Let’s be honest, if we left our children to organize and tidy their own bedrooms I don’t think we’d ever find anything in there again. Children see tidying as the simple process of shoving anything on the floor under the bed. An out of sight out of mind mentality.
While this may work for the short term, long term it promotes an unhealthy attitude to organization and pride in one’s own space. This is not to say children still shouldn’t take part in the process of organization. Instilling the mindset that it’s good to have a tidy and organized room at a young age can do nothing but good for your child.
Here are some tips to help you and your child organize their bedroom.
1. Think Like Your Child
The first and foremost thing to remember is that although you want their bedroom tidy, it’s still their room. Children act and move differently to adults, and of course are smaller. Adult furniture does not translate well to being used by a small child.
The furniture can be fiddly, hard to open or generally too tall for your child to make use of. Put yourself in their shoes, and try and see yourself using their room at their height. You may be surprised at just how tall things may appear to them.
Floor space will be your main advantage point when it comes to organizing their room. Use open plastic containers and plastic baskets to hold toys and games.The wardrobe can be a tricky place to kit out, but opt for a clothes rail fitted with child size hangers where your child can reach. This will encourage them to put their own clothes away.
2. Bring Them Into The Process
In order for your child to fully understand why it’s important to be organized, they need to be incorporated into the process. No good will come from you wading into their bedroom with rubber gloves and bin bags at the ready.
No doubt you’ll have to do it all over again in a couple weeks because they don’t care about the mess. Instilling a sense of pride and satisfaction of a clean and organized space which they can call their own will serve them well later on in life.
Think about this process as a learning activity. By taking a step back and assisting with the clean up when needed, you will quickly learn yourself what’s working for your child and what isn’t. Too many times are children’s bedrooms catered for the adult cleaning them instead of those who actually use the room.
Walk your child through your thought process and encourage them to pitch in with ideas to help them understand the procedure. You and your child will become more equip at tackling mess and more importantly keeping on top of it from here on out.
3. Purge, Purge And Purge
It’s amazing how much stuff can accumulate over such a short time span. I bet it wasn’t so long ago that you just donated a car load of old clothes and toys to your local thrift shop. If you’re not careful, your child’s room can end up looking like an old storage cupboard.
Purging the ‘junk’ found in their bedroom is a task which should be carried out every 6 months to a year. Children grow up fast, phases come and go and clothes become too small in next to no time.
If you start to purge your children’s room of it’s unwanted clothes and toys, it’s best to let them help too. What you may think is something they don’t need or want anymore, might be the complete opposite to them.
4. From The Bottom To The Top
When thinking about tackling the organization job of your child’s room, it’s best to work from the bottom upwards. Starting with the floor, small drawers and lower shelves, possessions used more frequently should be stored here.
That favorite game or puzzle your child likes so much should be accessible to them, not just to you. Leave items that are used once in a blue moon to the tops of shelves and at the top of the wardrobe.
5. Designate Sections
While we as adults have the whole house to designate areas to, your child will only tend to have their room to call their own. A child’s room is where they feel most free and proud of, and we should help promote a healthy sense of organization within this space.
Designating sections of the room to particular things such as sleep, dressing, study and play will help keep things in tact. With these designated sections, your child will feel calmer and be more assured as to where to find (and put away) things in their room. Sections will also help promote a subconscious sense of organization.
6. Lovely Labels
Labels are a potentially underused organizational tool that can easily help keep children’s rooms tidy and organization for the long run. Label makers or printing off text from the computer can be a quick-fire way to get your child’s room labelled.
Alternatively, you can turn the exercise into something more creative that both you and your child can do together. Grab some pens, pencils and paint and start getting creative!
Conclusion
A tidy and organized kid’s room is not just for your benefit. Your child can learn a lot of valuable lessons from keeping their room organized and coordinated. Turning the process into a game or one that is filled with rewards will help encourage behavior that will carry on into the future.
By using these tips above, you’ll be surprised how much less of a chore tidying and organizing your child’s room has become.
