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Submitted by: The Organizer

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You're right, it's tough these days when two teens share a room and it sure can get crowded! A few steps you can take to use their small room more efficiently are to REDUCE what's in the room and to CONTAIN. So here's what you can try... Schedule a day and move everything out of their room. I know it might seem like a big project but "moving in" is the absolute best way to make sure you only move in what is needed in order to maximize space. Once the room is empty, it's time to tackle all the stuff. Get 4 boxes and sort into the following categories: * Keep in room * Get rid of * Goes someplace else (another area of house, storage, etc.) * Garbage Once everything is sorted, do the following... Take out the garbage! Take the "get rid of" stuff to a favorite charity. Leave the "Goes Someplace Else" box for later. Tackle that after you've moved back in to the room. Now decide where you are going to put what's left. Do you have a dresser, desk, shelves, baskets, see-through containers, shoe boxes? Can you store things under the beds? You can contain stuff very creatively and without spending a lot of money either. Look around your house for things that contain. Shoe boxes, unused containers, tins, and so on. If you live in an area where there are garage sales, take a Saturday morning and go on the hunt for attractive items that can be fixed up or painted and put to good use. Remember to keep in mind the space limitations. But definitely try to think of how things can be used differently than what they were intended for. It's a challenge but it can be quite fun! Over-the-door shoe hangers can be used for lots of things besides shoes too. Jewelry, socks, cosmetics, etc. Hang one on each side of the door for each girl for different things. In the closet where the bed is, can you put shelves up close to the ceiling? This would allow you to use space that would otherwise not be useful. Thinking creatively will help to use what space is available in the best way possible. This may take a bit of time as you locate useful storage items but even if you use all kinds of boxes, the key is to contain and label what you can't see without opening the box. For hats, hang a rope with clothes-pin-like clips and clip all the hats on it. Use divided craft boxes for jewelry. Organize their clothes into categories. Hang jeans 2-3 per hanger or fold them the "store" way...like they do in popular teen stores. If there is no place to hang things since the bed is in the closet, can you put up sturdy hooks? Or is there room for a portable hanging rack? Experiment with different ideas. Before you know it your teens may have to work with the small space of a dorm room or apartment and they'll already know just how to make lots fit in a small space AND make it look good! If you are interested in a book written by a teen (and her mom), for teens, there's one listed on my books page: http://www.homeorganizeit.com/thebestorganizingbooks.html -The Organizer

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