1. Go Low
Sit on the floor in your child’s space. While this may sound weird, it allows you to see what your child sees. So often we’ll request that kids hang up their clothes or put away their toys—but the storage systems we give them are often designed for adults, and kids can’t reach them as easily as you’d think. If you’re installing wall cabinets, try hanging them with your child’s height in mind. Getting down on the floor and determining exactly what your child can reach and see is a critical part in making sure they can help you clean up.
It’s also important to make sure kids can lift the organizational bins, baskets or buckets you’re using. Using lots of smaller bins means that no container will be too heavy for small hands to carry. When you are designing kid’s closets, it’s also important to ensure kids can reach the shelves and closet rods. Remember, child-sized clothing is smaller. Therefore, you can leave less room for hanging items and maximize the space for other items, such as diapers, books or toys. If you have the space for one, try hanging a wall cabinet inside the closet to help keep things off the floor.
2. Purge Often
Kids grow fast. They grow out of clothes and toys much faster than most households purge items. It’s important to set time aside every month or two to go through your child’s space. You can get your kids to be part of the process with ease. Instead of asking them what they would like to get rid of, present them with a box (or laundry basket) and tell them to fill it. Having a more tangible goal in mind will help them complete the process quickly and without fuss.
Try purging right before the holidays, the start of the school year or a birthday. These are times of the year in which stuff comes into the house in large quantities. If you don’t have time to go through toys and clothes, keep a bin in the back of the closet, in a large cabinet or under the bed and toss items into the bin as they are outgrown.
3. Embrace the Collections
If your child collects things that are aren’t necessarily real treasures (like pebbles, pencils or pressed leaves), it can be tough to justify keeping them around. Instead of fighting this battle with your little ones, embrace the collections.
First, determine how you can store the items. For example, a rock collection could be stored in glass mason jars. Next, find a way to store the chosen containers. Using small shelves is a great way to maximize wall space and allow your child to decorate their room with their favorite objects. If their collection changes, you can swap out containers, but continue to use the shelves.
4. Add Storage
While there are lots of traditional options available for kids’ storage needs, consider some of your other choices. Wall cabinets, which are often meant to be used in bathrooms, are a great way to create storage space where there is none. Storing school supplies in a cabinet over a desk means you can avoid running around before and during homework time to find supplies. Wall cabinets are an easy weekend project and are a cost-effective way to add storage.
For toy storage in other areas of your home, utilize more beautiful options that match your decor but are just as easily hidden. Placing a bin behind a chair or underneath a couch will allow you to stash toys away when you need to quickly clean the space.
5. Make It Fun
Most people find organizing to be a dreaded task. However, if you approach it that way with your kids, no one will want to participate. Instead, make organizing fun. Pick a time to organize and inform everyone in the family. Then, make sure everyone is as well rested as possible and not hungry or thirsty. Determine in advance if there will be a reward for participation and what your goals are. Using a timer will help you keep track of time and will keep everyone moving. When the whole family helps, you can organize everything from the bathroom cabinets to the pile of playroom toys. If there is an end goal in sight, it’s human nature to move a little bit more quickly. For ongoing organizational maintenance, use a chore chart system.
Organizing with kids doesn’t have to be difficult. Organizing for short periods of time frequently will ensure that spaces don’t get overrun with toys or clothes. As your child grows, it’s necessary to evaluate current storage solutions and try out new options.
---
Bonnie Joy Dewkett is a nationally recognized organizing expert, author and motivational speaker who writes for The Home Depot. She provides great tips on how to get more out of your bathroom cabinet storage space and shows how organizing will calm the chaos. She loves to see the positive impact that organization can have on life.
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar