Your child’s room is his or her private sanctuary. No matter how young, this space is where your children sleep and play as they develop into little individuals. And just like you and I, their room is where they start their day and they finish their day.
Many overwhelmed parents feel it is pointless to organize their kid’s rooms. However, this is the perfect place to start teaching your children the art of organization, taking care of their belongings and pride in their own bedrooms. Using creative storage for kids makes them want to take care of their room.ow do I get organized?
How many of us send our kids to clean their rooms, having never taught them how to do it? Organization is not something we are born with, it is something that has to be learned.
I remember when my kids were little and how overwhelmed I felt trying to keep every Lego, match box car, barbie, and army man organized. Not having the proper storage for kids, the mess drove me crazy, but it didn’t seem to bother them at all.
Or did it? Many times while they were at school, I would tear apart their rooms and get everything organized before they got home. I would watch them come home and look at their “new” rooms with pride and how they would look at their toys as if they were new all over again. It was magical. It actually made them want to play with toys that were long forgotten.
With a since of mother’s pride I would leave them to play in their beautiful rooms, thinking I had done a great job only to return later to see “my” masterpiece destroyed. In my ignorance, I hoped that the new sense of pride would encourage them to keep it organized. What did I do wrong?
I had not taught “them” the concepts of organization nor the benefits thereof. It was obvious that they enjoyed an organized room, but bless their hearts’, they didn’t have a clue how to keep it that way. Because I did it for them!
Your child is never too young to learn, but keep in mind that they learn what they see. If you and the rest of your house is an unorganized mess, you are wasting your time. First things first, are you in the habit of putting your things away? Healthy habits can be taught early.
For example, if you allow your toddler to help you fold clothes (I know, but entertain me for a second) and talk to them while you are going through the motions explaining what and why you are doing it. Do they understand? Absolutely not!!!
But, as they grow they will have witnessed this ritual many times with a developed understanding of how and why it is done. Teach them to appreciate this “chore” by reaping the rewards of your labor. When you open a neatly folded drawer, express to them “out loud” how much you enjoy the neatly folded clothes or how easy it was to find something as a result. Children can not read our minds. Openly talking them through the process from A-Z on a regular basis will teach them to be organized themselves.
See this video of my 6 year old grandson keeping his room organized. Watch This Video He keeps it up with a sense of pride. See how I taught him to organize and keep organized in a little over a day: TEACHING ORGANIZATION TO A SIX YEAR OLD
Where to start first? Look at where your child sleeps. If you can, lie down and visualize the room from their bed. What do you see? Stuffed animals, toys and clothing scattered everywhere? And we wonder why our kids can’t go to sleep at night.
Just like you, this affects how well they sleep too. Try to avoid having toys visible from the bed. What they see while laying down should be tranquil and relaxing not stimulating. Having specifically designed organizers and storage for kids, keeps their toys out of sight while they sleep.
Now with that in mind, let’s clear the room with your child present if you dare. Use your sort bins as described in “ORGANIZING BASICS” and talk to them as the decisions are being made. What to keep, give away or trash. If they are part of the process it does take longer, but they learn from the ground up what it takes to having a place for everything and everything in its place.
Once the room is emptied of everything except for the furniture, give it a good cleaning from top to bottom. See LEARN TO CLEAN LIKE A PROFESSIONAL for detailed outline on cleaning. Now it is time to bring their room to life. Using creative storage for kids such as the following pieces bring real practicality and style to the room.
These will make it quick and easy to organize and stay organized. Make sure you have adequate storage for kids, including shelving in the room or closet.
Storage for kids comes in many different forms. Some people like having toy boxes for quick easy clean up. I would limit the toy box for large things such as balls, trucks, etc. Also see colorful baskets are also great storage for kids. When you have toys with small pieces like Legos, in their own container, you can control when they are dumped out onto the floor and cleanup is a snap even for toddlers.
Bottom line is this, if you do not have designated storage for kids in place, they will not put their things away!
I am a big fan of having toys with small pieces stored out of your child’s reach, so you can monitor when and if they can get them out. The following are suggested examples of items to be stored in individual, clearly labeled, containers or boxes: See why I love my label maker in: #1 LABEL MAKER
You will find that your child appreciates his or her toys more when they play with them individually instead of everything all jumbled up together. If they see the scattered items all the time, they are bored with everything they have.
That’s why having a place for everything they own is so important. They will not see everything at one time. It also makes clean up quick and easy. Teach them the practice of putting up one toy before getting out a new one.
Now that you are finding a place for everything, make sure you clearly label the containers with your label maker. See “ORGANIZING BASICS.” If your child cannot read, try creative Tags and Labels with pictures and symbols.
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21 Comments
Possibly the best stuff I have ever got for the children’s bedrooms is a double bunk bed with room with a computer space under it.
The children like going to bed up high, we love that we are using any and all of the space.
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