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Children are constantly learning about the world around them.  They observe things we no longer see.  I remember asking my son once what he was looking at and he replied, “The sky”.  Wow, I never really thought about the wonder of the sky before, but to a child, everything is new and exciting.

 

We teach our children how to read and write and how to solve math problems, but can we teach them how to be better organized? Absolutely!

 

Organization is not a skill to take for granted.  If it doesn’t come natural to us, it has to be learned and practiced.  Children are naturally unorganized. Which means that just like writing and reading, we need to pay particular attention to how we teach our children this very important skill.

 

Organization is not taught in the schools in a formal classroom.  It is up to us to be role models for our kids and to teach them how valuable organization can be in their lives.

 

This is a work in progress; there is no quick fix or suggestion that will automatically make your children organized.  However, there are strategies you can follow, which can certainly make a difference!

 

Lead by Example

We cannot expect our children to be organized if we are not organized ourselves. We set the example that organization is an important part of life by setting up daily routines and structure in our home.  Teaching them to be organized is teaching them to value their belongings and space. Taking pride and being grateful for what they have.

 

Start Early

You can start teaching your children organizing skills as early as two years old. Make clean up a part of your nightly routine and ask your child to be responsible for putting away his or her favorite toys.  For our family it started with asking our son to put cars in the car bin and our daughter to place dolls in the basket.  These are simple tasks that they can learn very early on.  When they learn early, they do not know any different.

 

Show Them How

We can’t expect our children to just know how to clean their rooms or how to organize their desk at school.  You need to show them how and walk them through the process.  This doesn’t mean it will always stay clean and organized. You will still need to be a part of the process and provide reminders when necessary.

 

Involve Your Children

Ask for their opinions and thoughts about how to organize their room.  Let them pick out the colors and types of bins for organizing.  When they take ownership, they will be more likely to maintain the organization.

 

Be Realistic

Organization is not about perfection.  You can be organized and still have a messy house. Rooms and playrooms are going to get played in and you may step on a Lego or two every now and then.

 

The key is to develop organizing systems, which will make it easy to clean up. Don’t try to set a standard too high where your children cannot be successful.  Set them up for success, remembering life happens and sometimes the best organization is just shutting the door!

Happy Organizing!

Post written by Nikki Kinzer

For over a decade, Nikki Kinzer has been helping individuals and businesses reach success through better organization. As a Professional Organizer and ADD/ADHD Coach, Nikki’s passion is to partner and coach individuals and families on how to build positive life habits, reduce stress, and take back control in their lives.  Through Take Control Organizing, Nikki brings to her clients and readers a view of organized living that offers control rather than cleanliness, enrichment rather than austerity, and time to focus on the things that matter in life rather than the stress that comes from disorganization. For more info visit Nikki at Take Control Organizing. For more organizing tips and strategies, please visit TCO’s blog, Twitter, or Facebook page.

What’s happening behind your closed closet doors?

Can you find what you need, when you need it?

How would you feel if a guest went into your bedroom right now and looked inside your closet?

 

Disorganization causes stress and anxiety and closets can be on of the most dangerous spaces in our homes.  They can easily become dumping grounds for anything and everything. Before you know it … you can barely open the door!

 

As we head into the fall season, there is no better time to take back control of your closet!  Whether you are organizing a clothes closet or a storage closet the method is the same.

 

Steps to take your closet from disorder to order:

Define Purpose – It’s important before you tackle a closet space to spend a few minutes thinking about the purpose and function of the space.  This will help you know what you should keep in the closet and what items should go somewhere else.  If you are sharing the space with someone else, be sure to get his or her input too, as it’s important that everyone using the space buys into the organization plan.

 

Sort & Clear – Now that you know the purpose of the closet, it’s time to start clearing the clutter and making decisions on what is staying and what is going!  You will have 5 categories to put your belongings into: Keep, Donate, Trash, Recycle, or Relocate.

If you are having a difficult time deciding on an item, think about the following:

1)    When was the last time you used or wore this item?

2)    Do you love it, need it, and want it?

3)    If I decide to let it go, is it easy to replace if I need it again?

4)    Could someone else use this more than me?

5)    If I keep it, where will it go?

 

If you are going through your clothes and you are not sure if you want to keep an item, try it on and see how it fits and makes you feel.  If you do not love it, allow yourself the freedom to let it go!!  If you still don’t know what to do, turn the hanger backwards in your closet, and if you have not worn the item within a certain amount of time (like 6 months), donate the item.

 

Organize and Place- After the sorting is completed, you will now know what to put back into your closet space.  There are a lot of ways to organize and place items back into a closet.

 

Here are some of the most common methods:

Place like items with like items – For example, in your clothing closet you can place all of your pants together.  If you are organizing a storage closet, place all of the holiday decorations together.  The point is to have all common categories placed in the same area – this will save you time when you go to look for something.

 

Most commonly used items should be easiest to access- Whatever items you use the most should always be the easiest to retrieve and the easiest to put back.  If this is not the case, then you run a very high risk of the closet becoming a dumping ground again, because you won’t take the time to put things back where they belong.

 

Extra Tips

• To instantly make your closet look more organized, consider using the same color and type of hanger.  The unified look makes a difference.  This tip also applies to any baskets or bins you may place in a closet – keep them the same style.
• If you do not have a lot of closet space, instead of trying to put all of your clothing into it, I suggest you rotate your clothing by season.
• When buying organizing products for your closets, think vertical – use all of your available space from floor to ceiling. And don’t forget the back of the doors and hooks on the walls!  These are all great ways to maximize your space!
• Go through this process again every season.  It truly makes a difference and it will get easier each time!

 

Remember the question of how you would feel if a guest was to open your closet door?  After following these steps…. You will now have a closet to be proud of!

Happy Organizing!

 

 

Post written by Nikki Kinzer

For over a decade, Nikki Kinzer has been helping individuals and businesses reach success through better organization. As a Professional Organizer and ADD/ADHD Coach, Nikki’s passion is to partner and coach individuals and families on how to build positive life habits, reduce stress, and take back control in their lives.  Through Take Control Organizing, Nikki brings to her clients and readers a view of organized living that offers control rather than cleanliness, enrichment rather than austerity, and time to focus on the things that matter in life rather than the stress that comes from disorganization. For more info visit Nikki at Take Control Organizing. For more organizing tips and strategies, please visit TCO’s blog, Twitter, or Facebook page.