Do you have kids? Are their rooms messy? Do you get tired of telling them to clean up or put away their toys? Are you worried about the upcoming school year? No need to panic, time to get organized. It’s time to organize yourself and/or your children for a successful school year. Organizing them will reduce your stress and save time.
Moms are always on. There are no days off and no time outs. It’s a really demanding job that requires more of you than any other job you will ever have in your life. You find yourself repeating things over and over again. Some days you are more stressed than blessed. However, you can turn it all around with organization. That’s right, I said organization. Getting your kids organized can reduce your stress and free up time for you. Not to mention how it will help them be more responsible and keep track of what they need to do at home and at school.
I know what you are thinking. It is a struggle to organize yourself, how are you going to get a child organized? It can be a hard task, but one of the most rewarding for your life. Edmund Burke said, “Good order is the foundation of all things.” Some simple planning and organizing on the front end, will save you from being upset or overwhelmed on the back end.
So where do you start? The first thing is to make it fun and not a chore. Children like things that are fun. Create a system that rewards them for keeping things tidy or staying on task. There are some cool apps you can use or create your own system. I use an app called Streaks for my 12-year old. Streaks is a to-do list that helps you form good habits. Every day you complete a task, your streak is extended. Then I have a reward set up for him if he does well. I also have a checklist for my boys where each can get rewarded for completing their weekly chores. Please note that the reward does not have to be something crazy. It can be something like free time on a tablet, an extra show, a game, or something like that.
Here are Five Tips on getting your child organized for this school year as well as in general:
- Prep for the week. Preparation is key to a successful week. I pull all the clothes for the week and iron them. If the child is old enough, have them iron the clothes. Have your child make their lunch the night before and pack any items that are needed for the day. I like to map out lunches and snacks. This keeps me from running around in the morning.
- Create designated spaces for everything. Every area needs to have a purpose and be organized in a child’s room or any area they use frequently. I recycle and reuse boxes and other items to create storage areas and label them. I put like items with like items. My children’s school is offering virtual learning from home due to Covid-19, so I created spaces for learning. Each child needs something different. I made sure there were pencils, crayons, markers, laptop, notebooks, and anything else they need in their different spaces.
- Make a schedule for the day. This is my favorite thing to have for my kids. I plan the day from the time they wake up to when they go to bed. It helps everyone know what to do, how long each thing should take, and at what time different activities occur. I post it in a central location where each child can check it.
- Include them on the decision-making and organizing. Children like to be included and to have a say in what happens in their space and in their day. I have my children sit with me as we come up with ideas for things in their room or on their schedules. We tweak things as we see fit and reorganize as they outgrow toys.
- Create a reward system. A reward system is fun and fosters accountability. My children love getting rewarded for a job well done. You can use coupons to redeem items like an ice cream or free time. The reward does not need to be anything expensive or big.
Being a mom is the best and hardest job in my life. It can be stressful and filled with many things to do and teach. Finding ways to organize my children has created better flow and alleviated stress in my home. It is also helping my children be responsible. They get their chores completed. They know when things are to happen and get to bed on schedule. I also have free time for myself because I am not doing everything for them. It was not an easy task and I have to make adjustments to my schedule sometimes, but overall, it has been a game changer in my home.
You don’t have to stress, scream, be supermom, or go to bed exhausted. Start organizing your children’s space and activities – school, free time, chores, bath time, family time, etc. – whatever your child needs to do in given day. Create order out of their chaos and hold them accountable for keeping it organized. Then reward them when they do well. You won’t regret it.