Organising The Chaos
Zigzagging through the mess of toys, one of a kind art projects, collectors’ items of left over tape, broken shells and the latest school fundraiser forms, it can feel like there is a steady river of contents flowing through our homes. These contents never seem to find an organised space but rather just enjoy being moved from one place to another preferring the floor to any mature location.
So where can all of these items go? Try this three phase solution to get on top of any messy situation.
Phase One
Decide how much stuff you need to get rid of. Make it specific by putting a percentage on it.
Sofie’s two girls shared a room and though many of their toys were organised into boxes and shelves, they were running out of floor space. Not only can this clutter the mind but it can also affect children’s behaviour as their own space is feeling crowded and overwhelming.
Sofie decided that she needed to get rid of 40% of the girls toys to bring order to their room. To do this, we grouped all of the toys into different sections- books, crafts, puzzles, games, Barbies, dress ups, jewellery and soft toys. We started with counting the books and found that the girls shared 80 books between them. I calculated 80 ÷ 100 x 40 =32. Sofie then got rid of 32 books. We did this with all the items apart from the soft toys which there was a lot of! Sofie wasn’t sure which soft toys were more precious than others so she got her girls involved. Instead of telling her girls to pick the ones to get rid of (because that can be hard for kids), we changed tactic and told them to pick out ten of their favourites that they definitely didn’t want their mum to get rid of. This worked well as then Sofie could decide the rest of the fate of the soft toys knowing that her girls had kept their favourites. The room was already feeling less chaotic but there was still a lot of toys. Onto phase two we went.
Phase Two.
Find a space to put away 80 percent of the toys while leaving out 20 percent. Use a rotation system.
Though Sofie had gotten rid of 40 percent of the toys, there was still a lot there. On the book shelf alone there was still 48 books- too many for a child (or two) to read through in one week. There was still ten puzzles which we all know if they come out at the same time can make any calm parent frazzled ! Not to mention all the soft toys, games, crafts, Barbies and dress ups that though less, still cluttered the room.
Outside the girls room there was limited space to store, but think about ceiling storage, high shelving, under house storage, garage or shed storage in order to rotate. Make sure the toys are in waterproof containers- I love using Sistema storage as it lasts, is clear so I can see what is in it and is waterproof. Sofie used these containers and found space under the girls bed to store the extra toys that were able to rotate. She was then ready for the final phase of three.
Phase Three
Make the space look inviting.
Children do well with playing when the space is set up and it isn’t over crowded or messy. Children love mixing toys together- getting the tea set out with the teddy bears and having a picnic and taking their bed sheets to make a hut for the picnic and cutting up all the paper for food and bringing inside the leaves and dirt to mix with water to make the coffee.
The clean-up can be tiresome for both kid and parent if there is so much of everything and it’s all mixed together! It’s okay to have mix ups between the toys but making this an exception rather than the rule will help to keep the mess down. You can do this by setting up the room with one or two lots of toys and putting the rest away. If they ask for the other toys, you can get them to pack away what you have set out before getting out something new. The excitement of seeing their old toys can feel like Christmas for them as they have a new burst of joy over playing with something different.
This is because kids love variety. They don’t need more toys, they just need change with their toys often.
Depending on your kids, I would rotate every two to three weeks. For younger, I would rotate more, for energetic kids I would rotate more.
Some of the toys your kids may not ask for or want for months, this may be a sign that you can get rid of them.
For Sofie’s girls room we displayed four books neatly on the shelf, next to some fresh paper and two cups full of colouring pens.
Under that same shelf we had two white boxes with a manageable amount of toys in.
On the bottom of the shelf was the same type of white boxes with their soft toys in.
The space became inviting and simple, ready for their imagination.
Tips on how to keep your home tidy
Keep getting rid of more things.
Have storage boxes and a special home for everything- even nic nacks that can ‘go on holiday’ (thrown away) at the end of the week.
Create games around tidying up for your kids
– If they like competitions – you can divide the mess in half and set a timer. You can put some music on each time you tidy. You can have an alarm for ‘tidy up time’ (setting habits works well with kids though hard to start very worth the effort).
Teach your kids how to tidy.
For example, to get your children to make their bed to a high standard- model to them how to make it, let them do it with your help, then let them do it on their own. With any expectation you have on your kids, make sure you are inspecting it to keep them accountable (expect-inspect). Make sure that things are easy to tidy, labelled with pictures or easily understood.
Tidy up Regularly
Regular small tidy ups are better than rare large tidy ups. Keeping on top of the mess each day will create a tidy habit for your kids and will limit the lost toys syndrome.