Getting Your Kids Organized

9:05 pm 03/08/2010

Inspire your kids to hang up wet towels, make their beds and put away their toys—all without nagging!

Make the wardrobe reachable.

Install a clothes bar in the closet that’s low enough for your child to reach the hangers. As your child gets taller, raise the bar accordingly, and as a New Year’s ritual, record each new level and year with a marker on the wall. It’s fun for children to look back and see how their grasp has grown!

Simplify bed making.

The habit of daily bed making can be instilled early, but it’s unreasonable to expect a young child to remake a complicated bed every morning. Comforters are a great solution—they’re so easy to toss on. And keep pillows to a minimum. Also, create a laundry day and request that all family members deposit their dirty sheets in one place.

Install swingable towel bars.

Everybody needs his or her own towel and towel bar. Invest in towel holders that hide behind the bathroom door, with hinges at different levels. Adults can use the top hinges; children can reach the lower ones.

Organize the accolades.

Create a special shelf mounted on the wall opposite your child’s bed to display his or her trophies, honours, special art projects or great test scores. That way, your child can fall asleep each night after a good look at all his or her positive accomplishments. It can inspire sweet dreams!

Compartmentalize large toy boxes.

Small toys and toy pieces often get lost in those big cabinets, so organize them by using Ziploc^® brand Freezer Bags with the Smart Zip™ Seal. You won’t forget what’s inside, because they are transparent and have a write-on label. You can also keep a “lost and found” for toys in the kitchen drawer using Ziploc® brand Slider Storage Bags with the Smart Zip™ Seal.

Give rubber ducky a home.

Store your children’s bath toys in a caddy mounted with suction cups on the tub wall. Make sure you place it low enough so your child can reach it. And encourage your child to place the toys back in the caddy right after his or her bath. If you don’t have the space for this, use a few Ziploc® brand Slider Storage Bags with the Smart Zip™ Seal instead.