Are you constantly picking up after your kids? I don’t mean the occasional pile of crumbs or a couple stray toys. I mean every time you turn around they have left a mess + moved on to something else. But you clean it up yourself because it will take less time, less nagging + less yelling.
If you can relate to this I’m here to tell you it can all be a thing of the past. Or at the very least, significantly reduced. One of the best life skills we can teach our children is how to be organized. When you help your child get organized you are setting them up for success in all areas of life + creating immediate benefits for your family + home.
Benefit #1: Everyone instantly feels relief from stress which in turn leads to better mental health. Our children are already bombarded by distractions outside of the home + it is imperative that we help them create a space that allows them to rest their fragile minds + recuperate. Reducing stress leads to less outburst, meltdowns + over-exhaustion. I mean, isn’t that what we all want?
Benefit #2: When you help your child get organized you are creating autonomy + teaching responsibility. Kids want to know that they can do things themselves. This may not always happen when it comes to cleaning up but it is a skill + need that we as parents must foster.
Benefit #3 of organized children is the creation of a strong, loving parent-child bond. Yelling + stress is replaced with laughter, snuggles + quality time as a family.
Mama, use these steps below to help your child get organized + set them up for success!
Limit Potential For Overwhelm
There are two things to do here. First-DECLUTTER! Children should be involved in making decisions on which toys to get rid of. This is also one of the first steps in building autonomy. They feel as if they have some control over the process which also fosters a child-parent trust by learning that you value their things + their feelings. I started this as early as possible + there is very rarely any protest on when we decide to thin the toy herd.
Second- Implement + enforce the “one in, one out” rule. The less there is to take out + play with, the less mess there will be. And the less mess there is, the less overwhelmed everyone is. Hooray!
When maintaining the organizational skills you have created be sure to assign one task at a time. Asking a child to do too many things at once is sure to result in frustration for all parties.
Model The Behavior
Being organized is not a skill that comes naturally. Some people are more inclined to being organized but it is still an ability that needs to be developed. One of the keys to help your child get organized is to show them. Just telling your kids to clean up isn’t sufficient enough, we must model the behavior we expect from them. Sometimes all it takes is for mom or dad to help pick up a few things + magically they can do the rest. Go Teamwork!
Behavior modeling extends to parents maintaining a level of organization in our daily lives as well. When our children see us succeed, they will succeed.
Organize On Their Level
Setting up elaborate organizational systems a la Pinterest goals will only set your kids up for failure + you up for frustration. Have a system of keeping similar items together {this helps develop their ability to categorize} but everything shouldn’t need to be “just so” like in those perfectly staged Instagram pics or on a professional organizer’s website. This is real life so have realistic expectations. Over-organizing is one of the biggest reasons people fail at staying organized.
It’s also important to keep things within their physical reach for easy clean up. I personally keep certain items a little higher out of reach, like markers + play doh because I don’t want them getting all over the place unexpectedly. I keep the toys I don’t mind them getting into unsupervised, like blocks + puzzels, at a lower level.
PRO TIP: If your child isn’t able to read, using pictures is a great way to help them remember where things go!
Designate Spaces
Just because you have kids does not mean that your entire home needs to look like a preschool. It’s important for both parents + children to feel comfortable in the home + that means having respect for all spaces + items. My reasoning for using this in our home this is two-fold: 1) We have a small home + seeing toys all over will create overwhelm + I want our home to reflect calmness. And 2) it helps create a sense of respect + boundaries within our children.
Routines Are Crucial
Having routines is a crucial part of creating + maintaining organization skills + is another system that helps to promote calmness in our busy lives. We have a routine for the 3 most stressful times of day: morning, after school + evening. Morning…potty, brush teeth, eat breakfast, get dressed. After school…shoes off, wash hands, change out of dirty school clothes. Evening: dinner, bath, PJs, family time, final clean up.
Routines not only help your child get organized, they also create + foster planning skills. This alone can be a huge stress reducer for children + that, my friends, is a winning situation for everyone!
Final Thoughts
Don’t forget to take the organizing beyond toys + apply this to their clothing + school items, too. The ultimate goal is not to have a perfectly organized, color-coded house {although my recovering perfectionist/OCD self would love that!}, it’s about creating an environment that is functional, consistent + manageable. It’s great to accept the season you are in + that messes will occur but it’s also imperative to the health + success of you + your family to develop these organizational behaviors sooner rather than later.
READ MORE: How To Create A Healthy Home
I have also included some of my favorite organizational pieces we use in our home that are easy for the kids to use + pretty for me to look at! Click on the pictures for links.
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