My Favorite Kid Room Organization Ideas

Getting (and keeping) kids’ rooms organized can be tough. We’ve struggled with toy storage and stuffed animal organization since day one of being parents, and I think it’s probably something that won’t fully go away until the toys are all outgrown! But, I’m always looking for creative kid room organization so their spaces can stay as organized as possible and still be functional for them to actually be kids in.

Over the years, I’ve managed to gather a handful of tools and strategies that work to help keep the chaos at bay. So today, I’m sharing a few of my favorites that have really made a difference in our home!

My Favorite Kid Room Organization Ideas

1. A Stuffed Animal Hammock

Jackson is 10 years old and his love for stuffed animals still runs deep. It’s his top request for souvenirs when we travel and he often spends his own money on cute stuffed animals he finds at the gas station. A few years ago, I needed a solution to get it under control, and I landed on the stuffed animal hammock!

Most stuffed animal hammocks require a corner to hang in, and Jackson’s room doesn’t have a single corner that one would work in. After quite a bit of browsing, I found this hanging solution and it’s perfect for him! It holds all of his stuffed animals (which is impressive) and I think it’s way cuter than many of the options I’ve seen. It has been a kid room organization tool that has worked for us for years now, and I highly recommend it to anyone who has stuffie-loving kids.

2. Under the Bed Storage

We all know kids like to shove things under their beds, and I think we should just take advantage of that instinct! If you need some extra storage in your kid’s room, consider utilizing that space to add some extra storage.

We’ve done this in the past by purchasing beds that have storage built into them (like drawers in the base). Another great solution that we’re currently utilizing is to add some drawers or rolling containers under the bed! Jackson doesn’t have a dresser in his room, so for a while he used these metal under the bed drawers. They worked really well for him right up until we recently added some drawers to his closer so we didn’t need them anymore. Now, we have some narrow plastic containers slid under his bed that hold his LEGO collection.

Regardless of exactly what solution you choose, utilizing that space under the bed is key to adding some simple kid room organization that will make a big difference.

3. Specific Storage for Their Interests

This one will really vary depending on your kids, but hear me out: you should be planning room organization strategies that are specific to your kid! Kid room organization isn’t really one-size-fits all. It should fit the needs of your kiddo!

Here’s a great example – Jackson loves art and drawing. He’s also pretty introverted and needs a lot of wind-down time a night. So, for years, he has gone to his room a good 45-minutes to an hour before his lights-out time so he can draw and read books. For a long time, he was just keeping his supplies on the floor near his bed. It was a wreck! But, I finally got him a little art cart to hold all of his supplies, and it works so much better. He’s able to store the things he needs in an organized manner, and he feels a little more ownership of his room. It’s a win for both of us!

4. Add Some Shelves!

Overly simple? Maybe. But kids love shelves. There’s something about having an intentional space for them to display all of their little *treasures* that brings them a ton of joy. And having things displayed on shelves gets them off all of the other surfaces in the room. So, it’s likely to make you happy, too. Again, win-win!

We added this wall of shelves in Jackson’s room a few years back to give him a space to display his LEGO sets and play with them. He loves them so much he’s been asking me to add a few more to another wall. From a design standpoint, I know it’s not going to be the most aesthetically-pleasing option. But, it’s his space and if adding a few more shelves will make it more functional for him, then I’m all in.

5. Use Double-Duty Furniture

I’m a huge fan of getting creative when it comes to choosing the furniture in your kid’s room. When I’m shopping for kid spaces I’m always thinking about how functional the things I’m adding will be. A perfect example is the nightstand we have in Grant’s room! He doesn’t have nearly as vast of a stuffed animal collection as Jackson, but he has enough that we needed to do something.

I found this adorable storage table that holds his entire collection and keeps it really easy to access. It has worked so well for us for over two years now, and I think it’ll be perfect all the way up until he decides he doesn’t need the stuffies anymore! (Jackson, on the other hand, is likely to keep his collection until he leaves for college.)

Other examples of this might be adding a small table with storage where your kiddo can play with LEGO and also do art. Or putting a desk in their room that can function as a homework spot, an area to be creative, and a place for some imaginative play with their small toys. Basically, any time you are adding furniture to their room, ask yourself if it can do double-duty in some way!

6. Add a Dresser to the Closet

Many simple builder-grade closets have a hanging bar in them and not much else. It’s really common for the floor space in a kid room closet to be vastly underutilized. Grant’s closet is a perfect example of this – he has a hanging bar and a shelf above it. That’s it. And, his clothes are tiny so they don’t need much space to hang!

In his room at both of the houses he’s lived in, I have tucked a small dresser into the closet to add some storage to the bottom half. Visually it looks really nice and makes the closet feel more organized. Functionally, it adds a ton of storage space to a place that had none before. And practically speaking, it’s a perfect solution for little kids whose needs are ever changing!

7. Consider a Closet Overhaul

On the other hand, if you have bigger kids and a better handle on what they might need in the long run, I highly recommend considering a full closet overhaul! I’ve been wanting to do this in Jackson’s room for quite a while now, and we finally tackled it last month. It has added so much storage space to his closet and really made a big difference.

This obviously isn’t the cheapest solution around. But, if you want a long-term, sustainable solution that will also help increase the value of your home while adding storage, this is it.

8. Add a Built-In

I’ve been preaching the power of built-ins in your home for years now and I’m not gonna stop now. Adding built-in shelving to your kid’s spaces is not only a beautiful way to improve their rooms, it can add so much storage. We added three BILLY bookcases from IKEA to Grant’s room a few years ago, and he honestly now has so much storage we don’t even know what to do with it all.

Trust me when I say that’s exactly the kind of problem you want to have in your kids’ spaces.

This isn’t a good solution for every kid room, but often this can be something you add that brings a lot of extra storage in and will grow with them! We’ve done some form of built-in in a kid’s room at every house we’ve owned. See the built-in bookcases in Jackson’s room at the first house, and the built-in bed we added at our second!

9. Take a Deep Breath and Let it Go!

And finally, on a related note, here’s your friendly reminder to let go of the reins little bit. I know, it feels counterintuitive on a post about organization to say “let it be messy,” but it’s an important lesson. At the end of the day, this isn’t your room. It’s your kid’s room. And if they don’t mind the mess, you shouldn’t either. Within reason, of course.

Despite all of my best efforts over the years, my kids’ rooms still have a pretty decent amount of mess on any given day. I immediately feel my blood pressure rise a bit when I walk in there to say goodnight to them. But as long as the basics are taken care of, I like to remind myself that it’s important for them to have ownership over their space. There are so few things in this world that these little people get to control, let them have what they can!

In the end, we’re far from perfect when it comes to keeping our kid’s rooms organized. But, both of our kids are proud of their spaces and love being in them. And really, that’s all that matters, isn’t it?!