Journal · Holly · June 12, 2025
Summer Rooms Kids Can Keep
Holly on toy rotation, art stations, and rooms that survive a Michigan summer of cousins and camp.
It's Holly here.
Summer in our house means extra kids, extra crafts, and extra sandals by the door. I used to fight it. Now I design for it. A child’s room does not need to look like a catalog. It needs to survive a Tuesday in July.
Rotate, don’t display everything
We keep about a third of the toys out. The rest live in labeled bins in a closet or under the bed. When something new comes out, something else goes in. Kids play longer with less, and the floor stays walkable.
Make art easy to start — and easy to put away
A low tray, a cup of markers, a stack of paper, a lid for the mess. If the setup takes more than a minute, they will not use it. If cleanup takes more than a minute, you will not either.
A landing zone just for them
Hooks they can reach. A basket for library books. A bin for water bottles and sunscreen. When children have a real home for their things, they can help. That is the whole point.
If your playroom currently looks like a toy store after a storm, we can set up a rotation that actually sticks.
Written by Holly of Room to Grow. Next month another sister picks up the pen.
