Teach your Kids To Keep Their Closet Organized
If there’s one thing parents can agree on it’s that children are messy. As a part of the brain that seemingly doesn’t develop until older age, organizational skills are something that kids may not be able to grasp right away. With that being said, it doesn’t mean that it’s impossible to teach your children how to keep their closet and bedroom clean.
If you’ve been spending the majority of your time reorganizing toys, shoes, and clothes for your kids it’s about time, you taught them how to handle the task on their own. Below are 4 phenomenal tips you can use to teach your child how to organize and clean their closet on a regular basis.
Tip 1: Purchase Organizational Goods
The first step to teaching your kids how to keep their closet organized is to buy all of the materials you’re going to need to create designated places for everything they own. Some of the most important things to look out for include:
Color Coordinated Hangers
Everyone understands the idea of hanging up clothing, but for children it can be difficult to get the motivation to put their laundry away after it’s folded neatly on their bed. With the help of color coordinated hangers you’re taking most of the work out of putting clothes away. Choose one color for pants, one color for sweaters, and one color for t-shirts. Not only will your kids know exactly what to put on what hanger, but they’ll also start organizing their clothing in sections.
Shoe Baskets and Bins
If you’re running out of space in your front closet for shoes, you’re going to have to keep your kid’s shoes somewhere! This is especially true for parents with rowdy children that seemingly always have a stinky pair of sneakers lying around. With the help of sealable shoe baskets and bins your kids can keep the shoes they don’t wear on a regular basis tucked away in their closet. The best part is all they have to do is pull the basket or bin out of the closet, put their shoes in it, and slide it back in place.
Closet Dressers
Not only is this a great idea to maximize the amount of storage space your child has, but it also helps to take away the majority of floor space in a closet where things can easily be thrown around without a second thought. Closet dressers are designed to fit inside of any sized closet and give your child more space for their underwear, undershirts, pajamas, and socks. In addition, it keeps all of their clothes in one spot so it takes far less time to put their clothes away. Remember: the faster it can be organized, the more likely they are to do it!
Labels and Markers
To make the task of organizing even easier it’s best if you spend the time designing labels that can be affixed to the front of baskets, bins, and dresser drawers. Labels give your kids a clear indication of where everything belongs, and they won’t have an excuse as to why certain items may be in the wrong spot when you do your weekly closet inspection.
Tip 2: Organize Together (The First Time)
The best way for most children to learn is to see how things should be done. This also makes it easier for you, as you will be able to show your children how you would prefer their closet to look. The first time that you organize should be the first and only time you do it together.
Go through the process of hanging things up correctly, folding things properly in drawers, and putting baskets and bins where they belong. Then explain to your child how this is the way it should be and ensure you accentuate how easy it is for them to do it on their own.
It’s important that you ensure you explain every step of the process because if your children don’t understand what you’re looking for, they simply won’t have the patience to do it on their own.
Tip 3: Develop a Reward System
Who doesn’t love the idea of being rewarded for doing something on their own? Even adults seek rewards from completing tasks such as buying themselves something nice after finishing a stressful project or looking for a promotion after a successful year.
Developing some type of reward system is a sure-fire way to make sure your children know what to do when it comes to keeping their closet organized and tidy. You don’t have to choose rewards that are expensive or difficult to pull off, just something quick and easy. For example, if they keep their closet clean they get an extra star on their chore chart. Alternatively, at the end of the week they can choose what to have for dinner if they keep their closet organized.
Tip 4: Don’t Be Afraid to Offer Constructive Criticism
No matter if you’re teaching your kids to put their clothes away or keep their rooms clean it’s not something that you should be afraid to comment on. Yes, it’s great to give your child praise when they keep their closet organized for one week, but if you notice they’re start to slack make sure you comment on it.
Kids always do the sneakiest things, especially when it comes to hiding something from their parents. You will need to go through their closet every week to ensure that they’re taking advantage of having a clean closet. In the event that it’s in disarray, ensure that you let them know that you’ve noticed it and they need to improve.
With that being said, you don’t need to nitpick every single detail, but when it comes to the overall cleanliness of the closet, when it starts to slip, help guide your child back onto the right path towards organizational bliss!
A clean closet is just one part of a clean room, but it is one of the most important parts. With the help of these tips you can finally enter your child’s room without being afraid of the mess you’re going to see behind their closet doors.
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