Summer is coming up fast, and you know what that means—the kids are home from school and running around the house again, all day every day.
Of course, it’s great to get some family time with your little bundles of joy, but they can turn into tornadoes of energy in no time flat once they’re out of school. Having the kids around the house for the summer can often mean more mess and more stress – unless you can get your young ones interested in the process of home organization!
If you’re worried about the prospect of spending your summer tidying up, here are a few tips for getting the kids involved in the organization process.
Make it a Game
If your kids are on the younger side, the best way to keep things clean is to make tidying feel more like a game than a chore.
Sorting and organizing can be good for the development of little brains – just think of how much fun they have mixing and matching doll outfits or stacking different colored LEGO together! Set up bins and see who can fill them with the most clothes in 30 seconds or play some tunes to jam out to while you tidy. As long as you keep an upbeat attitude about the cleaning process and maybe set some fun parameters for tasks, they won’t see it as a burden.
Give Each Kid a Storage Space
A place for everything and everything in its place! Without a dedicated spot for all your kids’ toys, books, school supplies, and crafts, how can you expect everything to stay nice and tidy?
By giving your kids their own space to keep things organized, you can get them involved and invested in the process. Take them with you when you go shopping for that perfect shelving unit or chest of drawers! That way, when it’s time to tidy up their belongings, it’s not about doing what mom and dad want, it’s about taking care of something that they have ownership of. Plus, letting kids pick out a piece of furniture they love lets them express their style, and when their room is a reflection of themselves, they’ll want to take better care of it.
Start a Collection
Collections are a great way to practice the kind of curation and organization skills that will help kids keep their room tidy all year round.
Rocks, stamps, ticket stubs, stickers – whatever it is your kid just can’t get enough of, helping them set up a way to store and display them neatly helps get them into the organizing state of mind. Floating shelves or a headboard with built in storage is a great way to let them admire their valuables and make sure they stay tidy.
Leave Room for Work, Play, and Storage
The quickest way to a messy space is when parts of a room don’t have a specific, assigned purpose.
If the desk is covered in craft supplies and puzzle pieces, then kids are going to start doing homework on the bed. If there’s homework on the bed that means pillows and stuffed animals on the floor, and once we get to that point, the mess can quickly start snowballing out of control. If you make sure kids have desk space for working, floor space for playing, and shelving for stuffed toys, they’ll have a much easier time keeping things where they belong.
Make the Most of Tight Spaces
No, we’re not suggesting having the kids stuff all their stuff under the bed or in closets – actually, maybe we kind of are! But you don’t want to have the kids stash their belongings any old way. Try making or buying special storage bins to be tucked under beds, or a small set of drawers tucked into the corner for those miscellaneous items that start collecting under furniture. To make the process a little more fun, try using chalkboard paint to make labels for these smaller storage systems! Kids will love the chance to customize their space, and you’ll love having all that clutter tucked out of the way.
Make it a Habit
There’s nothing kids dread more than chore day – so rather than letting the little things pile up and turn into a monster of a task to tackle at the end of the week, make tidying a daily habit. If kids know exactly where things are meant to go, then tidying will become as much a part of their routine as brushing their teeth before bed, or grabbing a snack after school. By making cleaning a regular habit, you can ingrain good habits that will last for life.
With the right attitude and the right furniture for the job, keeping the kids tidy this summer can be simple! If you’re still looking for the right storage space to make your summer cleaning go smoothly, stop on by and check out our selection. We have options that kids will love, at prices you’ll love too.