To hire or not hire a professional organizer is the ultimate question. If you’re anything like me, you think “Oh I can do this myself.” Six hours later and a few choice words later, you’re asking yourself “Why didn’t I just hire someone to do this?” This client experienced exactly this. It was time for a professional organizer in Charlotte, NC to come transform their playroom.
THE PROCESS
As a professional organizer in Charlotte, NC, every project we take on begins the same way, with a consultation. We need to see the space firsthand to understand what’s needed, how to approach it and how long the transformation will take.
You can learn more about how our full process works here.
This particular playroom had grown over the years, packed with everything from Barbies and dolls to kitchen playsets and toddler toys, thanks to two girls close in age and years of accumulating memories.
When we first met, the opening question was simple but important: “Are you ready to let some things go?”
This is always a crucial step. Real, lasting change only happens when you’re truly ready for it. If you’re not in the mindset to make decisions, it’s hard to make real progress. And that’s completely normal. Everyone reaches that point in their own time. Sometimes, all it takes is stepping on a Lego for the tenth time to realize it’s time for a fresh start.
In this case, they had reached that moment, and they were ready to create a space that worked for their family again.
PLAYROOM BEFORE
CONSULTATION
During every consultation, we discuss two important things.
- Goals – What are the goals for this space?
- Budget – How much do you want to spend?
The goal for this playroom was to make this a space for the girls that could be their “forever” playroom.
That it could grow with them as they got older and become a teen hangout space.
They wanted to have a space where the girls could craft and create art, a reading nook where they could read all of their books, a play space for the dolls and a storage unit for the back wall.
This playroom had a lot of unique angles, so we had to be strategic with how things could fit here.
Based on their budget and the dimensions of the room, IKEA was the best fit.
The back wall had a window that we didn’t want to cover up since it brought light into the room. Also, based on the dimensions the only product line from IKEA that was going to fit here was BESTA.
SORTING & PURGING
The first step for every project is clearing out the space completely.
Playrooms are the exception to this rule as most of them are large spaces within the home. With that being the case, we needed to clear out the big pieces they had already decided needed to go.
The TV stand, changing table, doll house, play kitchen, dress-up organizer and toy organizer were all gone. We did keep the bins from the toy organizer to use them for the storage unit.
Another thing I want to point out with the dress-up organizer. This type of organizer I do not recommend because kids do not like to hang up their dress-up clothes when they are done playing. It looks great on the website, it’s just not practical for kids.
Before You Start Buying Bins…
The biggest mistake I see in playrooms isn’t too many toys, it’s no system behind them.
If you’re thinking about resetting a space like this, download my free guide:
Once the large pieces were out of the room, it was time to get down to business. We started with everything being in the middle of the room and created our categories on the outside of the room.
We created piles and used bins for each category.
The categories were specific because we needed to see what sets of items were there. Getting through everything took about a week (our sessions are typically 4-6 hours).
At the end of each session, there was homework for the evening. The girls were in school when we organized this space and we wanted them involved in the process. They were able to be involved by making decisions (guided of course ;)) after school each day.
PLAYROOM AFTER
Once every single piece had been sorted and discarded, it was time to get it organized.
We started with the BESTA storage unit as a majority of the items were going to be stored there. There is a lot of flexibility and customization with this product line.
The one thing they for sure wanted was doors on the unit because they didn’t want to see all of the toys. Gold knobs were added on the front to blend nicely with the blue and white. We added feet to the bottom to use those few extra inches of space.
After we put the unit together, zones were laid out to make sure the toys went to the right places.
The BESTA wall unit consisted of the following zones:
- Barbie
- Legos
- Playmobile
- Games
READING NOOK
The space to the right of the BESTA storage unit was for the reading nook. This cutout made it the perfect space for it. Plus, with the gorgeous windows there, this would make anyone want to read there including myself 😉
We repurposed the bookshelf and kept it in the same location it was because it fit against the wall. They had a handful of books. We put some in the bookshelf and some in their room.
The shelves on this unit were adjustable thankfully because there was a variety of sizes. After a few trials and errors, we ended up doing two separate rows of books that were in rainbow order (normally we’d do just one but the book sizes were making it challenging).
The top and bottom drawers became the learning zones. The top shelf was for music, seashells, and fidgets.
DOLL ZONE
One of my favorite things to do is re-purposing items that are there (another reason to hire a professional organizer). This corner of the playroom became the doll zone.
We used the cube organizer to store the dolls, accessories and doll clothes. The large chest stored the big bulky doll items like the crib and stroller. With this room being the forever playroom, we wanted this area to be flexible.
One day, this will be the cool teen hangout zone with a couch and TV. Really wish I was a kid right about now 😉
CRAFT ZONE
This craft zone space is one of my favorite things about this playroom. Angles in rooms limit space.
Adding a craft table made the most sense because you’d be sitting down there. Based on the theme of the room a white table was going to be the best option.
As a professional organizer (Charlotte, NC) knowledge of products is key as they make or break a system.
We went with the IKEA tabletop as well because it was the best price for the size. I did a pretty extensive search on this one and many of the tabletops weren’t long enough or deep enough.
The legs used for the table are adjustable which makes it easy to install. All you do is twist it to the desired height.
ARTS AND CRAFTS STORAGE
Underneath the tabletop, we added this IKEA drawer unit to keep all the markers, crayons, paint, etc. accessible. The first two drawers are shorter in height and the bottom three are taller.
When it comes to drawer space like this, the most commonly used items with arts and crafts are markers, crayons, and pencils. We put these items in the first two drawers.
The bottom three drawers were for the bigger bulkier craft supplies such as bead sets, paint supplies and yarn crafters.
Clear bins with dividers were used to keep the drawers in order. These organizers come with dividers making it easy to keep items separated and not turn into a jumbled mess.
Nobody likes opening up a drawer that’s got stuff rolling around everywhere, kids included.
We always put ourselves in our client’s shoes so we sat done on the chair and pretended we were getting items out to color to figure out the best way to organize everything.
The setup needs to function well first, then the beauty comes. By doing this, we were able to figure out the configuration that made the most sense for this space.
The last thing added to the dresser was labels. This is a very important step, especially with kids because it’s teaching them to put things back in the right place.
Labels are just one small piece of the bigger system.
If you want to understand how we design spaces that stay organized long after install day, grab my free guide:
The 5 Systems That Make Organization Last
→ Download it here
FINAL THOUGHTS
This project was a labor of love. Seeing the transformation and watching the stress fade away made it worth it all. It’s such a joy to be able to tackle a project that was bringing so much anxiety.
When we did the final reveal of this project, our client told us she had spent hours upon hours searching for systems and configurations. She had spent more time on the IKEA website and she wanted to try to figure out how to use the design tools.
The frustration became too much and she hired a professional organizer (Charlotte NC). This is how professional organizers can help, we live in the design tools daily. We know what products work and which ones don’t. We can eliminate the stress and frustration saving you the headache and time.
Ready for a System That Actually Works?
If you’re in Charlotte and ready to stop re-organizing the same space over and over, let’s design something that grows with your family.
Not ready to hire?
Start with the 5 Systems Guide and see how we approach every space before we ever buy a bin.
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