Children are notoriously messy and we end up cleaning after them all the time. There comes a time when parents are ready to teach their children how to get organized so that cleaning their room is not so much of an insurmountable task. Use these tips and tools to teach your child how to organize without teaching them to hate cleaning up after themselves.

Children learn in different ways, so if you take a multi-angled approach, you are more likely to get through to them. Some kids learn by hearing and can incorporate what they’ve learned simply by listening. For a kid like this, you may only have to tell them how to do it. Unfortunately, this is not the case for most kids. Listening and application skills come as children get older.

Start by reading a book or making up a story about a child who is messy and how they overcame it. It is less threatening to imagine the broken toys and missing pieces happening to another kid. Then, get down on your child’s level and help them to organize their toys. Start with the things that they care about the most. This will get their initial attention and most likely make them happy that their favorite things are all together.

The next step is to clear the clutter so that you can (excitedly) organized the second favorite thing. Play a “biggest to littlest” game of picking up the mess. Or, assign stuffed animals to your child while you pick out laundry. If they feel like you are doing as much as them, or like they’re racing you, then it will happen a lot faster.

As you’re organizing with your child, talk about things that they enjoy. Avoid negative comments, threats and lectures at all costs. If your child is task oriented or loves rewards, make a “Clean Room Chart” for their wall or inside of the closet door. Buy some special stickers or stamps to reward them when they complete a job. Talk about how easy it was and how nice it is to take care of your toys so that they are fun to play with.

Part of helping your child stay organized is staying organized yourself. Things like laundry can get out of hand if you’re not on top of it. Create a simple system that your child can keep up with. For example, laundry baskets in the bathroom and in their bedroom will give them easy targets for throwing their dirty clothes. Hampers often make matters worse if they close because most kids won’t take the time to open it. You may even put a basketball hoop on their wall to encourage them to “make a laundry basket”.

An organized closet can be your greatest asset. With shelves, hooks, racks, baskets and bins, you can find a place for everything. Hang children’s clothes on infant hangers, children’s hangers, or baby hangers to get them out of the way. The smaller hangers will take up less room and they won’t stretch the fabric. This will allow you to make lots of room for things like board games that have little pieces and need to be kept in a safe place.

About the Author: Kurt Adams is on the staff of Only Kids Hangers, a leading provider of infant hangers. The right baby hangers, like wooden baby hangers and children’s coat hangers, keep baby clothers organized and children’s hangers are great for retail stores.

Does your kid’s closet look like a tornado went through it? Most kids’ closets do. It is hard for children to realize the consequences of rummaging through piles of clothes when they’re thinking about what they want to wear. Parents are acutely aware of how much work reorganizing is and probably catch themselves imagining the repercussions of just about everything that their child does or is about to do! It is time to find a way to help kids remember to keep their closets neat and organized.

1. Help them get the closet cleaned out. Kids have fun pulling everything out because they feel like they’re making a mess and they often will find toys and things that they thought were lost in the process. Pile everything into separate categories as you go. Toys, sports equipment, costumes, blankets, dirty laundry, shoes and books are common piles for a kid’s closet.

2. Involve your child in deciding what should go into the closet. It is generally not a good idea to put toys in with clothes, but if you separate them properly, it can work. Some parents like to install a deep shelf about waist level in the closet. Kids’ clothing is generally small enough to hang from the bar without touching the shelf. You can put baskets or bins on the shelf to organize socks, underwear, belts and pajamas. Try to hang all of the pants and shirts on children’s hangers. Baby hangers can be used for smaller items and they won’t stretch the shoulders out.

3. Use a shoe organizer to keep shoes off of the floor. You can either put a crate or toy bin in the room and keep shoes out of the closet, or you can use an over-the-door rack. Some parents like to keep a shoe bin or shoe organizer in the mudroom or entryway to the home so that dirty shoes aren’t tracked all over the house. This also keeps all of the shoes in one place, making it easier to get out the door on busy school mornings.

4. A laundry basket or bin is a great thing to put under that shelf. All dirty clothes should be thrown into the basket. It will hopefully be one of the only things on the floor of the closet, so if some clothes miss, it is easy to throw them in when it’s time to do laundry. You don’t want dirty clothes mixed up with toys, so decide if this is where you want your basket. Avoid hampers or other bins with tops, because kids will not take the time to open them.

By letting your child participate in the organization of the closet, they will get a bigger sense of pride. Make it fun by having races to see who can hang the most shirts the fastest. Let them use the infant hangers so that manipulation is easy. Baby hangers are actually a great tool when it comes to teaching your child closet organization. Praise your child when they take care of their closet and you might even try a reward system for a tidy space. Just remember to have fun with it and hopefully the excitement about the clean space will last!

About the Author: Kurt Adams is on the staff of Only Kids Hangers, a leading provider of infant hangers. The right baby hangers, like wooden baby hangers and children’s coat hangers, keep baby clothers organized and children’s hangers are great for retail stores. For more information, please visit www.onlykidshangers.com.