Human beings have an innate need to do things for themselves; competence and autonomy have been consistently associated with well-being. Being organized and implementing systems from an early age encourages healthy growth and habits for adulthood. Building healthy habits fosters positive growth towards children’s independence. Organized environments, especially for children, eliminate the feeling of chaos, clear the mind, create better focus and freedom for independent, creative, and healthy thinking. All of this is essential in building good self-esteem.
Self-Dressing
Part of teaching children how to dress and prepare themselves for each day in a timely fashion means organizing their closets and dressers in a way that identifies and breaks down each wardrobe item into categories with easy access. The learning experience can be fun when you add a creative approach. Creating structure and implementing systems will increase their confidence leading them towards greater independence.
Arrange and organize the closets by season. The current season of clothing should hang and be reachable at a lower level with the off-season clothing stored at top or packed for storage in another location. For folded items, shelves can be labeled using our favorite Brother P-touch label maker.
Dresser drawers are best maintained with Dream Drawer Dividers available from the Container Store. They help divide and confine smaller items such as undergarments and socks. The top of the dividers or inside drawer fronts can be labeled specifying the items contained. Children will learn to recognize that there are specific homes for their belongings, finding them easier and faster.
Closet Tip: An indoor basketball hoop hamper creates a great game for depositing dirty clothes and keeping them off the floor. A great option is available from Lillian Vernon.
Packing and Travel
Create good travelers early and encourage what we call “Ensemble Dressing.” Planning and editing clothing and accessories for travel or camp makes the responsibilities that go along with the fun less daunting, for your children as well as yourself. Younger children who don’t know how to dress for all activities and events can be taught. Start by putting an outfit together for each day and night, including undergarments, socks, and belts. Try mixing and matching layers. Pack everything neatly in nylon zippered Pack-It Cubes from Eagle Creek that are then neatly loaded into the luggage.
Packing Tip: The bags can be identified by day or evening attire with labels, or photos can be taken of the clothing ensemble and stapled to the outside of the bag.
Mealtime
Good eating habits mean more brain power. Through strong organization and some pre-planning, you can accomplish mealtime independence. Breakfast is a great way to start. Milk and other breakfast items should be stored on lower shelves in the fridge and pantries; flatware should be kept in drawers for easy reach. Try the Klip-it Breakfast-to-Go, a leak proof all-in-one ingredient storage concept that contains separate sections for cereal, milk, yogurt, and fruit with a built-in spoon. It allows you to prepare and store the ingredients the night before so your children can help themselves each morning.
Mealtime Tip: Try leaving a different combination of food items for morning surprises in these brightly colored containers. They are also great for snack or mealtime on-the-go.
Personal Hygiene
Tired of repeating “Wash up, brush your hair, brush your teeth” to your kids morning and night? Catch their attention with a waterproof decorative good grooming caddy containing all the products they need to stay fresh and clean. The key is to keep it all together where they can see it and not hidden behind closed doors or in medicine cabinets mixed with other items. Seeing the tools and products they need helps teach kids to take ownership and reminds them visually of what they have to do.
Grooming Tip: Find cool, age-appropriate products to put in your caddy, such as theme-based or multifunctional products like the GLO-Brush toothbrush by Arm & Hammer, which has a built-in timer and changes color every 30 seconds or the Listerine Agent Cool Blue alcohol-free rinse that detects with color, showing children what bacteria and plaque brushing has missed. Fire Fly kids’ flossers come in fun colors and cool shapes.
Desk and Schoolwork
Helping your child learn smart work habits is critical for success in school (as well as later in life). Every child should have an organized, well stocked place to work. Any drawer can be customized with separate compartments for pencils, pens, scissors, and erasers using individual Acrylic Drawer Organizers from the Container Store. This system keeps things neat and orderly. For storage of desktop items many fun and functional storage cups, boxes, and containers are available, and everything used should be labeled with the contents.
Homework Tip: An organized approach to keeping track of daily homework and long-term assignments can keep your child focused on what is due the next day. Create a homework binder using brightly colored big-tab pocket dividers that represent and color-code each class. As the day proceeds, the homework assignments are collected and dropped into the appropriate section. Keeping assignments separate from their main school binder makes it easier and faster to find the homework with nothing forgotten or misplaced.
Arts and Crafts
The key to maintaining and storing art supplies and crafts is by using a storage method that not only separates and organizes, but creates a child-friendly system that encourages independent play and creativity, with easy and quick clean-up. Pick a place or area on shelving that is exposed and make it enticing. Choose storage items that are decorative, easily labeled, and easily transportable. Self-expression is self-energizing and helps build self-esteem.
Crafting Tip: Children need to learn early on to clean up and put things away. The small Martha Stewart bookplate labels work great even on curved surfaces.
Birgitte Brix and Barbara Witt are the founders of Brix & Witt, which provides a unique approach to relocation, organization, and staging that helps you unlock the potential of your most valued investment, your home. Learn more about them and get more tips at brixandwitt.com.
