February 7, 2020

Teaching Kids How To Organize

I am completely guilty! I am the mom that removes toys and throws away everything when my kids are not looking! Let’s be honest, piles ensue in every direction. The piles always contain the most precious treasures, so how do you get rid of anything! By sneaking, am I right? First, let me take a minute to note my progress. I hate clutter, I am not all that sentimental, and if it doesn’t have a spot, I want to pitch it. However a few years ago, I became aware how much my kids were picking up on my hate of clutter.

My son had earned a prize at school and when he came home to show me….he explained to me that he tried really hard to pick something out that wasn’t junk. He was so sweet, and in an instant the reality came crashing down on me. I may not have always been so supportive of their “treasures.”

So yes, I was the mom that made my kids afraid to pick something out of the treasure box! However, I am proud to say, I have worked through my hatred of clutter and have grown in my organizing ways.

With that being said, it doesn’t mean that you never get rid of anything….decluttering is still a must. Kids still bring an incredible amount of toys and papers into the house. It has to be managed. Which brought me to my next aha moment, if I always remove toys or throw things away when the kids are not around…they will never learn to organize themselves. So let’s jump right into teaching kids how to organize!

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Considering Your Child’s Personality

Two of my kids are like me when it comes to organizing, they will throw anything away at a drop of the hat. My middle child however, will need a lot of help. She gets very attached to items and it is difficult for her to get rid of things. So if you have a child like that…we can work through it together. It is healthy to let go of items that are no longer used or needed and having her realize that is important. I want her to be able to decide when it is time to get rid of something!

How Do You Teach Kids To Organize?

By putting your child in charge and letting them make the decisions, with a little parental guidance. Now for my middle child, if I let her just look at an item and decide whether to keep it or get rid of it…she would keep everything. So I created a flowchart for her to answer questions about the item and to help her determine what she should do. I will explain the flow chart further below.

What To Do With The Items?

We set up 3 areas for Keep, Donate/Sell and Trash. We ended up adding an undecided area, because on a few items the kids needed more time to decide whether to sell it or not. I emphasized to them if they sold items, they could use the money to buy new things, but also that it is their decision.

Getting Started

To begin organizing, have your child pick out their 10 favorite items. Knowing those items will be safe may help comfort them and feel in charge. Then have them pick out 5 items that will be thrown away. It can be as simple as a candy wrapper or a paper they colored and no longer need. Helping them find items that are trash will help them begin getting rid of a few things and empower them to get rid of more. If your child doesn’t have any trash in their room, determined by you, then they can move on to the flow chart.

Teaching Kids How To Organize With A Flowchart

The flow chart will help the kids who have a hard time parting with items. It is also fun for the child who is a geek like their mom and loves to organize (yes, my youngest!). So let’s dig into the flow chart.

The process is broken down into steps and decisions. Ultimately, it will help children ask themselves questions to help recognize when it is time to get rid of an item. Again, the idea is to let them decide…let me share an example.

My daughter had an empty mini M&M container in her room, of which she didn’t want to get rid of because it helped her room smell like M&M’s. I know that it is trash. My other two children know that it is trash, but I needed her to realize it was trash.

When she first started the flow chart, she wasn’t being honest with herself. She didn’t want to get rid of the M&M container. We had about five different heart to hearts. At the end of the day she needs to decide on her own. If I throw it away, she is not learning how to get rid of things.

Then of course, I go into a full my daughter is going to be a hoarder and have 500 cats scenario. Deep breath….understand that it is a process. If she wasn’t ready to be honest about an item, we moved on and let her try a different one. However, later in the day she came back to the M&M container and did end up throwing it away.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FLOWCHART!

Personality Comes Out When Teaching Kids How To Organize

One of the things I love most about my daughter is that she sees the beauty in everything, even the little things. I can embrace that, appreciate that, but still teach her when it is time to let something go. My other two could learn to appreciate things a little more, instead of always wanting the next thing. So organizing will bring about some great discussions and hopefully a less cluttered space.

Teaching kids how to organize will be an invaluable skill. Anyone can use this simple flowchart, even grown ups…it’s never too late to start organizing!

Need More Tips On Organizing? Click Here!

Thanks for checking out my post and happy organizing.