I see it all the time. Parents I work with spend so many hours tidying up, only for spaces to be turned upside down in minutes by their children. I often get asked, how do you conquer kid clutter? How do you get kids to help keep a home organized? Here are some things I have learned to make organization with kids a more enjoyable process, with everyone in the family pitching in to help.
Create simple systems. Systems work well when kids can easily get things out and put them away without adult help. Whether it is their clothes, toys, crafts or anything else they regularly access, make sure everything has a home and they know where that home is. Separate toys by general category, as opposed to micro categories, and have open bins vs. lidded ones to make it way easier for them.
Label containers. Labels are a set of instructions and can be pictures or words. The main goal of a label is that when kids see it, they instantly know what’s contained in a particular bin or basket. When a child asks where a particular toy is, you can easily say, “look for the bin with the picture of a truck.” Over time they will begin to find them on their own. Labels can be handwritten, chalkboard tags or printed from a computer. My favorite way to make a customized label is this label sheet from Amazon that I customize in a font that fits the vibe and then print on my computer.
Give them little tasks that are theirs alone. Find a small job that they can own based on their age (refilling toilet rolls, bringing laundry bin to washer, arranging snacks in the pantry). This gets the kids into a routine of helping. I have seen chore charts work to motivate some kids.
Schedule a “reset the space” time as part of routine. Do a 15 minute clean up pre nap or bedtime. Or build in a 30 minute “refresh the space” weekend routine. Make it fun and competitive by setting a timer and turning it into a race or a dance party. Parents should take this time to do their own resets.
Identify a system in place for their paper clutter. We did a full blog on how to control general paper coming into the home that you can check out here. Basically the majority of “kid” paper is thrown away or recycled as soon as it comes in the door. If an item is special, find a way to display it. It could be a revolving art gallery with these or this that allows you to switch out special crafts and artwork. I recommend to clients to have one “short term” bin somewhere in the main living area for each child’s curated recent artwork. Once that bin is full, reevaluate each item’s value. If they still want to keep it they put it in a labeled memorabilia bin that gets saved for the long term and is stored in a basement or attic. This system allows for a representation of what has been done during the year without keeping piles of stuff.
Have a system in place for hand-me-downs or “outgrowns”. Clothes can create clutter as kids outgrow items or receive “next size up” clothing from others. Organizing them can be as simple as a box in the closet for “donate” clothing and a rolling bin under the bed for too big clothes. The “too big” bin should hold items for the next closet rotation. On a regular basis immediately put anything that no longer fits in the donate bin and move it out of house when full. You can also have a smaller bin for worn out clothing that will go to textile recycling.