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.