Kids' Room Organization

Our Cleaning Services for a Messy Kid’s Room

Kids cleaning—it’s not a sight all parents see every day. That’s why some simply ask Molly Maid to clean their children’s rooms, whether on a regular schedule or on an as-needed basis. Our process for cleaning a messy kid’s room includes the following steps:

• Dust surfaces, including window sills and baseboards.
• Clean hanging and decorative items. (Sorry, we don’t clean toys, but we have tips for this below!)
• Dust and wipe down all furniture and fixtures.
• Vacuum the floors and upholstered furniture.
• Make the bed with fresh linens (but be sure to ask your team about adding this to your cleaning plan).

Think of us as your personal cleaning team that come in after you or your children have put away the toys and clutter. If you’d prefer to tackle the grime yourself—perhaps in between Molly Maid cleanings—keep reading!

Kids' Cleaning Tips: How to Clean Your Room

If you’re a kid or teen reading this, thanks for studying the art of cleaning your room! Knowing how to clean your room the right way will save you time and leave you with a room you’re happy to spend time in. Plus, as you know, it’s easier to focus on your homework if you have a clean space. You can do this. Just follow these steps, and you’ll have the clean room you need, fast:

• Put away your clothes: Are there clothes thrown around the room? Hang up the ones you can wear again, and put the dirty ones in the hallway or laundry basket/hamper, so you can take them to the laundry room when you’re done cleaning.
• Make your bed: If your sheets haven’t been washed in a week or two, take them to the laundry room with your dirty clothes. Once your bed is made, you can use it for organizing your stuff. For example, you can group together all your books or school supplies on the bed so you can put them all away at once.
• Take care of the clutter: Toys, books, dirty dishes, video game controllers … Put everything where it belongs. If you’re not sure where something goes, make a new permanent spot for it.
• Put dirty toys in a neat pile so you can clean them later: Toys will never get cleaned if you just keep putting them back where they go, right? Follow the steps in the “How to Clean Toys” section below to get shiny, fresh toys!
• Clean your dresser, desk and any other surface: Put some warm water and a few drops of dish soap in a bucket. Dip a clean cloth in the bucket, and wipe down all the hard surfaces. Or you can use some pre-moistened wipes. Don’t forget to clean your doorknobs, window sills, bookshelves, computer and other surfaces that collect dust. Dry everything with a towel when you’re done.
• Clean any glass: Use glass cleaner and a soft cloth or paper towels to clean your bedroom mirror and windows. Newspapers or coffee filters also work great as cloths for clean, streak-free windows and mirrors!
• Vacuum the furniture: Are there crumbs in your chair or on your bedspread? Vacuum them off with a brush attachment. Try to do this about once a month.
• Clean the floor: Save the floor for last because it can get dirty when you’re moving everything around. First, make sure you pick up any coins or other small things that could accidentally get vacuumed or swept up. If you have carpet, vacuum the entire floor, including under the bed. If you have hardwood floor, vinyl or something else, sweep the entire room with a broom and dustpan. After that, use a mop (or just a towel dipped in your cleaning bucket) to clean the stuck-on dirt.

Now that your room’s clean, you can kick back and relax! Try to clean up a little bit every day. You’ll have less work to do when it’s time to really clean. Things you can do every day are putting away clutter, wiping down your dresser and desk, and hanging up your clothes.

Fun Ways to Clean Your Room

• Music: Cleaning is always more fun with the right music. If you’re cleaning with others, have a dance battle while you clean! If you’re by yourself, work on your moves.
• Hoops: Whether you’re throwing away trash or putting clothes in the laundry hamper, why not make a game of basketball out of anything that isn’t breakable.
• Breaks: It’s OK to take breaks after finishing a big task. Use your break time to play a quick video game, get a snack or do some jumping jacks to get your heart pumping. Then get back to cleaning!
• Mop Socks: Spray wood or vinyl floors with a cleaning solution, put on a pair of clean, fluffy socks and start sliding! Your socks will clean up the dirt while you have fun. You may want to use a pair of socks that are close to retirement, as they’ll get extremely dirty in the process.
• Hidden Gems: Have someone hide a few prizes – like some snacks or a few dollar bills – in the messy room. That way, you (the kiddo) can discover prizes while you clean.

Parent Tips: Get Your Kids Cleaning

Sometimes it can be hard to motivate your kids to clean their rooms. But if they have the right incentives and tools, and if they understand why cleaning is important, the entire process gets a lot easier. The following ideas might get your kids to clean their rooms, no matter what age they are.

(Kids, if you’re reading this, try to go easy on your parents when they try these tactics. A clean room is a really good thing – we promise!)

• Explain why cleaning is so important: Explain to your children that cleaning the house is a family duty. Taking responsibility for your own room is part of enjoying your space—and helping out means everyone in the house is happier. If your child is too young for this conversation, you may need to emphasize incentives.
• Offer incentives: Many parents tie the completion of chores to a weekly allowance. This doesn’t have to be a monetary allowance – you can develop a point system that allows kids to use points to redeem a prize or privilege, such as more screen time or anything else your kids value.
• Plan and mark progress: Create a chore chart – or download ours– so kids can check off the tasks they’ve completed. Some children, especially younger ones, may prefer stickers. Don’t forget to remind your kids of cleaning tasks they should do every day; they’ll eventually create good habits if they are guided on a regular basis.
• Make a cleaning bucket: Put all the cleaning products, supplies and tools required in a bucket, and place it in a spot that’s close to the kids’ rooms and easy to access. It’s easier to start cleaning if you don’t have to spend time gathering supplies.
• Make it personal: Ask your children for their input on the furniture arrangement in the room, and help them rearrange and redecorate if they want to—then deep-clean the spots where the furniture was before! They’ll assume more responsibility for a space they feel is completely theirs.
• Offer to help: If your kids are tired or unmotivated, sometimes they might just need a little help. Tell them you’ll help for a few minutes, and they can help you out later by doing part of a chore you planned to do. Often a few minutes is just enough to get them started on their way.

Kids' Room Organization Tips

Whether you’re a kid or a parent, follow these tips for effortless kids’ room organization!

First, make sure the room has enough storage bins, containers or shelving to store all toys, hobby materials, clothes and other items that contribute to clutter. Kids of any age can learn where their things belong, as long as every item has a designated “home” and like items are stored together.

Older children can label or color-code their storage areas in a way they understand best. Color-coding alone may be a better option for any child who can’t read just yet. Here are a few ideas for affordable organizers.

Children's Room Organizers

• Plastic drawer units: These inexpensive pieces of furniture can be bought in different colors for easy, color-coded organization.
• Upcycled crates: Check your local grocery store or thrift stores for free or inexpensive crates. These can be lined up and labeled, or you can stack them and nail them together to make a cool shelving unit.
• Under-bed storage: Get long tubs for storing items under the bed. Let’s be honest – stuff will end up under there anyway! Some under-bed storage comes equipped with wheels.
• Vertical storage options: Hooks for coats and sweaters, shelves for toys or decorative displays and hanging shoe organizers are all great options for utilizing vertical space. Find what works for your kids’ rooms.

How to Clean Baby Toys, Plush Toys and Other Toys

Cleaning toys at least once a month is important – kids drag them across the floor, leave them outside, and, if they’re toddlers or infants, put them in their mouths. If there’s one thing that’s not fun, it’s a kid getting sick from a dirty bath toy or secondhand stuffed animal. Though Molly Maid cleaning pros do not offer toy-cleaning services, we have all the tips you need to keep the toys in your house sanitary and looking good.

• Clean plush or hard plastic toys in the washing machine: Many plush toys are just a whirl away from being good as new. Just be sure to check the labels for special washing instructions first. No one wants the wrong water temperature or dryer setting to render their beloved sock monkey unrecognizable. Place hard plastic or smaller toys inside a mesh bag or pillowcase to keep them from clunking around. It’s best to wash plastic and plush toys in separate loads.
• Clean hard toys in the dishwasher: If you want to clean plastic or other hard toys (but not wood), put them in the dishwasher and let the detergent and hot water do the disinfecting work for you. If you’re washing toys only, you can add a half-cup of bleach or vinegar to the dishwasher for extra cleaning power.
• Clean hard toys by hand: You can wash toys in the sink with hot water and your normal dish detergent. If you are soaking your toys in the sink, we recommend adding a half-cup of bleach, or a couple of cups of white or apple cider vinegar, per gallon of water. Let the toys soak for about five minutes, rinse and then air dry.
• Clean wooden toys with vinegar: This method works great for wooden toys or any other hard toy. Fill a spray bottle with equal parts water and white vinegar. Spritz the dirty toys with the vinegar solution, and let them sit for about 15 minutes. Be sure to wipe away any remaining vinegar-water solution to minimize the lingering vinegar smell. If they smell of vinegar anyway, you can always do an additional water-only rinse/spritz and dry.
• Clean electronics with rubbing alcohol: Electronics like tablets or phones shouldn’t get wet when you’re cleaning them, but they need to be sanitized often. Remove any covers or cases, and dust them off with a barely-wet microfiber cloth. Then wipe down gently using rubbing alcohol on a cloth (or an alcohol wipe) to remove dirt, grime and germs. Let dry fully before putting cases and covers back on.
• Clean outdoor toys often: Little gyms, sandboxes, play houses and other outdoor toys can have visitors such as birds, bugs, rodents and pets, making E. coli a concern. Sanitize these on a regular basis with a spray sanitizer, sanitizing wipes, or just the ol’ “driveway carwash” treatment with hot, soapy water and a nice rinse from a garden hose.