If your children leave a mess wherever they go, see if you can get them more interested in organizing by following these tips:
1. Let them pick out containers in their favorite colors, shapes and sizes at places like Storables. This may inspire them to use them more frequently.
2. Teach them to put their things away each night. Kids aren’t born knowing how to clean up their room. It’s a skill that you have to teach them and they need to practice over and over again. Work with them on it each evening.
3. If your children have no experience putting things in order, you may have to start with baby steps to get them used to the idea of putting things away every day. A baby step might be cleaning just the toys off their bed each night or putting just the books back on the bookshelf.
4. Encourage them to “put the dollies to bed” and “put the trucks in the garage” at the end of playtime. Make it fun by telling them the toys are “going home” or “going to bed.”
5. Limit the number of toys in the play area. I can’t stress this enough! The fewer toys, the fewer there are to put back. Put extraneous toys away in a closet and bring them out in six months. They will seem like brand new.
6. Demonstrate interest or at least respect for organizing and order yourself. Remember you are your child’s most influential teacher and they will model your behavior.
Lulu says
Where can I find those colorful baskets in the picture?
respaced says
Hi Lulu, try The Land of Nod. http://www.landofnod.com/kids-floor-storage/kids-storage-and-shelving/strapping-floor-bin/f4111 They are cool, aren’t they. Thanks for reading and commenting!