Prevent misplaced books and random toys everywhere, making the space unsafe and an indescribable mess. Find out how to manage and simplify your home, even with your playful kids.
Parents would agree that it's challenging to keep a tidy and uncluttered home, considering how creative and playful the place should be to help the kids develop their skills and enjoy their childhood at home. Teaching and assisting the kids to get organised will help you maintain a clean and safe space while preparing them to be more independent as they grow. Doing this might be pretty tricky, but it is definitely doable.
The goal when organising is not to make everything Pinterest perfect but to make your home safe and well-kept for your whole family, giving you more time to spend with them afterwards.
Ultimately, you want to create a home that is conducive to your kids' playtime and learning. More so, you want your home routines to run smoothly and safely for everyone.
Here are some tips to organise your home with kids.
Purge- Keep Things into a Minimum
If you want to stay organised, we highly suggest keeping things to a minimum (this can be difficult because kids love seeing lots of stuff). The first and biggest step to revamping your home with kids is to declutter.
But how do you successfully do this?
Every year, we accumulate many things: gifts, new toys, clothes, books, containers, souvenirs, and knick-knacks. While our possessions double, our space does not get any bigger. To address this, set up a time to purge your stuff and keep what really matters. This includes your kids' toys. Remove broken items and clothes that no longer fit them. Have a donation box for usable things that you no longer need. Examine the wardrobe, drawers, and storage boxes thoroughly.
You don't have to do it within a day, especially when you have too much, but you can block out some minutes of your day to go through each room to declutter.
Have a Place for Everything
After decluttering your home, your next goal is to put everything left in its proper place. This means that the kids' stuff will remain in the kids' room or your bedroom. The dining room and kitchen cabinets will solely be for dinnerware and kitchen essentials, while the filing cabinet will work exclusively for home office items. This is to prevent potential accidents and the loss of essential items.
If you don't have a dedicated room for your kids, we recommend organising the toys inside storage boxes that you can bring out to your play area. You can also keep some items inside a storage sofa or under the bed. Use a bookshelf or a study table that is big enough for your study corner. Inform your kids where things should go. Even better, colour code or label your storage to help them bring their stuff back to the right place after using it.
Give Your Kids Enough Space to Move
Kids love to move around, so it makes sense to give them enough room to play safely. This means eliminating unnecessary items that may take the space intended for your play corner. When arranging furniture, allow enough area between the pieces to prevent bumping. When shopping for new furniture pieces, we recommend cushioned varieties or furniture pieces with less prominent corners.
Make Trash Bins Accessible
An effective way to help your kids get organised is to inform them how to use trash bins. The goal is to make it easier for your little ones to identify and toss papers and other items.
This also goes for the laundry. If you see that your kids are ready to determine where they can put their dirty clothes, you can teach them how to use a laundry hamper.
Organise Alike Stuff
Keep stuffed toys together in one box and Legos inside the other. This way, you can make things easier to find. This is also applicable to your children's wardrobe—separate shirts from pants, underwear, and socks. Colouring pages, art materials, and school supplies can have their own corners to prevent items from mixing up and getting lost.
Choose Kid-Safe Cleaning Products
When shopping for home cleaning essentials, always choose solutions that are not harmful to your kids. If you can invest in a vacuum cleaner, do so. This home cleaning appliance is very handy and life-changing, especially when cleaning your sofa, carpets, and hard-to-reach areas.
Exercise caution when cleaning your home with chemicals.
Make Cleaning and Organising Fun
Let's face it, kids are hoarders, and it's sometimes easier to pick up their things than explain to them how to organise. However, spending time with your kids while cleaning will make a big difference in how you keep your home tidy in the future. It will also help them develop healthy habits as they grow older. Creating a fun environment while cleaning is important to keep your kids interested in finishing their tasks. The good thing is that kids learn easier while young and quickly adapt to what they see from adults. You can try different methods to make your cleaning routines fun, like giving your kids some treats after putting the last Lego piece inside the storage box. You can also get colourful cleaning items and storage solutions.
Choose High-Quality Furniture and Home Items
When shopping for anything, especially kids' items, always aim for the highest quality that you can get with your budget to avoid piling up things that are easy to break and need to be tossed out in no time. Buying high-quality toys, storage units, kids' room furniture, and bedding will also help ensure your children's safety. Certified organisers also recommend buying less of better quality rather than shopping for more items that will only add to the clutter. This does not mean depriving your kids, but rather giving them a few great things rather than many items that they don't necessarily need.
Understand that Kids are Kids
No matter how much you want to organise, it will always be a challenge to be minimal with kids. Getting messy at times is part of the fun of being a kid. The key is to make things accessible and provide your little ones with a safe place to play and develop their skills. Finding the balance between getting organised and allowing your kids to explore can be challenging, but achieving it is indeed rewarding.
Cleaning and maintaining a safe home with kids can be overwhelming, but starting small and building great habits will eventually make a difference in how beautiful and enjoyable your home will be.