I learned a terribly useful trick, from all my research in organization. Make it EASIER to put away items and HARDER to get them out. I promise, it works!
Keep this in mind as you are organizing your child’s room. Think about storage placement in regards to ease of putting it away. If it’s easy to put away, a child is more apt to do it. Consider that you need to start from the bottom of the room and work your way up. Children are smaller than us big adults, so storing on a closet shelf that they cannot reach is really not practical at all! There is absolutely nothing wrong with storing items on the floor of a child’s bedroom. If their closet is big enough, you can utilize the storage space there and keep it behind “closed doors” so to speak. I purchased some inexpensive stands to place in my daughter’s closet – they have 3 drawers each and she can store items in these drawers. We separate items by placing boxes inside to organize (as drawer dividers).
Which brings me to another important trick.
LABEL EVERYTHING. I do understand a small child cannot READ. I was faced with that problem several years ago. It’s actually an easy solution – first if you’re a good artist – draw pictures of the items that go inside the containers or drawers. If not, there’s another easy way – start cutting up those catalogs. Even if you have to request some catalogs from companies you don’t shop with, do it – keep packaging from toys, etc. What do you do with all this stuff? Cut out photos of the items to be stored. They don’t have to be specific, just be sure to show your child that the photo of the blocks you cut out, might not look exactly like the one’s picture, but they still are the same. Obviously for children at reading ages, you can label these containers with actual words! This really DID help with clean up!
The last tip I’ll give you is key! First, be sure you are following your OWN organizing methods; children learn by seeing others – so if you make an effort to keep your own areas clean and organized, your child will often follow by example. But since this is not always the case, set aside some time. Maybe 15 minutes before bedtime. Have EVERYONE in the house, spend 10-15 minutes cleaning up and putting everything back in it’s home. I know bedtime can be chaotic, but if you set this into your nightly routine, not only will your home remain organized but it will be an expected part of the day (and your kids might actually find cleaning up during the daytime as they play is MUCH better than doing it right before bed!)
Best of luck to you in your frugal organizing endeavors!!
Visit the frugal living blog to read the previous installments of this series of articles on frugally organizing a child’s space without buying a thing.
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Save Time and Money: Frugal Storage Tips For Your Child
Organize a Child’s Room Without Buying A Thing
Organize a Child’s Room Without Buying A Thing (2)
Organize a Child’s Room Without Buying A Thing (3)
Organize a Child’s Room Without Buying a Thing (4)
Organize A Child’s Room Without Buying A Thing (5)