You organise, arrange, add more storage boxes, but your child’s room is still messy? Or is it only when you clean up on your own room that order is maintained?
How can you make sure that the order in your child’s room lasts longer? How can you involve your child in the cleaning process so that he or she can clean up for themselves in the future?
Here are six good practices to help your child keep their room organised…
1.Teamwork: cleaning with your child and not for the child
Cleaning up together is the most effective way to help your child organise their room. Of course, your child will need your help sometimes, but the routine repetition of activities with your child and the fun of tidying up will have positive effects. This of course requires patience and self-discipline from the parents, but also guarantees long-term success. Involve the child in a playful way, make a cleaning plan with them (for example in the form of pictures), because children are usually very task-oriented and quickly acquire new skills. Cleaning up can also become a game: sorting the toys becomes a quiz or a treasure hunt.
2.Create a friendly environment
Children should be able to be creative. If a child is busy playing, it is a pity that they get held up because of unnecessary obligations such as throwing unsuccessful drawings immediately into the wastebasket while painting. Obligations while playing can distract children and bore them again. Therefore, use the simplest solutions such as putting a small bin in their room. Since adults usually keep one under the desk in the office to stay focused and avoid unnecessary distraction, this scheme will also work in a child’s room!
3.A place for everything and everything in its place
Building blocks, pens or clothes for your favourite doll – there are many little things in children’s rooms. If you throw them all into one big container, they quickly become a mess. Especially, when your child is looking for something that they need. Try to separate small items in drawers and cupboards. You can also use boxes to divide drawers and cabinets into areas so that you can sort everything into the right place.
4.Where is what – helping to remember
Children have so many important things on their minds. Don’t ask them to remember an overcomplicated system of storing toys. Make sure to label the respective storage locations. Involve your child in the playful process so that they can participate in the design of the labels. It might even be best if your child prepares the labels completely by themself and can be a little creative. Whether it’s writing or pictures, each item will be easy to find and can be sorted more easily after use.
5.Cleaning up with less effort
Toys have the ability to teleport themselves unnoticed into other rooms of the house. In order to avoid little feet having to travel several kilometres every evening to collect their toys again, you should use the following trick: organise a container, ideally it should always be the same one, where the toys can be collected and brought together to the right place. This method does not only work for children.
6.Keep only what is needed
A lot of toys and small things also mean a lot of effort in keeping things tidy. Therefore, only store toys that your child actually plays with in their room. Exchange the toys regularly to prevent boredom, but don’t be afraid to dispose of some toys permanently! This is especially true for toys that are damaged or that were used a long time ago when your child was younger. Throw away the damaged ones and explain to your darling why you need to say goodbye to certain things. You can also sell those that your child has outgrown.
This is also a process in which you can include the youngest child. That way, you teach them a little entrepreneurship and educate them about finance. A little trick to avoid the pain of separation: ask your children to take pictures of toys that are for sale. The desire to use electronic devices usually outweighs the regret associated with throwing the toy away.
With all these tips, there is one thing you should keep in mind: patience. Children often see tidying up as an interruption to their play and an annoying obligation. Make it your job to present order as something fun. Who knows, maybe organisation will soon have that very image in your children’s eyes.