When you’ve got kids, it can be a struggle to keep the place tidy and organized. With toys left around the house, clothes to put away, and all sorts of mess to clean up, there’s a lot to do. But it doesn’t have to be difficult! You can have the place shining in no time with just a few organization tips for kids.
Without further ado, here are some of my best organization tips for kids!
Organizing Kids’ Clothes
Use Drawer Organizers to Separate Different Types of Clothes
If we want our kids to be organized, it’s up to us to set them up for success. To help my daughter organize her clothes, I use SKUBB drawer organizers from IKEA. Each organizer is for a different item – PJs, underwear, swimsuits, and so on.
These organizers make it easy for her to get her clothes out and put them away herself. She doesn’t have to rummage around looking for anything. These drawer organizers are a lifesaver.
Use Storage Boxes to Organize Seasonal Clothing and Hand-Me-Downs
If you’re anything like me, you feel like you’re constantly buying new clothes for you kids. They grow so fast! Hand-me-downs are a very welcome way of reducing the amount we spend on clothing.
But with a constant flow of clothes going in and out of the house, not to mention different clothing for different seasons, it’s very easy to get into a mess. To solve this problem, I’ve chosen to organize all these clothes using some simple IKEA storage boxes. Come and see how I did it.
Help Your Children to Share a Closet
Keeping any closet organized is difficult, let alone when it’s shared by two kids! If your children have to share, help them to divide up the space fairly, come up with a system they both understand, and use a variety of storage options within the closet (hangers, boxes, shelves, etc.) to make the best use of the space. For more ideas, take a look at these seven closet organization tips for kids.
Organizing Art & School Work
Create a “Treasure Chest” of Art Supplies
Arts and crafts are so much fun for children but they sure can cause a headache for parents! Pencils rolling under furniture, glue drying on the dining table, and paper, paper, everywhere!
My instinct is to run out and by some cheap and cheerful food storage containers to collect all of the mess into. But kids are most likely to use an organizing system if it’s made fun. So ask them to help you find some containers they like or put some more boring containers inside a large ottoman that matches the rest of the room… and call it a treasure chest. Here’s what I did.
Create Memory Boxes for School Work
It’s cute the first time your children come home from school with a piece of work they’re proud of. But over the years, those pieces of paper and workbooks pile up and before you know it, they’re taking over your house!
Get them out of the way but easy to access by creating special memory boxes for your kids. You can even help them decorate them with their handwriting and drawings, so that over time you’ll create another record of how they’ve progressed over time. See some example memory boxes here.
Back to School
Choose Designated Places for Backpacks, Homework and More
Have you ever had one of those mornings when you’re late for school but you can’t find your kids’ lunchbox or sports kit? Of course you have!
Cut down on stress by choosing a particular place for every item your children need. You cook install hooks for their backpacks, a shelf in the pantry for their lunch items, and even set up a homework station with all the pens and pencils they need. See how I get everything under control.
Use Post-Its to Keep Track of Work
Post-it Notes have come a long way over the years. Nowadays there’s a Post-it Note for every occasion.
Use big Post-it Notes to help your children learn their spellings… or to remind them not to forget to take their lunch box to school with them! Here’s how we use Post-it products to get organized for the school year.
Getting the Kids to Help
Teach Your Kids to Clean and Organize Themslves
Cleaning and organizing while the kids are at school or out of the house may be easier in the short run, but isn’t it better to teach them to do these things for themselves?
The best way to do this is to lead by example. If you leave receipts littering the kitchen worktop, you can bet you’re going to find your kids’ drawings covering the dining table. Be the change you want to see in the world! Here’s how I do it.
Use Chore Charts
While we’re talking about getting your kids involved, chore charts are a wonderful way to keep track of whose turn it is to do what. Chore charts can also be motivating for younger kids.
Style them so they look nice, make sure they’re easy to understand, and, if you think your kids would be up for it, include some extra jobs they can do to earn a bit of extra pocket money.
Here’s the full tutorial on how to create a kind of chore chart “command center” like mine.
Organization Tips for Kids
Organization and children don’t have to be opposites. They can go hand in hand. All it takes is a bit of planning, patience, and leading by example. Try out some of these organization tips for kids and let me know how you get on.
Now I’d love to know… how do you keep your kids organized? 🙂
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