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"Clean your room."
"Ugh! Oh, Mom. I’ll do it later!"
This same dialog is shared by millions of parents and
their children all over the world. Do you suddenly have
the driving urge to get your child’s room in order?
Where do you start? Here are a few ideas:
SCHEDULE. Schedule a specific date and time to clean
out your child’s room. Your daughter or son, if
she or he is old enough, should be there to help.
DUMP OR DONATE. Have a large box on hand for items you
will be donating to your local charity or selling at
a rummage sale. Also, have a large plastic garbage bag--maybe
two or three--for everything you will be disposing of.
Your son or daughter can help here. Let them know that
every item that is of no use to them, that they donate,
will be helping another child. Also, tell them that
it’s important to discard anything that will never
be used, to make room for new, useful items.
CLOTHES CLOSET. The clothes closet is usually a good
place to start. Pull everything out until it’s
completely empty. Then, the only items that should be
returned to the closet are those articles of clothing
or other items that are going to be used again. This
should eliminate clothing that doesn’t fit, is
worn out, and so on. If you’re not sure if an
item fits your child anymore, have him or her try it
on right now.
BASEBALL CAPS. Hang a baseball cap rack on the back
of your child’s bedroom door to keep all caps
neat and organized. Ensure it’s at a reachable
level for your child and that he/she understands the
proper way to hang the caps on it.
SHOES. A shoe rack can keep children's shoes organized,
easily accessible and in one place. Show your child
how to organize shoes, keeping all pairs together and
separating dress shoes from casual.
STUFFED ANIMALS, TOYS AND GAMES. Put up shelves in children’s
rooms. This is usually a better solution for toy storage
versus containers, because the toys won’t get
crushed and will be easily obtainable. Make sure the
shelves are at a reasonable height so that your child
can reach wanted items.
PAPER. Create a filing system for your child, to keep
artwork, rock star photos, blank paper, notes from family
and friends, etc. Use a portable filing container that
is capable of holding hanging files and that can be
transported to someplace else if necessary. The ones
with handles are nice, since they can be transported
to different homes, on vacation, and so on. Some of
these containers have snap-shut compartments for pens,
pencils, clips, and more.
RESPONSIBILITY. Teach your children to clean and organize
as soon as they’re old enough to do so. If you
help them do this now, you will be helping them when
they’re old enough to move out on their own. Devise
a simple daily checklist for maintenance. If you have
two children sharing the same room, divide the room
in half with an imaginary line. Describe this imaginary
line to each child. Assign each one the responsibility
of keeping their side clean and organized.
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