Organizing, cleanup work when kids make decisions

During the holidays, people make room in their bellies for good food and room in their hearts for the spirit of giving.

But the holidays are behind us, and perhaps you have not made room in your home for the flood of gifts that ensued.

In the days after the unwrapping, oooing and ahhing, parents are often left with a mountain of their child’s gifts. And much to the tot’s dismay, the tower of treasures cannot remain in the living room until next year.

Pam “The Clutter Buster” Laubscher said if new loot is still hanging out in your living room, it’s time to put it away.

And that means out with the old.

Professional organizers, including Laubscher of Comprehensive Organizing and Jill Janis of Helping Hands Organizing Service, both in Tucson, agree that to avoid clutter chaos, the cardinal rule must be followed: Whenever something is brought in, something must go out.

“It’s a lot easier to be organized when you have less stuff,” said Janis.

For young children, create a visual aid with a full glass of water, Laubscher said. Ask them how to get more into the glass without making it overflow and they will come to the conclusion that some of the water must be removed.

The process of finding homes for the new toys can take time.

“I start by asking, ‘Do you love this?’ and ‘Do you still want this?’ ” Laubscher said.

After discussing each item, toys go into one of four boxes labeled “donate,” “sell,” “trash” and “keep.”

Encourage the child to decorate the boxes, helping to engage them in the process, Laubscher said.

“Do more with the children than for them,” Janis said. “We can do it without hurting anyone’s feelings.”

The sense of inclusion of the child was important to Cathy Pensack when she hired Laubscher to help organize her son Noah’s room.

“It was really critical that Noah was a part of the process,” Pensack said. “She recognized it was his room and that it was his personal space.”

After making room for the new stuff, Laubscher suggests having a “put-away party,” letting the child find a special place for each new toy.

“Store up,” suggests Janis, meaning nothing should be on the floor except for furniture and larger items. To help, install more shelves, hooks and hangers.

Putting a bookcase in the closet for toys can help with the storage dilemma, Laubscher said.

Giving children a say in their organization process will yield better results, she added. Even if it is as simple as letting them pick the color of the shelving unit, they will be happier with the result.

After everything is put away, Janis stresses the importance of maintaining the newfound organization.

“Unless we have actually taught them something, it will go back to being untidy,” she said.

Almost two years after Noah’s original organization intervention, a process which Pensack describes as “totally awesome,” his room still remains clutter-free.

“There is always a need to continually organize a child’s room,” Pensack said. “We’ve built on the things that she set the foundation for.”

In order to maintain the order set in place all year long, reminder lists with such rules as “Hang clothes” or “Put away toys” work wonders, Janis said.

“The good news is it’s never too late to start changing habits,” she said.

———

NEED AN ORGANIZER?
Pam Laubscher

Comprehensive Organizing

591-2533

Jill Janis

Helping Hands Organizing Service

795-1064

Or visit www.tucsonprofessionalorganizers.org to find an organizer to fit your needs.

———

TIPS
Tips for encouraging children to donate what they no longer want or need:

• Expose them to those who are less fortunate. Begin with a volunteer project as a family so they better understand who they are giving to.

• Ask them to compare the things they love to find the ones they love the most. Those are the ones they will keep.

• Ask permission to give items away. Kids will feel good about giving when they get involved.

Sources: Pam Laubscher and Jill Janis

———

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 2nd, 2007 at 12:01 am and is filed under Family, Local. Tags for this post: Family-Kids, Family-Kids-Local, Kids, Tucson Citizen. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.