Before&After: Boy's Bedroom

My 11-year-old client learning new skills and setting new habits

One of my favorite things is receiving happy updates from past clients. I recently got this fantastic message from the mom of an 11-year-old boy I worked with:

“We’ve been away for nearly a month, but when we came back and did laundry, H folded all the clothes just as we had learned and has kept everything so neat! This new habit is a great new change in our family.”

I had a great experience working with my young client, who had many board games, Pokémon cards, and a closet that was a mix of his and his parents’ jackets. We had three hours to sort, decide what to keep, and set up a system for all of his things. He was excited to share his ideas and was incredibly decisive about all his knick-knacks.

Here are a few photo highlights from our session. My favorite part was repurposing his toy dinosaur with a broken arm to hold his headphones! His sister also helped create the labels for the pull-out drawers, which she was very proud of.

This closet was difficult to access and had a mix of toys and Pokémon cards in random bins. The dinosaurs were too large and awkwardly shaped.

We moved the storage units around so each side had a theme, now easily identified with his sister’s labels. The boardgames are organized by size and type.

This space was simplified after we worked on his bookshelf to make room for the random books scattered around.

Now he can sit on his beanbag stuffed with plush toys and listen to music! That dinosaur became a fun focal point when you enter the room.

This under-utilized space feels cluttered, with bins of toys that don’t belong in this closet.

We reorganized the hanging closet and consolidated his Pokémon collection. The mom had some card holder boxes being delivered, and we gave her son the task of organizing them over the week. Another task they had at the end of the session was to donate and recycle the items in the two gray bins on the floor.

Let me know in the comments if you have any questions or feel inspired to work with your children on organizing as well!

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Home organizing is letting go of what no longer serves you.

Parenting is knowing when to let go and trust your child to figure it out.

The Dooley Method is practicing both — together.

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