Getting kids to clean up their room is a problem us moms seem to continually struggle with! I have a few tips that can change everything for the better and help relieve that stress in your life.
TIP #1- GET RID OF THE EXCESS
We all have too much stuff! It is impossible for a child to clean up their room when clothes are oozing out of their drawers and closets, and when there are so many toys you don' t know where to put them all. It can be over whelming for us. How can we expect a child to deal with that? When things are too overwhelming, kids tend to shut down.
So what do you do about it? Go through ever toy and donate, sell or throw away EVERYTHING that is broken unloved or never used. You only want to keep the things your child truly loves! Are there just too many toys that are truly loved? Clutterbug.net had an idea about this that I thought was brilliant. Box up some of the toys for now and rotate them down the road when the kids are ready for a change or for something new. (I'll leave a link to Clutterbugs video about this at the end)
Go through the same process with your child's clothes. When everything is clean and put away things should be able to fit in their drawers and closet easily. If things are oozing and a super tight squeeze, it will be to hard for your child to put away and they won't do it. GET RID of the extra stuff they hardly wear anyway.
#2 PLAN YOUR SPACE
For everything to be in it's place, you have to HAVE a space designated for it! Have a sorting party with your kids. Spread everything out on an open surface and start sorting. Put all pieces and parts together. Baggies are great to help during this process. Decide what is junk and get rid of it! Then decide where you want things to go. Create a home for EVERY single item in the room.
Cubby shelving is a great way to keep toys organized. You can find this type of shelving almost anywhere these days and they are pretty reasonably priced. You can find them at Ikea, Target and Home Depot just to name a few places. You can find bins or baskets that go with your child's room decor to put in the cubbies.
There are lots of other types of shelves or drawers you could use, but you just want to make sure there is a way to separate toys. Remember, every toy is going to have a specific home it always returns to!
#3 LABEL!!!
