Should kids have a playroom? Or, should they only have enough toys to fit in their bedroom?

I posed this question to my four and six year old and my four-year-old son said that he would rather just play in his bedroom.  My daughter (of course) wants both! 

I approached the subject because I have struggled with the issue of clutter for literally years.  Clutter is very overwhelming and debilitating for me, to the point that I don’t clean anything because I cannot decide on a starting point.

As I type this, my kids are playing wonderfully in their rooms, pretending to play flag football with tissues tucked into their pants as the flags and a mini football.

Clearly, kids have the imagination to sustain them without a great deal of toys.  But for some reason, I feel guilty purging their toys and am probably more emotionally attached to them than they are.

But the kids are getting older and are in school (my son only three days a week), which means even less time at home. 

I will admit that I am concerned about the New England winter that is approaching all too quickly.  I wonder whether or not I will regret transitioning the room into another type of space.

My guilt probably stems from my longing to use the space as my own.  I envision the wall shelves filled with my immense collection of books with my antique looking desk set up as a comfortable work space to write and keep my notes rather than moving about the house and constantly looking for my current articles information.

Never mind establishing storage for my various volunteer activities…teaching supplies for CCD, Daisy Scout materials as well as the multiple other things I have gathered for the Parent Information and Wellness Center and donations.

But is it wrong of me to limit my kids play space to their bedrooms?  They have more than enough toys (Many that I cannot recall them playing with in some time (like dress up clothes). 

Currently we have a dollhouse in our living room, our tv cabinet has their board games and puzzles.  The dining room houses their wooden kitchen stove, fridge and hutch and my daughter’s desk.

The kitchen houses their “cubbies/lockers” that hold their backpacks, coats, etc.

Our Wii is in our family room (which is really a hodgepodge in and of itself).  It has my husband’s bowflex and punching bag as well as our board games, a fridge, couch, and wooden card/bumper pool table.

My husband has a small workshop, which, obviously, the kids do not go in for safety reasons.  Our unfinished laundry room serves as a catch-all storage space.  Storing things such as food, gifts purchased in advance and all the wrapping provisions, random dishes and additional craft supplies-though it is not at all organized!

The remainder of the lower level of our split-level ranch is a large hallway/dead space, other than my bookshelf and desk that are overflowing with piles of books and papers that have no specific “home.”

The final room is our dreaded PLAYROOM… 

You know, that room in constant flux due to my never-ending quest for the “right” layout to solve all my organizational needs. 

So here I sit, surrounded by so much crud (to put it mildly) that I lack the motivation necessary to initiate any type of cleaning or organizing. 

Quite honestly, I wish I had a clone that would objectively go through each room and decide what to toss, what to keep and what to donate.  From there, I am assuming the flow of the house would already begin to improve.  All like items would have a logical home and therefore make shopping and tidying as we go more efficient.

But the question still remains…do the kids need a playroom?  If they do, I need to work on purging and organizing that space rather than allocating those toys to their rooms. 

By keeping the playroom I would much rather that we eliminate any toys from the kids rooms.  Yet again, I struggle because they like to play in their rooms but I am so sick of asking them to clean up their stuff, probably because it is everywhere I turn around.

So what do you all think? Is it a matter of organizing the kids’ bedrooms to house their toys?  Or do you think the family will be happier if the kids have a designated additional room to play in?

While I feel extremely fortunate to own a home and feel it is probably more space than one family requires, currently the walls seem to be closing in on me.  I am left with feelings reminiscent of my childhood spent in small spaces.

Please share your ideas, perspective and how you allocate your space in terms of your kids’ toys at your house!