Playroom Organization Before & After
Honest moment here: Our playroom has been driving me insane.
It was cluttered, could never stay clean, the kids couldn’t easily pick it up at the end of the day without stuff just being EVERYWHERE… and there were days where I just wanted to throw everything out and start over.
Clutter and mess directly affect my mood and anxiety. I shared a little bit about this back in the summer when I reorganized my closet and there have been various projects throughout the house that I’ve wanted to tackle but just wasn’t able to because I felt super overwhelmed when it came down to ACTUALLY doing it. I just knew we had too much stuff (even though I feel like I purge constantly) and I felt like the kids just never played with any of it.
And I felt frustrated. SO frustrated.
(I 10000% realize this is the epitome of a first world problem… I’m just being honest.)
Through a mutual friend, I got connected with Lindsay Frey, owner of a professional organizing company, Peace in Place… Lindsay and I chatted and it turns out she LOVES working with kids and has quite a speciality in organizing playrooms / kid’s rooms / common areas. I shared with Lindsay my frustrations with our playroom and she said she could help!
So we scheduled a time for her to come over, I told the kids what was happening, “That a new friend was coming to the house to help us organize and clean out the playroom!” and the kids were shockingly excited and on board… especially Lilly. Amos was mostly ambivalent, but Lilly was pumped.
We blocked out a three hour time slot with Lindsay and she walked me through the whole process. She told me *not* to really prepare anything other than having things like boxes / trash bags on hand for trash and donation / sell items. We kept the playroom in its original state (mess and all) because Lindsay wanted to see what it looked like in actual life / practice so that she could best evaluate what to do from there.
The process was SO easy. Lindsay immediately connected with Lilly (Lilly gave her a whole tour of our house bahaha!) and then she involved Lilly in the entire process asking her questions like, “What do you like about your playroom?” “What is your favorite thing to play with in here?” “What is missing from your playroom that would make it more fun for you?” etc.
And then we got to work. We took everything out of the kitchen, off bookshelves, out of bins, etc. and went through EVERYTHING. We wiped down surfaces, vacuumed, and did a thorough cleaning of the whole room. Then, we evaluated how the room would best be arranged to maximize space and efficiency. After that, it was a matter of purging toys, deciding what to keep, what to store, what to sell, what to donate…
It was so therapeutic! I loved having Lilly and Amos be a part of the process (even though, again, Amos was mostly checked out and mad when we’d get rid of something he CLEARLY had not played with in ages.)
Lindsay even made adorable labels for items so we could know exactly where stuff goes and how it should be organized at cleanup. We got a new rug for the space (since the old one was WAY too small and was dwarfed by the room), got new bins, and voila!
And now, we absolutely love the space. In the week since we redid the playroom, the kids have been in it WAY more, the toys are getting played with (less options!), and it just feels like the perfect space for them to play by themselves and for them to play with friends.
We could not be more pleased with the whole process and experience and I honestly am contemplating having Lindsay come back and help me with a few other things around the house. It really does help to have an outsider’s perspective come in!
If you live in the Triangle area of North Carolina, I HIGHLY recommend working with Lindsay on any organizing need that you might have… she’s INCREDIBLE. You can mention the code stillbeingmolly and you’ll get $50 off one session OR $200 off a package!
Links to what Lindsay used:
Chalkboard tape | Chalk ink pen | Epson Label Maker | White on black label tape | Black cardboard tags & twine
Stuff I bought:
Now tell me, what about you? Do you have a space in your house that needs help? Have you ever hired a professional organizer before?
