It’s the every day battle cry of millions of parents across America:
“CLEAN YOUR ROOM”
Taming the Clutter Monster in Your Child’s Bedroom
Spring has finally arrived. Hibernation is over. It’s time to pull back the curtains, open the windows, and shed light into your child’s winter cave.
Tips for Helping Your Child Organize His or Her Bedroom
Let your child be involved-a teachable moment. Resist the urge to purge the bedroom when your child is not around. Children are more apt to understand the organizational logic and maintain the new, organized room when they are involved. Systems must be customized for the child in order for them to be successful. It is crucial for your child to take ownership, so provide your child with the tools he or she needs to clean and organize the bedroom. To eliminate the stress, tension, and a potential argument, it may be worth your time and money to hire a professional organizer to assist with the process.
Assist your child in identifying what is important in his or her life, RIGHT NOW!
What is likely cluttering your child’s spaces are:
the belongings that used to be important,
+
the belongings your child thought might be important,
+
the belongings your child knows are important.
=
TOO MUCH STUFF.
In order for children to appreciate their belongings and make room for new items, they must take a step back and reflect on how they want their room to look and feel.
Identify a place for outgrown clothes.
Instead of wasting space in the closet, allow your child to designate a place for the clothes that no longer fit. Utilize a bin, basket, container or tub. Brainstorm together where your child would like for these clothes to go, once the bin or basket is full. To a sibling? A relative? A friend? A charity? Let your child decide and take the initiative to deliver the items to the designated recipient.
Store belongings in appropriate containers.
Large toy chests, aka black holes, are known for breaking toys, swallowing lost pieces, and making you forget what you have. Purchase storage containers and bins that are appropriate in size and durable in strength. Clear containers are easy to label and it is helpful to be able to see its contents.
Use the space under your child’s bed to your advantage.
There are a variety of storage bins that are now available for storage under the bed. As long as the bins are labeled, use this space to your advantage. Toys, out of season clothes, and keepsakes are great for storing under the bed.
Organize from the bottom up
No one likes to put anything away if it is too difficult. Toys and clothes typically do not land where they are supposed to when the drawer is too hard to open, the shelf is too high to reach, or the bin is too full to use. Accessibility is important when organizing a child’s bedroom. Let your child identify what belongings are frequently used versus what they rarely access.
Label!
Labels really do save the day! Have your children label the outside of drawers, shelves, and containers. It may be helpful to put labels on both sides of a container so it does not matter which way your child puts the container away, either way it is still labeled!
It is inevitable that your child’s space is going to get messy again. Maintenance is key. As long as every toy, article of clothing, and each collectable has a home-it should not take more than 10 minutes to clean up at the end of the day. Build this clean up time into your daily, or preferable nightly routine. Since mornings are typically hectic, an after-dinner clean up time can lead to a smooth transition before bedtime. Turn the de-cluttering into a habit. Set an example for your child-make time to organize your own room first!
Need help getting started? Contact a Simplicity Coach Today!
