This is the third in my series on de-cluttering your home and work spaces. Please let me know if there are particular clutter challenges you want addressed. Your input and feedback are always welcome!
Once again, begin by asking yourself: “What is my goal?” A part of the answer will depend on the ages of your children since they should begin taking more responsibility for their own space as they move into elementary school. What level of tidiness are you aiming for? Recall that Level 1 is immediately post-tornado and Level 10 is Martha Stewart. Keep your target achievable!
If you adhere to my Guidelines for Kids’ Rooms, achieving your tidiness goal will be much easier:
- No food or beverages in bedrooms. Period. All I have to do is think about the Texas-sized roaches in Austin to convince me to enforce this one! If that isn’t enough to scare you, just remember that this rule will eliminate a lot of clutter.
- No TV in the children’s bedrooms. Period. If you think your family is the exception, consider that virtually every child psychologist, pediatrician or family expert who has studied the research will tell you this is a bad idea.
- No computer in the children’s bedrooms. Period. It is hard enough to monitor what your kids are being exposed to when the computer is in the Family Room. It is virtually impossible when it’s in their room. Establishing this one rule will make it much easier to enforce limits on activities such as screen time and instant messaging.
- 5-Minute Bedroom Checklist. Use the Reward System to build this habit.
a. Make bed
b. Clothes in closet, drawer, or laundry basket
c. Shoes “parked”
d. Toys, books, games put away
- Have fun! Play “Beat the Clock” or use friendly competition to see who can finish tidying their room first. As the kids get better at keeping their rooms tidy, the 2-Minute Rule will make it easier to maintain gains.
Before you begin #4 above (the 5-Minute Bedroom Checklist), you may need to devote some time to getting your child’s room into a reasonably de-cluttered state. To do that, follow the same bin sorting procedure I described for the kitchen.
