Maintaining an organized home when you have children

So often, moms hire me to organize the rooms of their little ones, pre-teens and even teenagers who are in high school.  What I've found is that, most of those households have tons of tools and systems for staying organized.  But what they do not have is structures...structures in place for their children to participate in the upkeep.  They'll have bins, book shelves, totes, nifty baskets, and many other devices that are so great for keeping the house organized.  And no matter how much of these tools and devices they have, they find that they aren't making a difference.  In these cases, I coach my clients to find ways to enroll their children in keeping their areas of the house tidy.

Here I am including some of the ideas that I pass along to my clients who are challenged by their children's belongings taking over the house or causing disarray:

1)  Find something that your kids love to do, and negotiate.  For example, if they love watching a particular show at 7, set up a time...maybe 6 - 6:30 in the evening three eves per week, before the show airs, to oversee them as they pick up their toys, put things away, and restore the order in designated areas of the house.  Make this a requirement if they want to watch their show at 7.

2)  One of the most common issues with number one above, that I hear from parents is:  "but what if I don't remember to do this?"  My answer to that is to put this activity into your phone/calendar, so that an alarm goes off and you are reminded when it's time to do it...and respect your alarm - don't put it off until later.  This is an example of what I am referring to when I use the word structures.

3) Create a game or contest!  I have a client who has twin boys who are challenged with making their beds everyday.  I coached her to created a game where, if both of the boys make their beds every morning, Monday through Friday, at the end of the week they would be rewarded (maybe an extra 1/2 hour of play or TV time; or maybe a trip out for ice cream on Friday evening after dinner).

4) Don't allow the kids' toys, books and etc to take over the house.  Instead, have designated areas (in their room, in the family room, etc).  Also, make collecting these items from around the rest of the house, and putting them away in the designated areas part of the clean up time that you schedule.

5) Be an example!  If your rule is that everyone washes their own dish after use, then wash yours too.  If the rule is for everyone to make their bed when they fall out of it in the morning, then make yours too!

If you start your children off with these practices, and they develop a muscle at using them, it will stay with them in their
teenage years and beyond.  The younger your children are when you start, the better, but it's never too late.