As part of the Life Well Lived Getting Organized panel, I was asked What are your best tips for keeping the clutter at bay with kids in the house? How do you help your kids develop good organizing skills?
I have a pretty big, old house that spans three floors. And though I have space, I do not have much storage. Closets weren’t really a big thing back in 1892, when my house was built.
I have two boys, ages 6 and 3, that have lots of toys. To keep the clutter down and to teach them to keep (and stay) organized, I have three rules I adhere to:
1. Everything must have a place. Pretty simple. If it doesn’t have a place to live, then you might not get to keep it. And in the middle of the floor or on Mom’s table is not an option. Just because I live with two kids doesn’t mean that my house has to look like a playground. This rule usually motivates the kids (and husband) to find a place (or places) to store things.
The boys have 3 cabinets in the living room to store toys.
2. Toys must be put into said place once playing is done. Want to watch some television before dinner or go outside to play? Sure. Just make sure you clean up before doing so. While I’m the neatest in the house, I have no desire to clean up after everyone’s messes. The kids know that it is expected of them to clean up their toys before they can go on to the next activity. It might take the 3 year old a while to put things away, but he’ll get there if he’s motivated enough.
This ottoman holds toys on our second floor. Once the toys are put away, we are left with a nice foot rest or additional seating.
3. Purging is necessary every few months. At some point, those “places” for storage become overloaded, and toys end up without a home. Typically, this means that it’s time to go through toys and start donating. We go through toys every few months with the kids and note which ones they have outgrown or just don’t use. It’s a great exercise to go through. They might not agree right away, but when they realize they can’t keep everything, they start to make some good decisions. Plus, they like that their old toys will be used by another little boy or girl who might enjoy them even more.
When the playroom cubes get overloaded, it's time to purge!
How do you manage kid clutter in your home? How do you teach kids the art of organizing?
Go on over to BlogHer and read Simple Ways to Get Your Kids Organized for even more tips and join the conversation. And be sure to enter the Life Well Lived Moments Sweepstakes for a chance to win an iPod Touch a $50 iTunes gift certificate to go with it. (Please note – this sweepstakes ends May 16th so enter now!) All you have to do is comment about your favorite example of a Life Well Lived Moment when you were alone.
Hi Jennifer. I’m glad to see your set up. That’s pretty cool. I, myself use a giant cabinet.
Emily Woodhouse recently posted..How to Lose Weight Ayurvedic Way
Giant cabinets are great!
anotherjennifer recently posted..Managing Clutter: Keeping Kids (and Your Living Space) Organized
Great post Jennifer! We LOVE IKEA. We have IKEA bins for all of the kid’s toys. We try to encourage play in the basement so we can keep most of the chaos down there. When it’s clean-up time, my daughter, son and I count down from 20 to see if we can get everything put away in 20 seconds (it’s a long 20 second). We break up each toy element (start with Barbies, then blocks…) to make the mess a bit more manageable. Now we just have to work on “purging”.
Sounds like a great system for cleaning up. I love IKEA too! It’s a great place to find storage at affordable prices. Thanks for sharing your tips!
anotherjennifer recently posted..Philanthropy Friday: Generosity As a Business Model
Ikea is my friend, they have great solutions for organization. We have doors and baskets and drawers all hiding STUFF that keeps appearing.
Melinda@LookWhatMomFoundandDadtoo! recently posted..Getting Into Shape Is Hard Work
I think IKEA is everyone’s friend.
anotherjennifer recently posted..Managing Clutter: Keeping Kids (and Your Living Space) Organized
I love the idea about the purging. The only kids in my house are the furkids and their toys are always everywhere. The SousPug pulls his toys out of his toybox and scatters them everywhere – I think it’s time to go through them and find which ones he doesn’t use any more and, somewhat effectively reducing the amount he has to scatter
Same with the evil minx.
Aly ~ Cooking In Stilettos recently posted..Tried and True: Roasted Cipollini Onions
One of my Siberian huskies likes to collect rawhide bones and hide them around the house. Eventually, I end up tripping over them wherever I walk. You definitely need to purge the furkids stuff too!
anotherjennifer recently posted..Sandcastle Therapy
Love these tips – particularly in envy of that ottoman! I need to be better with my boys about your 2nd rule – putting things away after using them. My 7 year old is pretty good, but the 2 and 1/2 year old still struggles. But he’s getting better!
We have a small house, so every room is dual-purpose; our living room is also the play room, which makes keeping it tidy very necessary. We (that is, I) purge pretty frequently, which I absolutely love. A friend of mine runs a consignment shop, so I can sell stuff that is appropriate in her store, and donate what doesn’t.
Ultimately though, I think we’re in need of slightly bigger space. Oh well.
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Sounds like you’re doing pretty well, Cynthia. It’s hard with a 2-3 year old. Biz takes forever to clean up, but he eventually gets there. We’re actually getting a new puppy next week, so that will be extra incentive to clean up toys. The puppy will eat them if they don’t!
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Hi Jennifer. I love these rules especially the first one – “Everything must have a place”. Clever as it will really enforce a clutter-free environment. Discipline is really important in this. And I agree, it’s really not fun to always clean up after everyone’s messes. I have a two-year-old son, and I have taught him how to put his toys, especially those Legos and small toy cars, in his toy box. And I’m really glad I did. Maybe when he is old enough, I can enforce rule #2 as well.
Amy @ Mega Quick Sale recently posted..Beautifully Cluttered House – Toys Amid the Rubble – 20 April 2012
It’s a process!
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