Kids Room Organization: Teach Them to do it Themselves

What’s Inside: A simple 2-question kids room organization hack that will ensure you’re not doing all the work yourself!

It seems like kids these day have So. Much. Stuff. Clothes, toys, school art projects, prizes, birthday cards…despite my best efforts, the clutter builds up over time.

In the past, I would wait until my oldest daughter was out of the house to do a major clean-up, afraid that she would be upset about getting rid of things. However, one day I decided that it wasn’t fair that I had to do it all by myself. It is her room after all!

So I told her it was time to clean her room, and that we would do it together.

What a pleasant surprise — there were no complaints. In fact, my daughter was actually excited to help!

With this simple kids room organization hack, we got the job done quickly.

2 Step Kids Room Organization Hack

I hadn’t given my daughter enough credit! She is actually quite capable of making thoughtful decisions about what to do with specific items.

First, we designated sorting options for our possessions. Then we asked two simple questions about each item to determine where to sort.

For each item in question, there are three options:

1. Trash. The item is broken and not fixable. Or it is legitimately trash. (It was crazy how much actually trash I would find in random places! Clothing price tags that fell behind the bed, used scrap paper, etc.)
2. Keep. It is a clothing item that is in good condition, still fits, and is still worn on a regular basis. It is a toy that still gets frequent play time. It holds high sentimental value (for Lilu, not me — I did respect her feelings on certain things that meant a lot to her, but that I might not see as valuable).
3. Yard Sale. My mother in law has a big yard sale each fall and spends months beforehand gathering and sorting items to include. Any clothing that Lilu has outgrown, toys that weren’t a hit, and/or any baby gear that Annabelle is done with goes in this pile. Might as well find these things a good home AND make a little extra cash at the same time! (Items that don’t sell are donated).

Determining if an item is trash is fairly easy. However, it sometimes a bit more difficult to decide what to do with the rest! I made it as simple as possible for my daughter with the following two-question system that was VERY effective.

When evaluating whether to keep an item or put it in the yard sale, these are the two questions to ask:

1. Have you used (worn, played with, etc.) this in the past year?
2. Does seeing it make you want to use it right this moment?

If your child answers “no” to both of these questions, then the item goes straight in the yard sale bag. 

By following this simple system, my daughter and I organized her entire room in just a couple hours! (And with a Grandma that loves to shop we had a LOT of stuff to go through!)

The final result of our clean-up:

• 2 bags of trash (seriously, where did all of that come from??)
• 1 bag of yard sale clothes
• 2 bags of yard sale toys.

My daughter’s room wasn’t a total disaster before, so it was amazing to see just how much of the stuff wasn’t needed at all! Our simple kids room organization hack made the process easy, pain-free, and productive!

Recommended Reading: Teach kids from an early age that cleaning can be fun with the playful, rhyming book Clean-Up Time (Toddler Tools) by Elizabeth Verdick

Kids usually won’t initiate a clean-up or organize their own room without prompting. However, you might be surprised when they actually want to help and be a part of the decision-making process — if you just ask them.

Even if they don’t tell you so, many kids are comforted by order and cleanliness. They also enjoy any quality time spent with you. (And you probably will too!) Plus, the end result is SO worth it!

You might also like:

4 Things I Do Every Night to Make My House Look Clean in Minutes

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