Organizing a Teenager's Bedroom

Organizing a teenager's bedroom is easy --- it's keeping it organized that's difficult! To be fair, though, that's probably true of any room in the house, so let's not pick on the teenagers!

The most important rule in organizing a teenager's bedroom is to make sure he or she takes ownership by involving them in the organizing plans right from the start. Sit down with the kid in a comfortable setting for a planning session. If you have the luxury of starting with an empty room (say if you're moving into a new house), then take a couple of chairs in there, have a cold drink each and relax. You should each also have a pen and paper to make notes of the ideas that come up. If the room is not empty, and you need to clear up a mess before you begin, take them out to the local coffee shop, so that you don't get distracted by the mess while you make your brave new plans.

Teenagers' bedrooms are pretty much the hub of their lives. They sleep there of course, but they may also use the bedroom to listen to music, read, play computer games, study, entertain their friends, do hobby activities and more. As in any other room in the house, organizing a teenager's bedroom should begin with a list of what activities will take place there. Any equipment or supplies they need should be in the room, and easily accessible to the area where they'll be doing the activity. In organizing a teenager's bedroom it's particularly important that it be easy to put things away, or you'll have a perpetual mess on your hands!

Furniture

Kids generally like casual stuff and bright colors. Stores like Ikea have ideal furniture that can be mixed and matched according to the space available as well as personal taste. Look for furniture that doubles as storage space, such as storage cubes that can also hold lamps, small television sets, music players, books or whatever else they use.

Particularly useful in organizing a teenager's bedroom are those wall units made out of a series of stacked cubes. This gives an organized look right away, while the storage possibilities are endless. They are open, of course, which has potential for a messy look if you're not careful. A useful idea is to add baskets and other small containers to the cube openings themselves. That keeps magazines, CDs and other small items out of site and still accessible. Other items, such as books, model airplanes or dolls, can be displayed in other cubes and form part of the decor.

Use the space under the bed to store bed linen or out-of-season clothing in a sturdy box. If the area is not claimed for something that takes up the whole space, it will be a huge dumping ground for anything that can be swept under it!

Work surface

A desk is ideal, because it gives a working surface as well as some drawer space. If they have a small computer, it probably won't take up all the space and it should be easily moved to one side to make room for other activities. If they also use it for hobbies, their supplies might fit in the desk drawers, making it easy to get them out and put away again when they've finished.

Decor

Let them choose the paint colors, curtains and anything else that reflects their personality. After all, you wouldn't want someone else choosing your bedroom color scheme, would you? So don't impose your taste on your teenagers.

As far as wall art is concerned, they should not only choose it themselves but as much as possible hang it too. If there are heavy frames involved (not usually the case with teens), you can always supervise or lend a hand.

Clothes

It's pretty much a pipe dream to think teenagers will keep their clothes neatly folded or hung in a closet, but that doesn't mean you can't try. Start with a closet that has enough room for their clothes, space to hang as well as shelves or drawers for folded clothes. Let them organize them for the first time, with your help. Provide a cool looking hamper where they can easily toss in their dirty clothes.

Keeping it organized

When the room is organized, take photographs of your teenager showing it off. They'll be smiling and proud because everybody loves a sparkling clean, organized space --- even if they don't keep it that way. When things get out of hand, you can always show them how much they liked it when it was clutter-free and you never know, it might encourage them to clean it up at least sometimes!

Insist that dirty clothes be put in the hamper, and enforce the rule by not doing any laundry that's not in there.

Remind them that their room is their own personal space, and that if they keep it tidy and organized it will boost their confidence, keep their life in order at least in this one place, and provide a sanctuary when they just want to "hang out".

You also need to respect that personal space. Give them as much privacy as possible, and remember that if the door is closed you don't need to look at the mess, so don't nag. You might promise to do the cleaning every week, or every two weeks, but not if you have to clear up a mess before you start.

Organizing a teenager's bedroom can be fun, and the constant battle to keep it organized is just part of the challenges of family life!