Sarah Baeumler's Five Minutes to Clean: Conquering Kids' Shelves

Sarah Baeumler’s Five Minutes to Clean: Conquering Kids’ Shelves

Cleaning and tidying toy shelves is one of those jobs that always gets put off until the next day. We become blind to the clutter, and despite our best efforts to teach responsibility, kids aren’t always the most helpful at tidying up their toys. But with just five minutes, you can work wonders on cleaning and organizing kids’ shelves. See how I do it!

Sarah Baeumler’s passion for design led her to join husband Bryan Baeumler on the front lines of his real estate and renovations business. She stars in Home to Win, and co-hosts Bryan Inc. alongside Bryan.

Woman holding a bin of cleaning tools and products

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Be Prepared: Gather Your Cleaning Tools

Before facing the job, grab the products you’ll need to get it done properly, like a duster, surface cleaner, and a cloth. If you’re working with tall shelves, make sure to have a step ladder handy. Just because you can’t see the dust, doesn’t mean it’s not there, and finishing half the job will never leave you fully satisfied.

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Minute One: Sort Clutter into Storage Baskets

I have cleaned and organized many shelves in my day, and I know the ultimate secret weapon to organizing clutter is utilizing storage baskets, especially when it comes to kid’s toys. Label baskets for specific items (arts and crafts, stuffed animals, toy cars, etc.) or by your children’s names, so they can help to organize their toys. Spend the first minute of your five-minute cleaning project by quickly tossing toys from the floor and shelves into their respective baskets.

Custom built-in shelves in little girl's bedroom

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Minute Two: Dust and Clean One Shelf at a Time

Even though your instinct might push you to clear all of your shelves to start, cleaning on a time crunch requires strategic steps. Instead, go shelf by shelf, removing baskets and items, dusting, wiping with surface cleaner, and then replacing the items. I suggest starting from the top and working your way down, that way any dust that falls onto shelves below it will be swept up as you continue your way down.

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Minute Three: Wipe Down Decorative Items

As you replace items on the shelf, give them a quick wipe down with your cleaning cloth. Kids’ toys are a whole different breed of clutter, and sticky fingers can leave toys looking less than sparkling.

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Minute Four: Group Like Items and Replace Baskets

For organization’s sake, as you replace your baskets and items on the shelves, group bigger like items, that won’t fit in the basket, all together. This will create a more uniform to look to your shelves.

Little girl's bedroom with custom built-in shelves around bed

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Minute Five: Style a Few Special Items

In your last minute tidying kids’ shelves, take a few of your kids’ favourite toys and arrange them in front of baskets to make your shelves look a little more styled. Create empty space around decorative toys so they look more like décor. True, it may only last until school lets out, but at least you can savour the beauty of your organized shelves until the clock strikes 3:30.