Tips For Teaching Kids How to Be Organized

Organization is never something that came naturally to me. It took years of work and encouragement from my very organized husband to really embrace the organized way of life.

But now that I have, I see the value of organization, and I want to help my boys develop the same skills early on, so they don’t have to struggle as adults like I did!

It’s a straight fact; organization and living clutter-free doesn’t just happen. The ability to keep your belongings organized is a skill that you start developing at a young age.

That’s why I’m determined to give my kids the tools and resources they need to live a clutter-free life. These are the tips I’ve started using to ensure my own boys build organizational skills:

Bring Them to Your Storage Unit

There are self-storage facilities that offer climate controlled storage in Toronto where you can store your things. If you are a master of decluttering and smart storage, chances are you have a self-storage unit or have used one in the past.

When you have a storage unit, you can bring your kids to the space to show them where their winter things (sweaters, jackets, skis, sporting gear) and summer things (floaties, blow-up pools, life jackets) go when they aren’t using them.

One of the worst habits that kids can get into is using areas of your home, like your garage or crawl space, for storage. There isn’t enough room, ventilation, or temperature control in a home to safely store things this way. Show your kids how you use a storage unit and bring them with you when you take their stuff in and out of the space.

And make the experience a fun one! Have your kids put their things in the unit themselves and then treat them to ice cream or a treat of their choice.

Start in Their Personal Spaces

Cleaning and organizing garages, sheds, crawlspaces, and living areas is a huge undertaking, so start small. Hold your kids responsible for keeping their personal spaces clean, like their play area, workstation, and bedrooms.

After all, the state of a kid’s bedroom will have direct implications on their health and lifestyle.

Having your kids clean their areas will provide a level of incentive. These are the areas they frequent the most, and they will benefit from having the area clean.

Encourage your children to keep things tidy weekly and incorporate monthly responsibilities. Have them get rid of what they don’t need and let them do the packing when it’s time to store seasonal items.

Label Things

Kids have so many things nowadays that it’s easy to lose track of what belongs to who and what goes where. Have your kids label their items to help keep them organized: backpack, containers, supplies, lunch bag, sporting gear — you name it.

Labelling teaches kids how to sort items and helps them establish overall organization skills. You should be labelling everything — it just makes life easier.

Labelling will help keep your kids organized and allow them to personalize their belongings. This organization and personalization create accountability that encourages kids to take responsibility for their things.

When it comes to teaching kids to stay organized, small steps can have a big impact! So pick a few easy, actionable tasks to help create a more organized space, and give your children organizational skills they’ll use for a lifetime.