Transformation: Shared Bedroom with 5-Year-Old Granddaughter
The Mission: Organize a bedroom for a woman and her young granddaughter to share with space to craft and play.
The Problem
My client was sharing a small bedroom in her mother’s home with her 5-year-old granddaughter who she was raising. She was on a fixed income so she needed to make the situation work for a while.
When I arrived, the room was incredibly messy. There was a lot of stuff that they were trying to fit in there for the two of them. But there wasn’t any organization, so things were put away haphazardly or not at all. It was difficult to find things and clutter was everywhere, including all over the floor. It was difficult to move around or do anything.
The client was really into crafting, including the type of crafting that involves collecting used materials and scraps to create things. Her materials and supplies were all over the place, and she could never find what she needed. She liked creating gifts for friends and family, but when the occasion arrived she couldn’t find them or forgot she had them.
Her granddaughter’s toys here thrown behind the living room sofa where she would play. She was getting too big to do that, and the toys wouldn’t fit there anymore anyway.
Making matters worse, there was furniture and small appliances belonging to the client’s mother still being stored in the bedroom and one of the chest of drawers was in the closet and couldn’t open all the way because of the closet doors. Also, because the move was unexpected, she hadn’t had the time to declutter things they no longer needed before they moved in with her mother.
As you can imagine, the situation was causing my client a lot of anxiety and her granddaughter was running wild around the entire house because she had nowhere to play.
Here’s What It Looked Like
click on photos to see a larger view
What We Did
Removed anything not belonging to them.
Decluttered anything they no longer needed.
Moved the smaller chest of drawers out of the closet so the drawers could be fully accessed.
Bought a toy cubby shelf for toys, 2 cabinets and locks for crafting supplies, and a trundle bed (too young for a bunkbed).
Rearranged new and remaining furniture.
Moved the laundry hamper into closet out of the way.
Moved granddaughter’s clothing to bottom drawers of the dresser so she could access them herself.
Set up a filing system on the back of the door.
Created storage with existing bins, beach buckets, laundry basket (for stuffies), closet bar hanging shelves, and empty dresser drawers and supplemented by purchasing some bins.
Created a memorabilia box for the granddaughter’s artwork and other mementos.
Designated a bin for gifts for upcoming birthdays and holidays.
Bought a garbage can to prevent piles from accumulating again.
Sorted, organized, and labeled everything.
The Result
We transformed their bedroom into one that had a place for everything and room for her granddaughter to play. Now it is a retreat where they can go to relax, create, and play.
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