January inspires many of us to create a happier, healthier, more peaceful life. One of the ways towards achieving that peace is through home organization. Jeanne Arnold Ochs, a cultural anthropologist from UCLA has found that this excess of possessions “elicits substantial stress.” It’s even more of a challenge with little ones underfoot. So, how do you stay on top of the mess and stay organized with kids?
Check out Part 1, if you missed last week. Otherwise, continue reading for additional tips!
A Place for Everything and Everything in Its Place
Ensure that everything has a place, and everything is in its place. Children naturally are drawn to order, and when they are consistently shown and taught how to put everything in its place, you will be surprised at how well they follow through.
Sort similar toys by type, and place in smaller storage bins or tubs (lids can be tricky for kids) rather than dumping it all in one large toy box. Add labels – if your children are too young to read, label it with an image so that they can identify what belongs in the bin.
Install child-height hooks in mudrooms and entry ways so that children can hang up their jackets, snow pants and backpacks when they come in to the house.
For the adults – get in the habit of “you touch it you take care of it”. What this means is not telling yourself, “I’ll do it later.” Take off your jacket? Hang it up instead of draping it over a chair. When you bring in the mail, don’t leave it on the counter. Instead, take couple of minutes to sort it into recycle and bills. (By the way, did you know you can opt out of most junk mail?!) Place the bills in a desk top file or inbox in your home office. The extra minute or two this take will save you time in the long run.
Use a Work (Play) Mat
To help your child remember to take out one item at a time, and put it away when they are done, consider using this tool from the Montessori classroom: the work mat (like these). Before your child takes out a toy, they lay the floor. They can then bring their toys to the mat, and play with it. Before they bring out a new toy, they must make space on the mat by cleaning up the original toy.
If, at the end of the day, your child has worked on an intricate Lego creation, it can stay out until the next day, as long as it stays on the mat and your child returns to it the next day. This is a technique we also use in our classrooms, and allows us to respect the child’s work and creativity while also establishing boundaries.
Put Away the Sentimental & Valuable
In our classrooms, whatever is visible and reachable is available to be touched. When our homes follow the same trend, it decreases anxiety and stress for parent and child. If you leave something accessible to children, just be aware and OK with the possibility of it being damaged. In addition, knickknacks can clutter a space and make it more time consuming to dust and clean!
Artwork
Do you have piles of art projects?
Why not mount a bulletin board on a designated wall to display special projects – then switch them out as needed?
What do you do with old papers and projects? Select a few from each month that you want to keep (20-25 per year), and put them in a labeled file in a filing cabinet or file box, with folders that state your child’s name and the year.
Alternately, take photos of art projects and upload them to an online scrapbooking platform and start assembling an “artwork” scrapbook, which you can add to over time! Another option is to create a binder with clear slip covers to insert select artwork. Be sure to label all artwork with your child’s name and the date!
What About Chores?
In the Montessori classroom and home, we usually don’t refer to housekeeping tasks as “chores”. Instead, we call them “practical life skills”. The child is typically invited to be a part of the housekeeping process, and it is always presented in a positive light. Young children find much joy in contributing to the household, and it’s up to us to encourage this enthusiasm rather than discourage it with comments such as, “You’re too young,” or, “That’s not how you do it,” or, “It’s easier if I do it myself.” Instead, include your child in the process. When you unload the dishwasher, ask your child to sort through the silverware and place them in the drawer. When you wash dishes, allow them to rinse them or dry them. When children spend time doing something with those they love, joy is an automatic byproduct.
We also need to analyze our attitude to our own tasks – for children will catch what we model. Do we express our annoyance with having to clean, or do we express how happy it makes us to have a clean sink, or how easy it will be to find what you need next time because you put it back where it belongs. Keep your attitudes and your words positive and upbeat. When you’re done cleaning, sit back and take a moment to appreciate your work and express how it makes you feel! Your children will be watching you.
Consider the following:
- What chores is your child capable of performing?
- What tools do they need to do the job? Keep what they need within reach. For example, rags, or a spray bottle of soapy water or vinegar water.
- What chores can you invite your child to do alongside you?
Set a routine and be consistent and be positive!
The 15-Minute Clean Up
Do one or two 15-minute clean ups a day – a suggestion is to do one before naptime (or after lunch) and one before bedtime. Set a timer for 15 minutes and encourage everyone in the family to tidy up, reminding them to put things in their proper place. Again, children love to work alongside Mom or Dad, so partner up with a child and tackle one room at a time!
Addressing the Laundry Beast
Before we know it, we can be buried in a mountain of laundry, a depressing prospect for anyone’s weekend!
- Try to do a load of laundry a day. Start it in the night, pop it in the dryer in the morning. When you get home from work, fold and put it away.
- Do not make laundry “Mom’s” job. When you fold, have everyone take care of their own clothes and put them away. Even children as young as two years old enjoy “folding” and carry their clothes to their drawer. It might be a little messy, but teaching them while they are young, curious and excited about what you’re doing is easier than trying to implement it when they are older and reluctant! Older children can also help with doing a load of laundry a week!
- Teach and consistently enforce that when we take something off, it goes directly to the laundry basket. Ensure that laundry baskets are available where they get changed.
- Do your kids use a towel then leave it on the floor, only to get out a new one the next time? With multiple family members, this can quickly add up to several loads of laundry. Install child height hooks in the bathroom or bedroom so that they can hang up their towel when they are done. Try personalizing towels with their name or designate certain colors for each child so there’s no confusion on “whose is whose.” (Experts suggest washing towels every 3-5 uses.)
- Last, wash the sheets every 1-2 weeks, say experts. Saturday mornings might be a good routine practice to have your children remove their sheets from their beds and bring them to the laundry room!
Wrapping Up
The season of life with littles underfoot is a fleeting one. Believe it or not, there will be a day you might actually miss stepping on those Legos they left out, or wiping sticky fingerprints off your patio door and stainless steel dishwasher!
Life is filled with seasons, and you may need a reminder today that those pristine Instagram rooms are not daily reality. You have to do whatever works for you and your family in this season of life.
And remember, a little mess just means that your house is a home; it is a place where your children are nurtured and loved and where their imaginations can fly and creativity flow.
