by The Organizer Lady dot com on May 21, 2009
It can be very frustrating to ask your child over and over again to complete their chores without them ever getting done. Sometimes it’s the result of a child not knowing how to organize and prioritize their time. Help your child develop these important skills by implementing a chore chart.
Chores might include taking out the garbage, doing the dishes, cleaning their room, yard work or putting laundry in the laundry room. After your child completes each chore, they can put a check mark on the chore chart. At the end of each week, it’s very inspiring for both parent and child to look at the chore chart and easily see that each designated job was completed. Just like our to do lists, your child will find great satisfaction in being able to check off each chore as it’s completed and take pride knowing they accomplished a set task or list of tasks. Once the child is more adept at completing each task and learns to recognize which ones should be completed first, additional ones can be added to the list.
Once you’ve sat down with your child and discussed and designed a chore chart, it’s time to discuss the rewards for accomplishing each task listed. Perhaps at your home you decide you will give a set sum for each task accomplished. If you should decide to grant your child some sort of monetary allowance, make sure it’s age appropriate and granted on a regular basis. A good rule of thumb is 50 cents per year of age. However, be firm about the allowance being an all or nothing reward. No allowance is given if the items on the list are only partially completed or if they haven’t been completed in a quality fashion. Teach your child early to strive to do it right the first time, and learn to save time in the process.
By helping your child to develop a sense of organization early on, you’ll equip them with an important skill that will help them succeed later in life.
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by The Organizer Lady dot com on March 28, 2009
When the kids come home from school, it is often accompanied by an avalanche of books, backpacks and sport equipment. It can be a real challenge to keep things organized. But the more organized they are, the less chance you’ll hear, “Mom, where is my homework?” It can sometimes be a challenge to find any extra space, especially in smaller homes and apartments. However, with some creativity, it is possible to make a nice homework center for the kids.
Do you have a spare bedroom? It can be pretty easy to convert it into a homework area. There are a few options for workspaces, old office desks, or even student desks from schools that have gotten rid of old desks. Even a standard table and chairs will work, as long as they are at a comfortable height for the children. You can often pick things up at yard sales for a good price. Add some hooks to the wall to hold backpacks; shelves for reference books and you have a great study room. It is also a good idea to make sure there is plenty of light.
If you have more limited space available, you could put hooks in a hallway, possibly near the entrance or in a closet, one for each child. They are responsible for making sure their backpack is on their hook when they come home and is only taken down when they are either doing their homework or going to school. Then they can do their homework at the kitchen or dining room table, putting everything back in their backpack when it is done and then hung on their hook.
Another idea to consider is to make a foldaway desk. If there is a closet in each child’s room, you can create a foldaway desk that attaches to the closet door. Measure the door and cut a piece of wood to fit (allowing for doorknob and hinges). Sand and paint the wood and attach it to the door with hinges. Be sure to use screws that don’t go all the way through the door, or bolts that go from the other side of the door into the wood. Attach another piece of wood vertically, also on hinges that can be pulled out to support the desk. When the children aren’t using it, fold the support and top back against the door and the desk is out of the way.
The key is to get a system in place and making sure everyone remembers to put their school things in the same place every day. It may take a few reminders before the kids do it on their own, but eventually it will become something they do automatically when they come home.
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by The Organizer Lady dot com on March 28, 2009
As your children continue to get more toys with each passing birthday, Christmas and other special occasions, space becomes a premium, and clutter can begin to take over. So how do you keep it in check and still enjoy giving them new things? You have to balance “out with the old and in with the new”. If there are toys that are broken, or games and puzzles with missing pieces, they can probably be thrown away.
Why not set aside different times of year that you go through all of the toys and decide what needs to be given away? This can be a month or so before birthdays and Christmas. However, if you wait until after they get new things, they might be more willing to part with the older toys. It is important to talk to the children about it beforehand, if they are old enough to understand. Let them help decide which toys they might want to give away.
As the children go through their toys, let the younger siblings see if there is anything they’d like to keep from their older brothers or sisters, but if they do they have to give up something from their toys. Try to keep it even with how much the kids are getting rid of, as you don’t want them to feel like they are sacrificing more than the others.
If the weather is nice, you could even encourage your children to participate in a family yard sale. They get to keep the money for any of their things they sell. This takes a bit more thought and organization. First, they have to make sure that what they are selling is in good enough shape to sell, and that all the pieces are there.
One important thing to keep in mind, especially with the younger children, is to give them time to adjust to the idea of giving things away. Young children can often be generous with their things, but then later realize they gave away a “favorite” toy. Let them practice for a few days, or even weeks. Put the things away in a box where they can’t get them. If they realize they don’t miss the toys, then they should be ok with going ahead and getting rid of them.
It is also good to encourage sharing their blessings by donating some nicer toys and games they’ve outgrown. There are many charities that take gently used books, toys and games, including hospitals and shelters. This is a great way of not only reducing the clutter in your home, but also helping someone less fortunate.
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by The Organizer Lady dot com on March 28, 2009
A challenge every family with children faces is keeping the kids’ bedrooms organized. Between toys, clothes and school things, it can seem impossible. However, there are ways to get the kids’ things organized and have fun at the same time. There are many styles of storage units available. Bright colors and cartoon characters from your child’s favorite show is sure to be a hit. By combining different units, you can have a place for everything.
There are many different styles of storage. There are the standard under-the-bed boxes, storage that can be hung on the wall or doors, or closet organizers. First, you need to decide what kind of storage will work best, not only for the amount of stuff in the room, but the age of the child as well. Once you decide what type of storage you need, let the kids help choose the style.
Once the new storage is purchased, this can be a time to rearrange the bedroom. Let the kids have a say in how they would like their room (within reason, of course). By being involved, it gives them a sense of ownership and makes them more likely to want to keep things nice.
To help your child get the dirty laundry organized, one of the simplest ways is to set up a basketball hoop above an open hamper. By attaching one to the wall above the hamper, clean up turns into a game. There are hoops that have suction cups, so you can attach it to any smooth wall and not damage it.
Many things that are designed for storage in a child’s room serve a dual purpose. There are desk and chair sets that have storage in the desk and the chair. There are also seats that have a cushion attached to the lid of a round barrel-like container. The container is perfect for stuffed animals or other large toys, and gives the child a comfy place to sit while reading or relaxing.
A cute storage unit is the collapsible bin. These are fabric bins built around a large spring that can collapse into a flat circle for easy storage. The bins are decorated to look like animals or people. Some have a lid for the head, which is attached at the back like a hinge with velcro at the front to keep them closed, while others (like an alligator) have an open mouth. The bin is the body and they have things like flippers, wings, paws and hands on the container to add details. They come a wide variety of styles in bright colors. There is sure to be one that any child will love. They are perfect for either dirty clothes or light toys.
Once you get the room organized, find creative ways to help the kids keep their rooms organized. If you have more than one child, maybe make it a contest to see who can keep their room the neatest for the longest. Let them earn points toward a special treat for every day they clean up their room without being asked. Find what works for your family and the work won’t be as hard.
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by The Organizer Lady dot com on January 1, 2009
If you have children you’re probably used to hearing someone ask “Mom, where’s my homework?”, “Mom, have you seen my new shoes?” and so on. No matter how often you tell your family to put their things back when they’re done with them, it seems they still end up missing. Make your morning run smoothly by having a morning routine for yourself and for your family.
Actually, you can start your morning routine the night before. Set out your clothes before going to bed and you’ll be that much closer to being ready in the morning. Find any accessories you need and make sure your clothes are ready to wear including knowing where both shoes are.
In the morning, you can get up without having to try to figure out what to wear. You can take your time showering because you have part of your morning tasks done. Go ahead and have a leisurely breakfast; your routine helps make your morning run smoothly.
Do what you can the day or the night before. Having a meal plan will help make your day run smoother by knowing ahead of time what you’ll be eating.
After you have dressed and eaten breakfast, start making your children’s lunches. Check your meal plan for dinner and see if there’s anything you need to take out of the freezer for dinner. Perhaps you can put part of your meal into the crock pot so you’ll have dinner at least started for the evening.
Check your child’s backpack to be sure all of their homework is in it. Were there any permission slips that you had to sign the night before? Be sure your child knows where the permission slip is so they can return it to their teacher.
Start a load of laundry if you have time. When you get home in the evening, put the laundry in the dryer and you’ll have less to do on the weekend.
Do you have a family calendar? Are there appointments you need to be aware for the day? Does your child have band or sports practice? Will you need to pick them up? Looking over your calendar before leaving each morning will help you be prepared for what each day holds.
Each day when you return home, put your keys in your purse and your purse in the same place. This one act can you save a lot of time because you won’t be searching for lost keys.
The old saying says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but you can teach yourself and maybe your family some. If you create your own morning routine, your day will run smoother. Perhaps watching how easy your morning is will make the rest of your family decide to create their own morning routines, too.
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