12 Tips To Get Your Kids To Be More Organised
Discover Homefulness’ top tips to help teach organisation skills to your kids!
We want to start with a reassurance; it’s never too late to teach organisation skills to your kids! Whether you have a two-year-old or a twelve-year-old, be assured that children want to learn new skills and practice and perfect them; organisation can be one of these skills!
Keep reading to discover the benefits of teaching your kids this skill and learn how you can get them to practice it in their daily lives. It might take effort in the beginning but we promise it will be worth the effort in the long run!
Why Teach Organisation to Kids?
Before revealing our 12 tips to get your kids organising and cleaning up after themselves, we want to share with you some of the benefits that come from teaching your kids organising skills:
Living in an organised home can make your kids’ lives easier and will help them feel in control.
They will gain a positive life long skill.
They will gain independence. Through tidying, kids take ownership over their space and belongings and as a result they are more likely to participate in keeping the family home ordered and organised too.
They will grow in confidence. Being organised leads to a sense of accomplishment.
They will gain a sense of mindfulness and wellbeing. the point of tidying is so that our space and the things in it bring us happiness
How to Get Kids to Clean Up and Be More Organised?
Read on to discover Homefulness’ 12 tips on how to get your child organised for home, school and beyond.
1. Implement Daily Routines and Organising Chores
Kids thrive off routine and by creating and sticking to regular daily routines within your home your kids will come to know what’s expected of them throughout the day. Routines will require some adult guidance at first, but you’ll be surprised at how quickly your kids will learn! Some examples of basic routines that when followed lead to an organised and happy home include:
Cleaning and organising the kitchen after breakfast, lunch and dinner. From a young age, kids should clean or put their own dishes in the dishwasher.
Make their bed in the morning. From the earliest age possible, kids room organisation should be a priority lesson. Even if the bed is not made perfectly neat, it's a job they can do to keep their space neat and tidy.
Put their laundry away. Kids can place their dirty laundry in a linen basket either within their room or in a communal area. They can also be given the responsibility of putting their clean laundry away.
2. Make It Easy For Them To Put Things Away
One of the best ways to get kids to help tidy up is by making it easy for them (and you!). Implement smart storage solutions within the playroom or your kids’ bedrooms to ensure clarity of where items need to be tidied away to.
Make sure that everything has a place. For example you might have one bin for legos, one bin for cars, one shelf for jigsaw puzzles etc. Add picture labels to the front of each bin so that even your smallest children will know what belongs where!
3. Stick To Regular Daily Tidy-up Time(s)
Be sure to incorporate tidy-up time with kids into the daily routine to prevent large amounts of mess from building up. For example you can create a routine whereby your kids should always tidy up before a nap / before dinner / before bed.
To ensure this goes smoothly, it’s a good idea to give kids a 10 minute warning prior to tidy-up time so that they have time to finish up whatever they are doing and don’t feel like they’re being interrupted. This one will require some perseverance to begin with but it will be worth it in the long run.
It’s also worth noting that tidying up after each play session can be a comfort for kids as they will easily be able to find what they want to play with next time as it will be back in its designated place.
4. Make Tidying Fun!
If there’s one way you’re going to get your kids to be more organised and willing to clean up after themselves it’s by making tidying fun! Some examples of ways to make tidying fun include:
Playing music.
Setting a timer and seeing if all toys can be put back where they belong before it goes off.
Setting your kids specific tasks e.g. find all of the crayons, pick up 5 red things etc.
5. Regularly Declutter With Your Kids
A great skill to teach your kids from an early age is decluttering . You should regularly go through your kids' belongings with them and encourage them to part with any items they no longer play with, use or need.
Decluttered items can be donated or sold on and can have the added bonus of making your child some pocket money! It’s especially important to do this before birthdays and Christmas when many new items are likely to be brought into the home.
6. Use The One In One Out Rule
Implement the one in one out rule during playtime. For example, if your child is colouring but decides that next they would like to play with Lego, ask them to first tidy away the colouring items before taking out the Lego. This will help to maintain a calmer, less cluttered play environment and will make tidy-up time a breeze.
7. Create An Organised Workspace
If you have older kids who have homework to do, set aside a space in your home for them where they can work without interruption. Keep supplies such as pens, paper, calculators, laptops etc. organised nearby so that homework time can run smoothly.
8. Provide Each Child With One Basket To Group Any Knick-Knacks
However many categories you create within the playroom, there will always be some items that just don’t fit (we’re thinking of those small plastic toys that come in party bags, whistles, yoyo’s etc.). Give your kids one basket each to group these items. Once the basket becomes full they must purge items before adding new ones.
9. Take Photos Of Your Kids With Art / School Projects
We know how hard it can be to trash kids projects that they have worked so hard on but we also know the stress that these half broken projects lying around the house can lead to! Why not take photos of your kids with their projects and then discard them. You can add the photos to a scrapbook so the memories will always be there!
10. Create A Kid Friendly Closet
Closet organisation is not only important for us adults; kids benefit from an organised wardrobe too! Turn your kids’ closet from disorganised to organised by implementing a few of the following clever organising ideas:
Keep clothing in small piles in shallow drawers so your kids don't need to rifle through lots of items to find what they’re looking for.
Utilise hooks at kids level so they can easily hang jackets / hoodies.
Use separate bins at kids level to store socks, underwear, tights etc. If they know where each item belongs they will find it easier to put away clean laundry.
Purge kids' clothing every three months to prevent the closet becoming too full.
11. Create An Organisation Chart for Kids
A fantastic way to motivate kids to help out around the house and tidy up after themselves is by creating an organisation chart. Here you can list organising chores and tasks for your kids.
The organisation chart should be kept in a place where they are able to see it often and can check off accomplishments as they go. You may choose to provide a weekly treat if all tasks are completed.
12. Prepare For The Day Ahead
Before your kids go to bed, make sure that they pack away and clean up their toys, schoolwork and books. Have them lay out their clothes for the next day, along with shoes and accessories and any items they will be taking with them to school. This will help ensure an organised and smooth running morning and enable your kids to prepare quickly for the day ahead.
We hope you have fun implementing these tips! If you feel like you need some support in getting organised don’t hesitate to get in touch today - Homefulness is here to help!
