Moving siblings into the same room may seem impossible, but with a little organization and a good attitude, it can work out great. Sometimes life situations make it impossible for siblings to have their own room.
A few years ago, my family of five had to downsize from a 4,000 square foot home to a 1,700 square foot townhouse. I took charge and led my troops into our new adventure with a good attitude, and since I am a professional organizer, I knew I could make it work.
Get creative to make the space work
My two girls had different bedtimes and different needs, so I knew I had to set up the room to work for both of them. A loft bed for my older daughter was a great solution! We set up her desk below the loft and I purchased cute blackout curtains from Target. I affixed the curtains to the loft bed with curtain rods and zip ties. When my younger daughter went to bed at night, my older daughter closed her curtains and could continue doing homework or watching shows on her computer with her headphones. It was seamless!
The room also had a deep, carpeted storage closet. It was a perfect play space for my younger child. We set it up with her stuffed animals and dolls. We had a small shelving unit for art supplies and a big tub of Legos. Large stuffed animals, pillows, and a sleeping bag created the perfect reading or movie watching spot for her to snuggle up. This also was a win for my teen daughter because the shared space was not cluttered with little kid stuff everywhere.
One product that I highly recommend for sharing a space is a standalone wardrobe. Wardrobes can hold a ton of stuff! You can use it with hanging rods, drawers, or shelves, depending on what you want to store.
Tips to moving two siblings into one bedroom:
1. Purge!
Since you will be combining the stuff of two people into one room, it is time to purge! Go through the clothing, books, toys, and stuffed animals of each child and reduce the volume of “things” for your kids. Get rid of clothing that does not fit, toys that are broken, and stuffed animals that are not loved. By reducing the amount of stuff, you will make it easier to get everything into the space. (Check out these nine tips on how to purge your kids' stuff!)
2. Organize desks
Set up a desk and outfit the drawers with different-sized inserts to hold pens, pencils, highlighters, and other school supplies. Your goal should be to get everything inside the desk so that there is no visible clutter and your kids can have a clean surface for doing school work.
3. Organize and label bins and boxes
Organize toys and craft supplies in clear bins and boxes. Clear bins are great because they stack nicely, allow you to see what you have, and kids can take the boxes out and use them where needed and easily put the box back where they belong. Label everything to make it easier for the kids to find what they are looking for and easier for them to put things away!
4. Create a self-care station
Especially if girls are sharing a room, it might be a good idea to put together a self-care station to house all their various accessories. Check out these ideas for a bow organizer!
5. Keep it simple!
Large open-lidded baskets are great for stuffed animals, costumes, and oversized trucks, plus they make it easy for kids to put things away.
A proud mama moment
Don’t feel guilty about making your kids share a room. Life happens, and kids adapt.
After four years living in the townhouse, we regrouped and returned to a home that allowed my children to have their own rooms. Late one night the other weekend, it was loud upstairs. I went up to see what was going on and my two girls, now 15 and 12, were having a sleepover slumber party in one of their rooms. They missed each other! That was a proud mama moment for sure! My heart was full that my girls are such good friends and love each other. Don’t get me wrong, they love having their own rooms, but sharing a room was not the end of the world and probably made them closer!
Jenny Dietsch, the owner of Getting it Done Organizing, is a Certified Professional Organizer who believes order and beauty in the home bring peace and contentment. She and her team are committed to creating functional and aesthetically pleasing systems for their clients and their families. Follow her on social media for daily inspiration:
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