It’s back to school and I’m back to reorganizing our playroom-slash-study. Our middle room, my 10-year-old daughter’s bedroom, we utilized as her study space but because it’s limited face-to-face classes now, I’ve made changes to incorporate a little learning area for my 2-year-old. Up ahead are the 5 items I added to complete our playroom.
Toddler Table and Chair
One of the few things that we invest early in is our kids’ tables and chairs. We bought one for our 10-year-old when she was only two, same is true with my 2-year-old now. Getting their own furniture promotes not only independence but also creativity and good posture. Being able to sit on and get off a chair without constantly needing my help in doing so supports her need and want to doing things her way, and being able to sit with her little feet flat on the floor is far more comfortable for her little body as opposed to her sitting with her feet dangling all the time. Our Lätt children’s table and chairs offers the perfect height for Mia, and though it is made of wood, it is lightweight enough for her to move around in case she wants to reposition her chair.
On the other hand, our Flisat children’s table is the perfect solution for adding more storage space in our playroom. Lift the lid and add a Trofast storage box and you now have additional storage for your little one’s arts and craft materials. This makes everything within easy reach for small hands, and the clean-up, much easier too!
Art Cart
I realized that the key to having an easy play or study room is having everything organized in one area or container. Pretty much like us adults and our closets, knowing where to look for certain things give you that sense of structure or organization that is vital for our young learners. Here I have our art cart that I constantly update depending on my toddler’s needs and interest. It has different containers for different kinds of coloring materials, a shelf dedicated for painting stuff, and another shelf for cleaning aids for when it’s time to tidy up.
Pegboard
Still on the concept of having everything within easy reach, this Skådis pegboard has got to be my number one favorite item in our playroom, organization-wise. Having a dedicated space for all the knick-knacks makes organizing their belongings a whole lot easier! Not to mention, more fun too since their art materials double as decor as well. The whole Skådis range is really a fun additional to any playroom what with their clips, shelves, hooks and even containers with lids— they’re basically storage space solutions and decors rolled into one!
Easel
I really don’t know why it took me so long to get an easel. We had to go through a crazy bedroom mural phase of mostly colorful squiggles and B/W abstract paintings before deciding to do so. It was horrendous to say the least, but it also gave me a good reason to change our bedroom’s wall color. Ha!
This Måla easel lets my two-year-old choose her preferred canvas— a whiteboard, a blackboard, or a drawing paper for when she wants to paint. What sets this apart from all the other easels that I’ve looked into is its large drawing area, a 31×21-inch surface that is almost close to the floor, perfect for our little Picassos. We moms are all about items that give us bang for our buck and this easel sure gives us just that!
Desk file organizers
I make sure to rotate our books and toys as a way to refresh our playroom in the eyes of my toddler. To be able to do this without crowding our space, my husband made a dedicated drawer for all their books, art supplies of mostly bondpapers and colored papers, and slide-out printer shelf to keep everything out of sight.
To organize, I use desk file organizers to sort the books according to their kind (pop-up books, coloring books, interactive books, etc), as well as store toys like blocks, play pretend toys, and even small stuffed animals.
Our home is a constant work in progress what with all our DIY projects here and there, but if there’s one room that is a constant subject of my fickleness, it is, and I’m sure will always be, our playroom. Going in here and seeing all progress it has seen throughout the years somehow gives me that small sense of control, and at a time when everything seems to be spiraling out of our control (hey, prices, I’m lookin’ at you), that little feeling is a welcoming balm to my ever anxious self.
Never thought that putting together a playroom (may they be big or small changes) could do wonders to my mom brain. I now know where everything is! Tell my kids to ask me where this and that is and I’d say, “It’s in the playroom.” I don’t know where exactly but I know it’s in there and it’s up to them to find it. Small wins, momma. Small wins.
