Not everyone is naturally organized. For some it seems they were born with the organizing gene but for many people, not so much. A lot of people didn’t grow up in a home where organizing was the norm. They didn’t grow up with structure and piles and clutter were seen as a normal way of functioning in their home. You don’t know what you don’t know and the chances are good you will take those habits into your dorm room, first apartment and then your home as an adult.
And then your own children show up on the scene. If you don’t know how to make decisions on what to keep and what to let go-will they? If you don’t know how to create systems and structure, will they? Unless you learned some new skills on how to get organized before kids entered the picture, you will start to see them follow your patterns.
Just picture a child’s room with no clothing hangers or bookshelves or toy bins. Everything is all over the floor-clothing, books, toys, stuffed animals and you tell your child to go clean up their room. They walk to the door, look in and have no idea how to clean it. How can they when there’s no place to put anything? When they don’t know what to do or how to do it, they will continue to add to the piles. What else are they supposed to do?
If you didn’t grow up in a home with organization and systems, you can start learning by reading books, watching videos, getting help from a friend who is organized or working with a professional organizer. It’s never too late! It’s never too late for you to learn and it’s never too late to start sharing those skills with your children, even if they are getting older.
I look at organizing as a skill that everyone should be taught, just like we learn about budgeting, giving to charity and other life skills. It’s a real gift to show our children the way. As both a mom and a professional organizer, I do appreciate that it takes a lot of repetition and a lot of patience. It also takes the effort of doing it with kids, like helping them put away their toys all the way into elementary school.
What are some of the skills you should be teaching?
How to make decisions on what should be kept, tossed or donated.
How to store toys by category in bins, baskets or other appropriate ways to hold toys.
How to use labels to know what the containers are holding.
How to put toys, games, books, clothing and stuffed animals away.
How to clear the floor daily or at least once a week so it doesn’t get out of hand.
