I will never forget when we first walked through our little Minneapolis home-to-be with our realtor. We climbed the narrow staircase, looked in the first bedroom, then walked into the second. It was a small room and the realtor asked me what we would use this small room for. I said, “A bedroom, of course!” That has stuck with me ever since because not only have we used it as a bedroom for our first born, but it has become a cozy little haven of a room for our two boys to share. When we were pregnant with Alder, our second, I started searching pinterest for ideas for small shared bedrooms and for blog posts on how best to have a baby and a preschooler share a room. I was shocked by how little I found! I was also surprised by how many people thought we were crazy for having them share a room at that age. So, now that I have a year and a half under my belt of having a baby/toddler and preschooler share a tiny bedroom, I thought I’d share my experience with the inter webs in hopes that they may help the next mama searching for some ideas on how to make living smallish with kids a reality.
First of all, it has been so great having them share a room. They LOVE it. Yes, there are times when they wake each other up or don’t go to sleep easily. Yes, there are times when they argue and fight and each want the room to themselves. Yes, I still have to have Alder nap in our room because they need separate spaces for nap and rest time. But, overall?? It’s been absolutely wonderful.
As for the space and organization, my biggest advice is less is more. It’s as simple as that. The fewer things you have to manage such as toys and clothes, the easier it will be to keep the room tidy, less chaotic, and comfortable. Now while I know this idea is a simple one, I also know it can be easier said than done. So, my advice for how to tackle this is to start small and to start by moving things you don’t regularly use into another room or storage area. You can then rotate it back into the room as needed (ie. seasonal clothes, toy rotation), or if you find you can live without it for a few months, then consider getting rid of it entirely. Here are some of the ways I organize clothes/toys in order to keep the room organized and less cluttered/crowded.
Clothes:
I keep a small, capsule-style wardrobe for each boy. A capsule wardrobe is generally a wardrobe of 30-40 pieces of essential clothing items that can be easily paired/matched together to make a variety of outfits. For my boys this means that I keep just the basics that they need for a week or so of wear. I generally wash their laundry once per week, so I make sure that we have enough to get a through a week, plus a few extra things in case its a particularly messy week or busy one where the laundry doesn’t get done on time. At the beginning of each season, I go through the clothes they have and make a list of what they need for the upcoming season. For fall/winter, my boys each have a couple pairs of jeans, a nicer pair of pants, a pair or two of sweatpants, a few t-shirts, a few longs sleeved t’s, a wool sweater, a few button-down shirts, and a sweatshirt. They also have a couple pairs of pjs, socks, underwear, and long-johns. If at the end of the season I find that we didn’t wear everything we had, then the next season I pair it down a bit more. This past summer I found that we had an abundance of t-shirts and shorts for both boys. This meant we washed each pair after use, even if they weren’t dirty. When there are fewer options, they wear their clothes more between washes, which means less laundry for me and less wear on the clothes as well!
Everything they regularly wear is kept in their dresser, on hooks on the wall, or hanging in their closet. I also keep a basket on the shelf in their closet for things that are a little too big for them, things they may need later in the season (ie. sweaters or tank tops, depending), or things that they have just grown out of in size or season. This helps keep their dresser drawers less crowded, but gives me a place where I can swap clothes in and out without having to go digging in the rubbermaids in the basement.
Toys:
Less is more! I said it before and I’ll say it again and again and again. Anytime I’m feeling like it is chaotic in our home, it likely means that I need to purge a bit. When I feel like their bedroom is always a disaster, it probably means they have too many things in it - and those things are usually toys. When I feel this way, I often weed out a few toys and move them to the basement. I use the basement as a holding place for toys that I’d like to get rid of. If they don’t miss them, then after a few months or so, they find a new home.
Rotation is key!! We have a pretty simple collection of high quality, well-made toys that I rotate around the house every few months and I occasionally take toys out of the rotation and store them in the basement in order to mix things up a bit. This is especially great for toys that are exciting for only short amounts of time.
Organization is super helpful too. I find that when our toys are well-organized and everything has a spot, it’s a lot easier for the kids to clean up and it’s more inviting for them to play as well. Every month or so I quickly sort/organize their toys and I’m always amazed by how they are more drawn to them after I’ve tidied them up a bit.
Books
Display: Sarah McKensie, from Read Aloud Revival, is big into displaying books with their covers facing out as it makes them far more inviting to read. I have found this to be true as well, so we have a couple small Ikea shelves where I put out a few books that both boys love. I then switch them out each month with books that fit the season or mood of our home. I find that the boys generally reach for these books at bedtime, instead of picking different ones from their book shelf. This simplifies the bedtime story process and keeps their book selection fresh.
Shelve: We have a book shelf in the boys room that I generally try to keep organized. When it is organized it is more inviting and easier to find favorites. On this shelf we keep seasonal books and all-time favorites. Oak will often sit and page through this books during his rest time in the afternoons.
Rotate: I mentioned that I rotate the books on the wall shelves, but I also rotate some of the books on the bigger shelf as well. I keep an organized stash of books in the basement that I pull from each month. Books about summer get put away in the colder months and vise versa. When there are fewer books on their shelves, it keeps the selection more interesting and far less overwhelming and chaotic.
We have arranged this little room a few different ways over the years, but this latest arrangement with a lofted bed for Oak and tucked under crib for Alder is by far my favorite. It gives them so much space to play and gives Oak his “own” space which is helpful when you are sharing a room with your little brother. The lofted bed is actually just a bunk bed without the bottom front railing installed. Once Alder is ready for a big boy bed, we’ll likely utilize the bottom bunk (or we’ll have a mattress on the floor for a bit, depending on what he is ready for).
The closet is also one of my favorite aspects of this little room. Before Alder was born, I asked my dad to build a custom shelf for the closet so that we could better use the space. Because we keep our boys’ wardrobes on the small side and also keep only a handful of toys in their room, the closet then has space in it to play, which gives them more space to spread out and keep their toys set up.
We are in the process now of looking for a new home to live in, but I am so thankful for this little room and all it has taught me about simplicity. Our society is quick to tell us that we need more space and more things, but I’ve often the opposite to be true, especially with our boys. Less is more and I think this little room has proven that to be true.
