a living hell for the rest of the day!

  9. Get the kids involved in organising their new space.

    Now is the perfect time to get your kids on board with organising their new space, things they could help with would be:
    Making homemade labels for drawers and baskets, so they know where to return things to.
    Polishing the newly cleared surfaces.
    Cleaning the windows
    Finding new homes for all their toys.
    At this stage of decluttering the kid’s room, kids can take an assertive role in getting the room back together, if they participate in the cleaning and organising part of the process they are much more likely to remember to return their items to where they got them.

  10. Create a kids capsule wardrobe.

    It’s best to keep children’s clothing at an absolute minimum to be able to stay organised. School-age children spend 70% of their time in their school uniform, so it makes more sense to have multiples of uniforms rather than a closet stuffed full of clothes they will never get time to wear.
    Kids are the perfect candidates for a capsule wardrobe and you can follow the steps to building a kids capsule wardrobe here.

  11. Keep clothes tidy.

    I’ve put together a quick video tutorial here to show you how to fold and organise your children’s knickers and socks, this helps to keep the chaos away!

How To Declutter Sentimental Toys.

Decluttering sentimental toys is the hardest part of creating a minimalist kids room. 

You may get teary eyed looking at a bag of baby clothes or a favourite toy.  In this case, try to remember that the doll or clothes helped to create the memory. The memories are in the moments not in the toy,  if the doll is no longer there, the memories still will be.

You could find a reason to keep everything you kids have ever drawn, worn, played with or touched. If your child doesn’t like it, wear it,need it  or play with it ditch it!

Your kids probably are not sentimental over approximately 90% of their toys. they will have their favourite soft toy but probably never even look at the other 30 on the end of their bed!

If your kids love it, keep it,  if not, get rid of it!

 The benefits of creating a minimalist kids room

  • Children can find their toys easily as everywhere remains tidy.
  • Children have more space to play after you’ve created more room in their bedroom, and there is less toy clutter.
  •  It is so much easier to tidy up after playdates and play sessions as everything has its place!
  •  Having fewer toys promotes imaginary play and helps to inspire children to use roleplay whilst playing.
  •  Creating a minimalist kids room helps to generate an organised and calm environment.
  •  Having an organised and calm environment helps kids stay happier and be less stressed.

Frequently asked Q&A

How can I organise my kids room?

The first thing to remember is that you can’t organise clutter. follow the steps to creating a minimalist kids room above then try to start a toy rotation system by following the steps in this post

How do I create a minimalist toddler room? 

The steps to creating a minimalist kids room work for all ages especially if you couple that with a toy rotation system

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