How to get the Family involved in Organization (Guest Post)

Home organization during the summer months can be difficult; with kids in and out all day, finding time to organize can feel next to impossible. The best way to stay organized over these next few months is to get everyone in the family involved and excited about it.

Keep and giveaway
To begin organizing a home, start by sorting through items. If it can be hard to let go of items that aren’t needed, ask a friend to come over and help. This creates a situation of responsibility and helps determine what items should be kept or given away.

Then, go through each child’s belongings with them. Create a keep and a giveaway pile. Make sure to ask questions like "When was the last time you played with this?" or "Is this something another child could use more than you?" this helps a child develop organization skills and determine what they need or just want to keep.

Designated drop zones
Drop zones are those spots in your home where clutter builds up. They are common in the entryway, by the garage door, and on the counter tops. By providing an organization system in these areas, it makes developing organization habits a little easier.

Start by defining your drop zone. Lets say the entry way is where each family member tends to drop their things. By creating a spot for each of their individual items in a cubby or locker with their name on it, you create a designated drop zone. Creating an organized solution that is easy for the family to follow helps them to develop organization habits.

Labels
Labels are a must! Keeping the family involved in organization means that they will have to put things away. When they are labeled it makes the probability of this happening increase.

With young children that cannot read, take pictures of their toys for labels in their rooms or the playroom. With children that can write, have them write the labels for their room, this will create a sense of ownership increasing the chances of putting their things away when they are finished using them.

Rewards System
Getting your children excited about organization can be difficult at first. However, children love to be noticed and rewarded for anything and everything they do. This is a great way to get them involved. A child unwilling to giveaway their old toys may be persuaded by a garage sale. Tell them that they get the money from any of their items sold.

Another reward could be an organization chart. At the end of everyday if a child has kept their room organized and put away all of the items they used, they get a sticker. At the end of the week if they have stickers on each day, they get a prize. The prize can be a treat, small toy from a prize box, a movie from red-box, or whatever it is the child likes. Rewards for organizing help a child develop organization habits.

Just remember nothing is impossible. Get excited and embrace summer this year without feeling disorganized!

Thanks to Monkey Bars of Wichita for this wonderful guest post and their 4 awesome tips on getting the entire family involved in the organization process.  I will definitely be using these tips in my own home!

Monkey Bars Of Wichita is a Garage Storage and Organization Company based in Wichita Kansas; providing solutions and tips to help homeowners with garage and home organization.