3 Ways to Teach Your Kids to Clean Up
INSIDE: 3 WAYS TO TEACH YOUR KIDS TO CLEAN UP AFTER THEMSELVES….THANK ME LATER!
Have you created monsters? Cause I have… And now they need to be taught how to clean up after themselves!
My kids want to help me organize. We go to Target or The Dollar Tree and they ONLY want things that will help us organize (not really – they also want the dumbest toys I’ve ever seen but that’s not the point today) which is wonderful except I’m not sure they truly understand the meaning of organize….
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This is what they did to “organize” our family office –
They took “organizing tools” from all over the rest of the house and unorganized the office.
So, how can I make them understand what organization ACTUALLY is??
I’m going to use the same ideas that keep me organized – the magical 3 ways to keep clean up easy
- Time Management
- Clean
- Proper Places
Time Management
Organizing isn’t just putting stuff in its place. It is figuring out a system that works for YOU! Because each of them is their own kid – time to rethink how we structure THEIR time at home.
Ask yourself:
- Do they need a break after school?
- When do they do their best on homework?
- Do they need daily check-lists?
- Do they need more instructions on their chores?
Kids are on their best behavior for 7-8 hours at school, sometimes they need to get the wiggles out. Older kids need this too, even though their wiggles look a little different. The point is let them decompress, if they need to. If they do better finishing homework immediately, then have them do that. Again, each kid has different needs.
The next part of this is keeping them on task. Use timers to keep them focused. If you say, you have 30 minutes to “play” and then you have to sit down to do homework, set a timer. Stick to it. Then make it clear that they can go back to playing as soon as they are done with homework. If they drag their feet, they are wasting their own time. NOT YOURS!
I came up with these cue cards to serve as reminders. Now they won’t forget what they need to get done after school –
Cleanliness
Being clean is SO different than being clutter-free. It is extremely important to teach this to children. Cleaning up after themselves involves more than tidying up.
Teach them:
- What it trash and where does it go?
- What is dust and how do you get rid of it?
- How can we prevent BIG messes and make them more manageable?
- Where do the dirty dishes go?
- What can I use to clean?
Giving them chores they can understand will help teach them how to be clean. Creating age appropriate tasks that they can achieve BUT also see the importance of keeping it clean, like the toilet….I thought everyone understood why that thing needs to be clean…..apparently, it is not COMMON sense.
Again, cue cards to help them remember –
Proper Places
I can decide where everything goes in my house, but if it doesn’t make sense to the “OWNER,” what good is it?
However, there are a few “rules” to this process:
- Bookshelves are for books
- Dressers are for clothes
- Purging is part of the process – don’t be afraid to throw away things that are broken or not used
So learn to embrace how the kids organize their stuff. Teach them to keep like things together and let them do it.
They do not need expensive organizing “tools” to make this happen. The Dollar Tree has some great options for keeping things corralled without breaking the bank.
Using these tips, I took back the office. I went through everything they “organized” and here is what we ended up with:
I needed to come up with an idea of how to disperse the things I removed from the office.
Here is my solution:
They argued, said ‘we’ll do it later,’ and even went to hide. After about 10 minutes of these shenanigans, they both sat down and went through the boxes. They were amazed at the things I found. I heard a lot of “Oh thank you Mom for finding….”
They do not always follow my suggestions for cleaning up. I have to be consistent with telling them to pick up and clean up DAILY!! It’s just as hard for me as it is for them. It’s all a work in progress. And teaching your kids to clean up after themselves with help you keep your sanity too!
Do you have to teach your kids to get more organized? Are they clean? Do they leave a trail of messes?
Happy Organizing,
