If you have small children, you’ll know how difficult it can be to keep their rooms clean. You’ll also know how quickly children can mess up their rooms.

But as a parent, it’s your job to raise your children right and one of the most important parts of this is instilling good habits in them. And one of the best habits you can teach your kids is the habit of cleaning up after themselves! Being clean and organized will make them better people and help them get ahead in life. These skills will last them a lifetime and one day they might even thank you!

Teaching your kids to be organized also helps to keep your house clean, and will make your life a lot easier. In fact, it will make everything easier and faster, from mealtime to getting ready in the morning and going to bed at night.

Here are 12 positive ways to teach your kids organization while also having fun together.

 

How To Teach Children To Be Organized

 

1) Set a good example.

 

Kids learn by copying their parents. Set a good example by cleaning up after yourself, keeping things in order and taking pride in your home. If they see you doing, this they will follow along and will naturally learn to be tidy.

 

2) Teach them to pick up after themselves.

 

As soon as they are able to understand, teach them to pick up after themselves. Show them that every time they take out a new toy they should pick up the old one and put it back. This will teach them the habit of finishing the first action before starting a new one as well.

 

3) Teach them that everything has its place.

 

Show them that everything in their room has its place. You can call these places a “home” for every object and say it in the language they understand, such as: “Pencils live here. They love to go back to their home when you’re done coloring” and similar.

 

4) Give them easily reachable space to store their toys.

 

To keep their room clean, they need a place to keep things. If they have a place to put their things they are more likely to get into the habit of putting them away. Give them easily accesible closets and lightweight chests to keep their toys, pencils, and books in. Another good way to do this is with cheap baskets that you can be bought at the dollar store.

 

5) Schedule time for tidying up.

 

Schedule 10 minutes once or twice a day for cleaning up with your children. This is a great routine and habit to get kids into. A good time to do this is before lunch or dinner time. This will teach them to have a quick tidying up before meals.

 

6) Use color-coding.

 

If you have more than one child, then it helps to color-code their things. This helps them keep their own things organized, so no one is slacking at the expense of others, ahem 😉 They will also develop a sense of ownership for what’s theirs.

 

7) Start a morning routine for your children.

 

Your child’s morning will set up the rest of their day. Every morning they should make their bed and pick up any toys or clothes that are on the ground. This is a good habit to get them into, and will help them to start the day with a clean room.

 

8) Help them out.

 

Cleaning up is easier if you do it together! Give them direction so that they know what to do and where to put their things. When you’re teaching your kid to be organized, it’s important to let them ask all the questions they have and give them easily understandable answers. As they get the hang of it, they will no longer need you and start doing it themselves.

 

9) Assign chores.

 

This is one of the best ways to get your child into the habit of cleaning. Assign chores to each one of your kids and reward them for completing those chores. Completing chores will also give them a sense of achievement and accomplishment. Make sure these chores are simple and age-appropriate.

 

10) Use checklists.

 

Once your kids can read, make a step by step checklist of what they need to get done.

This can be a series of steps like making the bed, hanging up clothes and putting their toys away. With younger kids, you can use a checklist with pictures instead of words.

 

11) Turn it into a game!

 

You can turn cleaning into a game by ringing a bell once they have completed the task, or using a timer and challenging them to beat the clock. Kids love to be active so making tidying up as fun as possible is a wonderful way to teach them.

 

12) Be forgiving.

 

Sometimes, there’s nothing you can do and you have to give up. For example, when your kid has made a mess and there’s nothing you can do about it, you can’t yell or punish your kid – it’s terrible response and it won’t help at all. In this case, take things into your own hands, clean up and try to get your kids to do better next time. After all, they’re only kids and you really can’t expect much from them.

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I hope these tips will help you and your kids have fun and consistency with cleaning up. Try to have fun as often as you can – chores don’t have to be boring, especially with kids.

Are you trying to teach your kids to be tidy? Share in a comment at the bottom of this page!