Organizing a Toddler Room

Toddlers can all too quickly outgrow that adorable nursery that you put your heart and soul into. Especially if you kept your baby in your bed room with you for most of that first year. Sometimes your toddler has already outgrown the nursery before she even gets into it. When your child is old enough for a big boy or big girl room, then you need to get ready as well.
Toys can really start to pile up over the first two to three years of life. You may find that the fancy little toy box you bought when your child was born is no longer nearly enough to store all of those toys! Storage bins can be your best friends when it comes to organizing toys. This is especially true in a small room. Small room or large space, a toddler can really destroy a room. You need a system that you can pick up quickly, and eventually teach your toddler as well.
This poses a perfect opportunity to teach your little one some independent skills. Decide which bins will be for dolls, cars, blocks, magnet toys, balls, etc. Take a picture of one of the child’s favorites from each bin. Label the bin with the picture of the toy that goes inside. Making word labels can help your child to eventually recognize common objects as sight words. Make it a fun game, like basket ball. Cheer and praise your child for getting the right toy into the right basket. Developmentally, this helps children to recognize patterns and group common objects together.
Another fun way to organize is by color. Get several large bins of varying colors, or paint them yourself. One bin can be rainbow colored for toys that are many colors. The red bin is for red toys. The green bin is for green toys, and so on. Make clean-up a fun time with your toddler. Some are happy with hugs and kisses. Some toddlers thrive on applause. Some even like to be tickled when they get it right. Figure out what motivates your child and you can start teaching them the wonderful habit of straightening up. A little time spent now can save you a lot of heartache in the future.
Make clothing an easy to handle chore as well. Get a special small laundry basket just for your toddler. Placing it in the closet will keep dirty clothes out of sight. Additionally, you’ll teach your toddler that when they are changing clothes, their dirty ones should go straight into the basket. Use special childrens clothes hangers to ensure that delicate garments are protected. Childrens clothes hangers also encourage children to help with the laundry by hanging their own clothes. If you have childrens clothes hangers, then they will know that they are especially for them and they will be happy to use them.

About the Author: Ron Maier is the owner of Only Kids Hangers, a leading provider of childrens hangers. The right childrens clothes hangers really make the difference in kid's retail or home organization. For more information, please visit www.onlykidshangers.com.

Making Use of a Small Kids Closet

You may be surprised as your baby reaches toddlerhood just how much stuff they can accumulate. It is nice to get their room organized where toys are categorized and play space is kept empty. But how do you accomplish this when the closet in your nursery is the size of a phone booth? Here we will discuss tips and tricks to making every bit of space count inside of your child’s closet, enabling you to leave an open, safe place to play in your toddler’s room.
The number one thing to consider is safety. Toddlers can decide to climb just about anything and you need to have their room prepared. Make sure that dressers, changing tables and shelves are anchored to the studs in the walls. Stud-finders are usually around ten dollars and can help ensure that those furniture anchors you purchased are correctly positioned and installed. Better yet, coordinate your closet space so that you no longer need a dresser in the room at all. Changing tables can go once you decide to convert to a big boy or big girl room.
Measure your closet and determine how deep and wide it is. Inventory what you need to go into the closet and determine how far apart shelves need to be. Go ahead and measure, marking with a pencil on each wall, where you want each shelf to go. You can leave room in the bottom of the closet for a laundry basket and your child’s shoes. Put a shelf right above it for books and things that you want in your child’s reach. Above that, you can stack t-shirts and shorts. Shelves are nicer than dressers because you never have to dig for what you need. You will not unfold everything trying to find that cute shirt that goes perfectly with the shorts . Finally you can get organized and stay organized.
The next shelf should go about six inches higher than you need. This leaves room for those great little baskets that hang down from shelves, forming a drawer. These are usually around five dollars and make great spaces for socks and underwear. The next shelf up is for pajamas, special blankets or stuffed animals that are only for bed time. Diapers, wipes, and other essentials can be kept here in an easily removable basket. If you decide to keep diaper cream or medicines in the closet, consider installing a medicine cabinet that locks inside of the closet. Remember, your baby will soon become a climber if they have not already.
Place the hanging bar for dress clothes up high to protect those delicate items and heirlooms. Use childrens hangers to protect delicate fabrics and maximize the space that you have. Place one shelf above the bar for out of season clothes storage and you are done!

About the Author: Ron Maier is the owner of Only Kids Hangers, a leading provider of childrens hangers. The right childrens clothes hangers really make the difference in kid's retail or home organization. For more information, please visit www.onlykidshangers.com.

Nursery to Toddler Room

You’ve spent countless hours preparing your nursery for the arrival of your baby. Now, in no time at all, you are starting to realize that your little baby is quickly outgrowing all of those baby decorations and toys. In as little as a year, your baby goes from a sweet innocent dependant ball of joy to a walking talking busy-body that can get into anything. It is becoming quickly apparent that you will soon need to upgrade that baby room to a toddler room.

Safety is the first thing to keep in mind. Toddlers can get into anything. Even things that you know they can not get into may be a hazard. They can quickly progress from a child that can climb a foot to one that you catch on top of your refrigerator. Keep the progression of exploratory behaviors in mind. This is a healthy developmental step and they do need to learn how high is too high, but make sure that if they do climb, they will not be seriously injured.

Dressers and bookcases should be anchored to the wall. Drawers and shelves make an easy ladder for toddlers to climb or even crawl up. Nothing dangerous or tempting should be kept on top of a dresser or out of reach on bookshelves. Even if you have the drawers on your dresser latched shut, remember that toddlers are strong and do not have much weight to lift. They can easily climb drawer pulls and handles with just their little fingers and toes. Another problem with dressers and bookcases is that they take up valuable play space.

An alternative to even having a dresser and shelves taking up space in your toddler room is to create a closet that takes the place of a bulky dresser. You can easily install a small lock on a closet door to keep a curious toddler out. Simply buy planks of wood and cut them to the depth and width of the closet. It is a good idea to leave space at the bottom for bulkier items or a laundry basket. If you want your toddler to learn to dress themselves, then install the hanging bar down low. Invest in some cute childrens wood hangers and keep their hanging clothes near the bottom.

Shelves above the hanging bar are very useful for keeping stacks of t-shirts, pants and shorts. Inexpensive baskets that hang from the shelves make wonderful drawers for socks and underwear. Higher shelves can be used for other things that you need to keep near, such as diapers, blankets, a first aid kit or even a fire extinguisher. Toys with small parts that require adult supervision can also be kept high up in a locked closet. By implementing these inexpensive ideas, you can create space, a safe place, for your toddler to climb and play.
About the Author: Ron Maier is the owner of Only Kids Hangers, a leading provider of childrens wood hangers. The right baby hangers or childrens wood hangers really make the difference in kid's retail or home organization. For more information, please visit www.onlykidshangers.com.

Transition to a Toddler Room

When your baby starts to outgrow that baby nursery theme that you spent so much time and energy creating, it’s time to update the nursery and create a room that your toddler will love. Building a room around a theme will help your child enjoy their room. Personalize the room and let your child be involved in the design process. This is a perfect time to boost your child’s self esteem and urge them to feel like a big kid.

The first step is to get your toddler excited about the idea. Try transitioning to a toddler bed at this time. Let your child know that this is their special bed and start by letting them pick out their sheets and blankets. By this age, most kids will have a preference when it comes to cartoon characters, trains, airplanes, or other themes. Letting them make the decision about what direction to go will help them transition more smoothly and benefit developmentally from the experience. Once you have the bed design in place, move on to the walls.

New paint can be an exciting addition to a room. You may want to choose the paint yourself if you want it to last through future redecorating, but if you enjoy painting and don’t mind repainting every couple of years, go ahead and let the paint color be your child’s choice. Choose a border that matches the theme. If you don’t want the border to be glued to the wall, choose one that is self-adhesive. These can be easily removed later without damaging the paint. Putting the border at your child’s eye level instead of around the ceiling is a good option for a toddler room. There are also lots of stick-on decals available in many themes at hardware and retail marketer’s stores. These are very inexpensive and can add a lot of personality to a room. Posters are also an inexpensive option and can decorate a space very effectively.

New blinds and curtains can quickly add to the theme. Shelves can be easily hung and can display toys, pictures or other items that also help pull the theme of the room together. Besides the decorations, you want to consider organizing the room to meet your toddler’s growing needs as well. Get rid of those infant rattlers and space-robbing baby gyms. Update with more age appropriate toys and games. Make space for your toddler to work and draw or color.

Update their closet by moving the bar down to their level. Invest in some childrens clothes hangers and encourage your child to start selecting their own outfits and dressing themselves. A hat or coat rack installed inside the closet door down low will encourage your child to start taking care of their own room by hanging hats, bags and coats when they enter the room. Placing a bench in this area will encourage them to put on their own shoes and start to take care of themselves. Your efforts will help your child grow confidently and make life easier for you and your child.

About the Author: Ron Maier is the owner of Only Kids Hangers, a leading provider of childrens hangers. The right childrens clothes hangers really make the difference in kid's retail or home organization. For more information, please visit www.onlykidshangers.com.