Kids and Organizing

Organizing with kids can be a great experience. It definitely takes some up front time and training, but then they get it and they can do it. We talk about organizing so much at our house that my 5 year old boy likes to do it for fun. He'll come to me and say, "Mom, I'm organizing the mittens." or "Mom, I'm a good organizer!" He's really proud that he can organize just like everyone else. So how do you get to that point?

*Invest time. Do organizing with your children. Talk about what you're doing and why. Have them put rubberbands around card games, stack game boxes that are similar sizes and shapes, test out markers and crayons and get rid of the ones no one wants to use, look through books and pull out the ones they don't like anymore. You should also go into their rooms with them. Pull out all the papers, collections and junk in the drawers, and show them how to make piles, and help them think about why they are keeping things. Help them find a place for everything. You can help them see how nice things look when they are organized. All of this works best if you start when they are little (2 is about the right age), but if it's too late for that, it can still work.

*Choose parts of organizing that your kids will enjoy. There are always parts of organizing that are more fun than others. Give ALL the fun parts to your kids. You keep the ones that aren't as much fun. The more good experiences kids have with fun organizing, the more they will believe that organizing IS fun. (and I believe it is.) If they believe it is fun, they will still believe it's fun when they need to do the parts that aren't as fun.

*Give clear instructions and follow up. I asked my 11 year old to organize our flashlights. He did something and told me it was done. When I went to look at it, he had 2 containers - both filled with an assortment of flashlight tops and bottoms (not put together), batteries, night lights, timers, and other gadgets. I said I didn't really think it looked organized. So I gave him clear, specific directions and then he did it. He doesn't thrive on being organized so he needs follow up and detailed directions.

*Let the kids go at it. My nine year old girl does thrive on being organized, so with her, it's best if I just give her an assignment and let her run with it. She will organize deeper and better without instructions. Getting to know your kids and what they need will help you help them learn to organize!