November and December are by far the busiest months for my family and me. On top of the normal holiday merriment, BOTH my children have their birthdays. Not only does this test my time management abilities each year, it also challenges me organizationally. By the time December 26th (finally) arrives, my kids’ rooms and closets are literally bursting at the seams, overflowing with birthday trinkets and Christmas treasures. Yes, it’s an organizer’s greatest nightmare!
On December 26th, while everyone else was flocking the Christmas sale isle, I was perusing the storage and organizing section of Wal-Mart looking for the perfect solutions for my kids’ closets. I’m pleased to say I successfully conquered both closets (and lived to tell about it!) Here are some tips and strategies that worked great for my kids, Collin age 6 and Kailea age 4.
Tip #1: Have a goal for getting organized.
I’ve found with my kids, “Mommy’s losing her mind with all this clutter” isn’t a terribly compelling motivation to clean up. Create a goal your child can understand and relate to. For my kids, helping other children was very motivating. A local Children’s Charity called to say they were going to be in our neighborhood just as we were getting ready to organize their rooms. (Lucky me!) My kids were both very excited about giving their things to children who didn’t get many new toys for Christmas and kids who needed clothes to wear. By having a set time for the pick-up we had a deadline, fueling our motivation even further.
When you set out to tackle your kid’s room or closet, call charities in your area to see if they’ll pick up your items. Also, consider adding an incentive for your child by promising a special treat like a trip to the ice cream shop or a movie rental.
Tip #2: Use a simple sorting system.
One by one, I picked up items off the floor and cleared out the closet. I held up each thing and simply asked my kids “yes or no?” The “yes” items went into a keep pile, sorted by type. (Cars together, dolls together, etc.) We put “no” toys, books and clothes into a bag for charity. (Collin was so into giving his things away, he even wanted to wrap them!)
With your child, set a target number of “no” items. Get really excited when your child hits the magic number. Remember to keep the enthusiasm going during the process by saying things like “just ten more and we’ve reached our goal!”
Bonus Tip: Keep some sentimental items for yourself.
If your child really gets on a roll, he may put some things in the “donate” bin that you’re not quite ready to part with. Get a keepsake box for yourself. Set a limit, either quantity (keeping only a certain number of items) or space (say to yourself “I’ll keep things in this bin only and when it’s full, I’m done”) to make sure your keepsakes don’t get out of control. It’s best if your child doesn’t catch you pulling things out of the donate bag. (We wouldn’t want to stall progress, now would we?)
Tip #3: Tackle the project in steps.
If your child’s room looks like Collin’s did, you might be tempted to tackle it all at once. (Or not at all, in which case give me a call. 😉 ) Unless you’re willing to do a lot of the work yourself (or your child is an organizer in training), consider spreading the project out over several days. You might start with the floor on day one, the book shelf on day two, and one shelf of the closet on day three, and so on. Whether you organize your child’s room in one step or over a series of days, be sure to take lots of fun-filled breaks with your little one. Play with some of those long lost toys you’ve found under the bed or have a nutritious snack to fuel your energy.
Tip #4: Group toys based on how your child plays.
In our house, Lego’s are “toy garbage.” Collin uses Lego’s with his garbage truck so it makes sense to store these toys together or at least near each other. In a nutshell, ask your child what makes sense to him or her, then honor it (even if it doesn’t make sense to you.)
Tip #5: Keep your child involved.
Collin was putting his matchbox cars into a car carrier with compartments for each car. This is great, but very time consuming. I asked him to imagine he had cars all over the floor of his room and it was time to clean up. Would he rather dump the cars into a large bin or put them one by one into the car carrier? He chose the bin. Having had a say in the decision, he’ll be more likely to put his cars away.
Tip #6: Let your child do the tasks he enjoys most.
Collin is learning how to write, so he wanted to make his own labels for his bins. I resisted the temptation of “perfect” labels and instead let Collin make them. Involving your child in favorite tasks is another way to give him ownership in the process.
Tip #7: Label, label, label!
Once everything has a home, use labels to show where everything goes. I started to say, this will make clean up a breeze, but we are talking about kids and cleaning bedrooms. I will say this: by labeling where toys and clothes belong, it will disarm your child of the classic “I don’t know where anything goes” excuse. Have you heard that one before?
Tip #8: Focus on progress.
Make a big deal out of all the progress you make along the way. Try really hard not to focus on how much there is left to go through or do. Comment often on how much is done, all the great decisions your child has made and so on. You can also encourage him or her by saying things like “look what we found” or “look how much we’ve gotten done already.” Keep it upbeat and fun!
Tip #9: Keep large items in the toy box.
Putting only larger items in your child’s toy box prevents smaller toys from sinking to the bottom (a.k.a. never-never land.) Another option is to group smaller toys together in containers before storing in the toy box. Toy boxes seem great in theory, until you have to go on a hunt for your daughter’s missing pink Barbie shoe. I can guarantee you it will be on the very bottom of the box. (And when you do finally find it, the shoe will be the only item left in the toy box.)
Tip #10: Store toys strategically.
Keep favorite toys in reach, allowing your child easy access for play and clean up. On top shelves (those out of your child’s reach), store things you’d like to supervise your child while using, such as:
- Games or puzzles requiring adult assembly.
- Fragile or keepsake items like china tea sets and collectible books.
- Toys with lots of tiny pieces you would rather not have mixed with other toys with tiny pieces.
Tip #11: Make sure your child understands the system.
You may have noticed I didn’t mention Kailea much in the article. Well, truth be known, organizing isn’t exactly her thing. I did a lot of her room on my own. This made it even more important for me to tell her exactly how I had organized everything and show her where her things go. Since she can’t read, I labeled her toy containers using packaging from her toys. I showed her the labels and asked her what she thought went in each bin or drawer. By going through this process with her, she now knows exactly what goes where. The other day I asked Kailea to clean her room. She said “Mommy, I don’t know where everything goes.” I told her to get started on her own and put away everything she could by herself. When she got as far as she could, THEN I would help her finish up. Before she knew it, she had put EVERYTHING away, on her own. Talk about proud! She was absolutely beaming.
I hope you enjoy similar results when Organizing with Your Kids! Just remember, have fun and don’t forget the ice cream!
loved all the tips! hope to instill an organizing seed in my little girl. I think she would do just about anything for a trip to the ice cream shoppe!! thanks!
Hi i really liked your tips. I have three children (8, 5, and 9mos). My 5 year old daughter doesn’t like to clean and i have her things in a cubbie shelf now. i seem to find all her things outside of it and under it. we don’t have closet space in our room and we all share a room together. We were able to at least seperate the children into their own areas, but now I’m having a hard time trying to organize it and keep them on a organized system. Any suggets would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Your ideas are great. Sometimes pictures help on the labels for the younger kids too. Shelves for the bins are great. We are using an old bookcase.
Thanks Paula! Great tip about pictures for younger kids.
What a fantastic demonstration of how you’ve passed along organizing strategies to your kids. I love how you’ve honored and built their confidence by including them in the organizing process. Great process sharing.
Thanks for this neat article.
I tried motivating my 5 1/2 year old boy with making room for new toys as well as giving to children with far less than we have. I even tried to appeal to his love of money by letting him know the amount if money he could make for various items.
I won’t give up. And, this time around I will include the ice cream motivator. He LOVES ice cream cones.
THANK YOU!!!!! Both of my kids are December birthdays and it gets manic and chaotic with STUFF at this time of the year. I love your suggestions. They both love giving to charity and our school is having a huge drive at the moment to collect quality items for the deadly typhoon that recently devastated the Philipines. Cannot wait to start, get through sorting before the Christmas deluge of gifts start. It will be wonderful to see their faces knowing that they are are helping children of their own accord and the bonus of knowing that space had been created for the anticipated tonne of lego from Grandparents!!! 🙂
Can you share more pictures of what the space looks like? Need ideas and inspiration. We are drowning in Christmas.
Where did you get the wood boxes in the bottom pic?
Hi, Emily,
I got them at Target…but it was a long time ago. The company Way Basics makes something similar. Here’s a link: http://www.waybasics.com/storage-cubes/storage-cube-natural.html
Aby
THE ZOO is a great way to safely organize all those stuffed animals covering the bed. Kids have fun putting the animals away and the flexible bars makes it easy to play.
This is great Aby. I have been overwhelmed by my 7 yr olds room clutter. Coupled with the fact that we have no inbuilt cupboards in their room, even when its tidy, it looks cluttered. But your tips are super. I needed a reminder that kids need to learn how to be tidy, and my frustration and annoyance is of no use to anybody, least of all my children. So thanks Aby for the advice and encouragement.
Keeping the house in order is such a dilemma especially if you have kids. Aside from keeping the toys, artworks and other stuff in their storage bins and shelves, I also made it a rule in the household that something has to be disposed or donated if ever they get to have a new a toy. Admit it, they can’t really play or use all of those trucks, dolls and even scooters.
Great point Ashley! We do something similar in our home. We call it the “one in, one out rule” and we apply it to just about everything. If we purchase new clothing, we donate some older clothing. If we get a new coffee mug, an older one goes away. This keeps the amount of “stuff” fairly consistent but it also can help cut down on spontaneous purchases. If everyone in the family knows that when something new comes into the home, something has to leave, it tends to make each purchase more intentional. Thanks again!
“Make sure your child understands the system.” – well, I think this is the problem in our family! No matter how much I explain there is just not enough interest from the kids’ side! Other than that thank you so much for the motivation!