Keeping up with your kid’s clothes and toys helps your house remain tidy. Here are a few tips I use when I organize with young kids.
They need support
My philosophy when it comes to organizing with young kids is “Help, but don’t do.” Organizing alongside your children instead of doing it for them helps them develop healthy habits. Give them the support they need, but don’t do everything for them. Kids often enjoy helping, and it’s a great thing to encourage in them.
They grow so fast
Children are always changing, physically and mentally. They’ll outgrow their clothes and change the types of toys they play with rapidly. Go through items with them on a regular basis and decide what’s no longer useful or fun. You can always donate clothing and toys that are in good condition to help another family!
If you’re planning to have more children (or have one on the way), keep smaller clothing to avoid purchasing things you don’t need. Store clothing in bins labeled with sizes, and keep all the same size clothes together. When you need them, you’ll know right where they are and be able to access them with ease.
The kitchen
Consider keeping your kid’s plates, bowls, and spoons in a low cabinet that they can reach and open. Do the same thing with food, keeping healthy snacks that they can grab for themselves in a place low enough for them to reach. Foods that are for mom and dad, or are limited to once or twice a week, can go up high and out of reach. Keeping healthy foods in a place kids can reach lets young children help themselves, and saves you a trip to the kitchen when they want a quick snack.
It takes time
I set aside time to purge items with my kids every six months or so from the time my eldest was 3 to about 6. It was slow going at first; they’d get rid of a couple of bags of old toys at a time. Then one day while we were purging, they asked if they could do it on their own. They got rid of about a dozen bags of toys. It had clicked! Taking the time and doing several purges with them let them internalize the process. Have patience!
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That photo of the little boy and his toys is just so precious! I love your advice about supporting kids. It’s so easy for parents to get frustrated and just do it themselves, but even if the task isn’t completed perfect, kids are going to learn more if they are guided through the process (over and over) while doing it themselves. And your kitchen advice goes against what parents did for generations, but it’s so wise and eliminates mom (or dad) being dragged to the kitchen every time a tiny human wants a snack.
Haha, exactly. It’s great to give kids agency over when they eat, but also reduces mom or dad’s workload!
I love the suggestion of putting dishes in the lower cabinet. We did that at our house for a long time. Kids could get the dishes out to set the table, kids could unload the dishwasher and put the dishes away. My husband was glad when the children got tall enough to move the dishes up to a top cabinet. Being flexible and adapting to the growing needs of the children is a key to family organization.
You’re super right, Julie! I’m glad that solution worked for your family too.