How Do You Organize Your Kids?

Hi L.,
Have you tried limiting the things they can play with at any one time ? Maybe putting the other things in cubies or even milk crates up in a closet and as they want to play with those particular things bring them down one at a time ? (organize them by like things, dolls in one ,color books in another ,etc. even maybe adding some shelves in their rooms for books and other things )as they finish playing with them they go right back in the container they came out of before the next box is provided.
make them responsible for picking up after themselves and reward their daily cooperation by using a chart with stars, (for girls you could even buy some cheap silk flowers and give them one a day for each day they pick up after themselves and by the end of the week they'd have a real bouquote ! each time they get the 7 flowers,) reward them at the end of the week for such a great job! This would also include picking up their dirty clothes ,shoes, etc.) Consequences would be that they can't play with the things they refused to pick up when it comes to the toys, and so on. Maybe a reward at the end of the week could be a real special Tea Party (depending upon thier ages) painting thier fingers and toes for them, etc. Hope this at least gives you some ideas. C.

You are going to think I am crazy, but get rid of most of your kid's toys. Only keep their favorites or those that require imagination. My little guy (6) could not keep his toys picked up. No one could walk in this room. We kept a path clear from the door to the bed to the closet. Legos, transformers, bits and bobs, etc where on the floor.

I kept reading about less toys for kids and finally out of desperation (while he was at kindergarden), I packed away MOST of his toys (in his collapsable toy box) and put the toy box in the garage. So, we still have the toys - just not in his room. Then I organized what was left, which frankly was not much. His favorite toys are his transformers, but they frustrate him because he cannot transform them without adult help (tricky little buggers, they are). So, out to the garage.

I kept his Legos, Erector set, toy balls, electric guitar, music stuff, kiddie laptop and I added a clock/radio/CD player. Everything fit into 2 laundry baskets (one for leggos and one for other). Both baskets slide into shelves. So, his room is never messier than two small laundry baskets of toys. it is very easy for him to clean. I also added a dirty cloths hamper and a personalized towel that I wash weekly. I removed the TV and playstation, so I could monitor use of both (but that is a whole nother story....)

Now, if I could teach him to make his bed....

P.S. He NEVER retrieves his old toys from the garage. I was shocked. But, he really likes what is in his room and doesn't seem to miss the chaos or mess. His room is very claming now.

His toys have been in the garage for maybe 6 months, so I have decided to sell them in my next garage sale and let him have the proceeds.

I would get bins and label them with whatever you want to have your children put them in. You did not mention the ages of your girls. If they are old enough to make a mess they are old enough to help clean it up.

wow! You are a busy woman! Here's my advice: stop cleaning their rooms. It's their job! Even a 2 year old can pick up after herself. Chores are necessary at any age. You can help the clutter by using baskets or tubs and categorize what goes in what. But they can change and make beds, vacuum (won't be perfect, but they'll get to do it again next week), pick up, sort laundry, put away clean clothes, etc. If they don't, there should be consequences (take away privileges, etc).
Look up John Rosemond, MD. He's got some great books and help.

Take the time to make the room look like YOU want it. Baskets, shelves etc. Then take a picture of each part of the room. Take those pictures to Staples or some other Office Depot type place and have them print it on 81/2 X 11 page in colour. Laminate it. Then put it in the room. For younger ones, put it right on the wall or on the shelf of where the picture is taken, and for the older once they "get it" you can put it in their drawers out of site. You then take 30 minutes before bed, you and your child look at it and make sure the room looks like the picture.

I have done this for the last 8 years (my kids are now 12 and 9) I NEVER worry about a messy room, because they "know what it looks like".

I hve even done this in my classrooms, it works with all types of kids. They need to know what you expect, what better way than to show them each day without the frustration of you having to do the work each day.

B.
www.TheYummyMommy.com

Hi L. - I wish you had said how old your girls are. I have 3 children, 2 girls age 11 & 9 and 1 boy aged 8. This is how I dealt with that problem. My husband left us 5 years ago and I now work a full time job, my son has severe ADHD and my middle child is ADD, so they have to share in the chores.

Number 1 why are YOU cleaning their rooms? From the age of 3 I taught my children to put their toys back in the toy box after they were done playing with them. If they did not do it, then I would not move on to the next thing (eating etc) until they did it.

Then as they got older I added another "skill" such as they had to change their own sheets (of course you have to show them the first time or two) but if you explain why we have to do it and make it a normal part of their lives they will do it.

OK that said my children still make a huge mess in their rooms every day, but the reward is I DO NOT have to pick it up - they do!

I do a room inspection (poke my head in)
evey evening early enough before bed time) and tell them either "great job" or "no way".

They try to get one over on me regularly but they don't usually win because I know their tricks - I was a kids too (once!!). I got so overwhelmed with the amount of dirty laundry last year that I decided that my girls can do their own! I showed them how to separate the colors, how to operate the washer, the soap etc, then the dryer, dryer sheets and off they go. The girls get the laundry room all day Saturday and I do mine and my sons on Saturday night/sunday. I did actually have him do 1 load of his pants last weekend, but boys are sssoooo different from girls, it will be a little while yet before I dare turn him loose.

I may seem a little too strict,(I had a friend who told me that once) but without structure and responsibilities AND consequesnces I would be in the crazy hospital - permanently! I adore my children and want to raise them to be independant, functional and resourceful adults.

Try some small step with them, give them time to adjust to it, and don't give up girl, they are only doing what you "allow" them to get away with.

God Bless and good luck

Good Morning L. T:
I too am a mother of three(2boys and 1girl). they are now teenagers/young adults(19,17,16). When they were younger, I had to really come up with a way to help them keep their room in order. First thing is I organized small toys in shoeboxes like their blocks,legos,barbies,small cars,etc. and put them on shelves my husband made for them. Each box had a picture and word underneath to help the children know which toy went into the boxes. Second, the big toys went into the toy box. Stuffed animals went on beds. books were on shelves.
Clothes, I hung up in closet with the colored hangers to distinguish which was which. I let the kiddos pick which color they wanted. Under garments and shorts I put in drawers that I labeled with each childs name.(This helped them Identify with their written name.Dirty clothes went into a basket or hamper after every bath time. Now I promise you it was hard to keep them organized, but once they learned the routine of picking up before they went to the next project or activity, it worked like a charm. Today, they know what I expect when I say orgnize this room now.I too was a stay -at - home Mom so I had time to spend with them and monitor them with my new techniques and teach them oragnaizational skills. The pictures and words helped them learn to read and identify everyday objects and it prepared them for primary school. Good luck and may God Bless you and yours.
C. G

The suggestion I would make would be to work out some incentives for them to keep things organized and neat so you don't have to! I had 3 boys real close together and they were expected to keep their rooms neat.

Also, if you don't mind, I am curious as to which safe, non toxic products you use for your family.
thanks
O. H.

Hi L.,

I am a huge fan of baskets for storage of toys, books, stuffed animals, puzzles, etc. Those cloth bins you can get at Bed, Bath & Beyond or Target work too. I use them under my daughter's play table and also inside her closet. Her play table also has a large shelf running just underneath the surface for storing coloring books, doodlepro, books, puzzles, etc. Anything messy, like Moon Sand, PlayDoh or paint is kept in a special, high up cupboard in the kitchen, where she can't reach them.

She also has a bookshelf in her bedroom with 3 large shelves and the bottom shelf has 3 big baskets on it, so that she can get books, stuffed pals, dolls, etc. out and put them back by herself. It makes clean-up much easier if they don't have to focus on standing books up on shelves or arranging things, but can just toss things into a bin or basket. Also, I just got a hanging shoe organizer in plain cream canvas at BB&B and it hangs from her closet rod with her clothes... this way her shoes are organized within each little cubby and don't end up all over the place on the floor of her closet. Also, I hang up as many of her clothes as I can, to keep them wrinkle free and out of her reach. And last but not least, I keep her hamper INSIDE her closet, where she doesn't see it most of the time, so she's not messing with dirty clothes, etc.

The single biggest thing I have trouble with is the books... we have piles of them in every bathroom (potty training) and they end up everywhere! But I just re-stack them every evening after she's gone to bed and we start over.

Good luck!
K.

Anything they don't regularly use, like stuffed animals or the "clutter" part can go on high shelves. Bins help a lot. Seperate the toys into categories such as barbies, animals, legos, etc. See by the size of the pile what sized bin you'll need and buy one to fit. Even if things in that category are just tossed into the bin instead of organized neatly, it's easier, takes less time and looks better.
The main thing you need to do is go through their rooms and see what doesn't need to be there. Clear out some of that that just ends up being a mess. Either put it in storage for a few months at a time before getting it out again or sell it on craigslist or give it away on freecycle or at goodwill. And stop buying more for a while. It's a never ending task. I'm constantly going through and weeding out the torn books, magazines they just "had" to have, happy meal toys or random things they find that spark their interest that day. *approach a strange blob on the floor that looks like a frog only to discover that your 3 year old brough home a pet rock* Get them involved.
You know the things they love the most and play with the most. Keep those and get rid of some of the filler. Those hanging shelves for closets are great for some clothes. Then again, I have boys and girls have way more stuff! Good luck!

When my son was little, we had a small house therefore his bedroom wasn't all that big. So if he had his legos, action figures, and art supplies out then it made his room look like a catastrophe. I quickly learned to teach him that when he gets done playing w/ one thing, put it up and then you can get another. He didn't mind AND it kept his room clean without any effort.

I believe your first sentence says it all: "No matter how much I clean my kids rooms they just keep being messy!" Kids, like most of us, will take the path of least resistance. If they know that Mommy will do it, why should they!? They don't have to even bother because they know that you will be close by ready to clean up when they don't; even if you happen to be lecturing them the whole time! That's much easier to endure than actually doing it themselves.

What works in my home is this: Whatever is not put away - where it belongs - by bedtime, will be "confiscated". In order to get it back, they have to "earn" it back, ie: if the next day they do it the right way then they can request a certain toy/thing(s) back. If they haven't requested a certain toy back within a certain amount of time then I know that it's time to put that toy/thing into our next garage sale or have them offer it to someone else.

At first, this was more training for my husband and I :) But now that we stick to it and both do the same thing every time, it has become a very smooth operation!

I have learned that in parenting I need to be just as consistently determined as my kid(s), and then some!

C.

Hey L.,
I just bought I 9 cubic shelf from Lowes. It is a little pricey but I think it is totally worth it. The shelf was $54.99 and the fabric type collapsable boxes that go in each "cube" run from $5.99 (basic colors-Target) to $9.99 (themed-Target) the boxes are deep and hold quite a bit. My daughter did have a 12 bin shelf from Target that cost about $39.99 but the bins sat on the shelf at an angle and would fall out if she put too many toys in and when she didn't put things back in the right bin, it looked really messy. This cubicle shelf hides the toys and I get to use the top shelf for pictures of her and her friends and family. It also comes with a piece to screw it to the wall so that it won't tip over when pulled on. ( or climbed on! ) I placed a tall laundry basket that is pink and white from target in her closet and she keeps all her dress up clothes and accesories in there. Her stuffed animals that she doesn't play with a lot I put in an under the bed conatiner and she can pull it out when she wants. Also, Home depot and lowes sells organization closet kits for around $100.00 or so. You can place a shelving unit in the closet and create 2 rods ( one higher and one lower) and use the shelf for clothes (jeans, shorts) or books. Hope this helps.

I use the same 9x9 cubes as one of the moms mentioned from Target. I have 3 bins for each child. When the bins start to get too full or they get a new toy that won't fit, they have to choose something in the bin to give to charity. So they know what their limits are. I do agree that your kids should pick up their own toys, but I usually watch so I know which they don't play with and I usually mention that when its time to give to charity.

In addition, I have told family members that all toy gifts must be able to fit a cube. And they all know that the kids have to give something to charity when their bins are full, so they make sure that they give smaller toys that will fit in a bin. This was a difficult concept for my MIL but she got it when one of my kids actually said that they want to give away the toy that she just brought that day. And he put it straight in the charity box. Also, she did mention once that she didn't see a particular toy that she gave and I told her they didn't get to keep it because it didn't fit in a cube.

BTW, we do make some exceptions to the cube rule if we know that it will benefit our kids such as the tricycles, train set that teaches letters, anything else that both my husband and I agree we should keep.

We also got a BOON bag, which is like a bean bag but is empty. That's where all the stuffed animals go. Its a great double duty storage container.