Bedroom design for 10yo to mitigate her general messiness (possASD)

[whyohwhyohwhyohwhywhy]

We are moving house sooner and it is a fixer upper so all the rooms will get quite a bit of attention. DD nearly 10 is having her own room. She currently has a large room and we have recently added a desk and bookshelf. She is very into arts and crafts and now sewing

She is messy. We tidy together but it is generally a tip by bedtime. How she hadn't lost her school tie is a mystery. She knows how to tidy. We don't make her tidy every day

How can I design a bedroom for her that she can operate within?

One option is more storage but I'm a bit worried that she will just fill it up again

Her dream design is a high bed and then lots of zones around the room, for craft, for sewing, a reading corner,somewhere to play with her babies etc. Is this a good plan? What sort of shelving looks neat but encourages people to use it?

All bright ideas welcome!

also age 11 was around when DS stopped finding the space under his midsleeper comfortable. I would go with a normal height bed with good drawers underneath. Girls tend to have a lot of "categories" (sewing, stationery, craft, sports/dance, hair things, make up, books, toys, soft toys off the top of my head) so underbed storage is necessary here.

I also think de cluttering and sorting rubbish needs to be done continuously, not one off. So maybe try and get a fixed time each month type thing where you and her spend 20 mins together just going through clearing out before it builds up.
Receipts, old school work, bits of rubbish, pens without ink, broken xyz, socks with hole in, clothes too small.

I have started this and it’s amazing how much stuff builds up. Even Ds age 1 room, constant clothing he’s outgrown, or toiletries used up etc.

I have a 16 year old DD who we strongly suspect is autistic but she won’t entertain the idea so we have no diagnosis.

My top tips if poss would be no high bed. Minimal things avoid any clutter in her bedroom, nothing expensive, all practical easily cleanable items and flooring if possible keep any craft items out of her bedroom if at all possible. Definitely no under bed storage I could make your hair curl with what we have found in DD’s under bed draws…disgusting. Also dark bedding or certainly no white or pale bedding for when she starts her periods.

@AgentPeggyCarterRocks

What has helped for my tween age daughter is having one desk, but also having clearly defined storage. So there is a Kallax unit next to the desk with a box for craft, a box for games, a box for stationery, etc. Gets out, uses, puts away. One desk means stuff has to be put away or the next activity can't happen.

It's a bit carrot and a bit stick, if you like. It seems to be working, she designated a place for dirty laundry, and has started making her bed most days.

Exactly this. If you have lots of different areas that’s a lot of areas to clear up. One desk with one activity at a time means she has to tidy as she goes which is a good life lesson. And I was going to say kallax boxes too. Label each box so there are clear instructions of what goes where or you may end up with a mix of things in the boxes.

The main solution is to ensure she has a place for everything and less stuff overall. Too much stuff for the storage is a major issue

I was like this as a child. What worked best was places for everything but massively discouraging perfectionism - so boxes that things could be dumped into, rather than tidying in minute detail. Otherwise the task just becomes too huge to even know where to start. Good luck. If you can stay positive about it that would be really good - I knew my room was messy, I just didn’t know where to start, and people telling me it was messy just got me down.

Something that might help is labelled, transparent storage drawers. Not very pretty but easy to chuck things into and she won't forget what she has and where it is. It takes away the need to keep trying to remember also the decision-making pressure, both of which can be quite paralysing with executive function issues (ASD and ADHD)

DS1 has ASD and dyspraxia. He's got a tiny single bedroom, literally a mid-rise bed with IKEA Bestå underneath and a Pax wardrobe with only mesh drawers and a couple of high shelves. He's a Lego fan, has loads of fact books, collects paper airplanes etc but it's very easy to tidy.

DS2's room needs the bed changing as it's a disaster. The frame is gappy so clothes/ toys/ books slide down the sides and underneath and then the bastard is low so it's hard to clear out all the accumulated crap from under there. I need to replace it and am thinking of a divan/ ottoman. That will also give storage for the cuddly toy menagerie.

Choose furniture that has a neat fit without awkward gaps. Don't have too many surfaces to aquire clutter. Shelves are good for displaying treasured possessions out of the way. Unless something needs hanging up, drawers are easier than wrestling with coat hangers. DS2's wardrobe can take sliding doors which makes life easier. DS1's is too narrow, but the assymmetric doors fit neater in the room and block less space which helps.

This is an amazing thread thank you!! Lots of comments to go through slowly; lots of good ideas about storage although I note the jury is out on the high bed thing. Maybe the answer is to get a second hand one so it is not too big a deal if it is a bad idea. She does currently store crap under her bed apparently like so many others!

I'm thinking a large than average desk, but only one and then some cubby type storage so it is reasonably open. Maybe with a curtain /voile to pull over for tidy.
She will love this!

Not really space for anything outside her room, her siblings are going to have to share so she is the lucky one, but she will need to consume her own smoke.

There will be space for craft, toys etc downstairs, but she appreciates time to herself to quietly work on stuff. I won't be monitoring her activity box by box, the point is to teach her skills not give myself more to do!!!

As I said, all great comments so thanks!

Labels are great, I use chalk on black ikea drawers for the kallax unit. My dd used to have a high sleeper, but she just festered up there with hidden junk I couldn't see! She now has a normal bed with a 5x5 kallax unit that holds all her things, no space under the bed and a small bedside table with a lamp for reading.