By Karin E. Fried, CPC
Everyone Helps Create Organization
An organized home doesn’t miraculously happen. It takes everyone in the home to create an environment that is organized and functions smoothly. Having kids doesn’t mean that your home has to be disorganized or a cluttered mess. Children learn from their parents. If you start expecting things from your children at a young age and teach them responsibility you can have a home that is neat and organized.
The point is to teach your child some valuable tools for the future. It is really important to give them encouragement and let them know that they did a good job.
No Expectations of The Children
The problem that I seem to have run into is that most of the parents that I deal with have no expectations of their children. Toys and clothes are strewn all over the house and the children are never told to put them away.
Or if they are told, the kids ignore the “request” and the parents ignore the fact that they are being ignored. See the cycle?
In today’s society most households have two parents that work, therefore it’s more important than ever that kids help out around the house. Parents are parents…not maids and butlers. Maybe it’s the fact that both parents do work and have less time than they did years ago that they feel guilty about not being around and therefore allow their children to get away with not helping. They are not doing their children any favors.
By not teaching them to help around the house or to pick up after themselves they are setting them up for failure.
Organized Children Do Better In School
An organized child will do better in school. If they have their rooms organized and their clothes organized they will have everything at their fingertips and will not be late for school and they will be prepared for their classes.
Some parents think that just because they themselves are not very neat and organized means that they can’t or don’t have the right to tell their children to pick up after themselves. This is where I have to remind them that they are the parent. They have rights that children don’t. Remember the old saying: “do what I say and not what I do”?
How many parents are overwhelmed by math and science today? Does that mean that your kids don’t have to do their homework? Just because you don’t get it?
Hire An Organizer
It’s the same way with being organized. Just because you may not be the most organized person doesn’t mean that you can’t expect your child to be. If you can’t teach them to be organized yourself then you can hire a professional organizer to come in and teach them to be organized… just as you would hire a swim instructor if you can’t swim or an ice skating instructor if you can’t skate.
I’ve had parents hire me to teach their children how to organize their room and organize their closets and show them how to fold their clothes (instead of just shoving them into their drawers). Kids tend to listen to everyone except their parents.
Give your child the tools they need to be successful. Start them young and expect things from them. They will thank you….later…when they are grown up.
Some things that kids can do:
2 – 4 year olds
- Put away toys
- Pick up clothes off of the floor
4 – 6 year olds
- Clean up spills
- Wipe kitchen table
- Learn to make bed
- Learn to set the table
- Match socks
6 – 8 year olds
- Make the bed
- Put dishes away
- Sweep the floors
- Put clothes into the hamper
- Set the table
- Clear the table
- Learn to separate clothes for the laundry
- Dust
8 – 12 year olds
- Put their own laundry away
- Help make dinner
- Make their own lunches
- Rake leaves
- Help wash the car
- Empty garbage
- Clean the bathroom
- Help with actually doing the laundry
- Weed the garden
13 – 15 year olds
- Clean the entire house
- Learn to manage their schedule
- Mow the lawn
- Yard work
- Wash the car on their own
- Babysit
16 – 18 year olds
- Get an after school job
- Go to the grocery store
- Run errands as needed
- Learn how to make a resume
- Learn how to manage money
After owning a successful business for seventeen (17) years Karin E. Fried has taken her Organizational skills and used them to help small businesses and residential clients organize their offices, homes and lives. She is a member of NAPO (The National Association of Professional Organizers), a NAPO Quantum Leap Trainer, a NAPO in the Schools Trained Provider, a member of NSGCD (National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization ) and of Faithful Organizers. Karin has a Certificate of Study in Chronic Disorganization (NSGCD) and holds a NSGCD CD Specialist – Level II Certificate. She has a certificate of Study in Basic Hoarding Issues With the CD Client
Besides hands on organizing Karin gives seminars on various organizing topics and she has also written numerous articles for various publications. Karin’s motto is: “Less Clutter = Less Stress” (sm). You can visit her website at www.organizationalconsultingservices.com or her Blog at http://professionalorganizer4u.blogspot.com/
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