Organize + Energize: 4 Summer Organizing Projects for Kids

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Kristin MacRae, GoLocalWorcester Organizing Expert

How wonderful would it be if you never had to tell your kids to straighten their spaces again? Get them organized and create working organized systems and create a home for everything and your job as a parent will get easier. Summer is a great time to get your kids organized. If they are over the age of 5, get them involved. They won’t learn this skill set unless you introduce it to them.

What do you usually do with the kids on a rainy day in the summer? Now you will have something to do and it will take less than 4 days to complete these areas. You have 4 rainy days to spare this summer, right?

Before you begin to tackle the following areas, keep these questions in mind for your child:

How are you functioning in your room?

What systems are working, if any?

Do you have a place for everything in your room?

How are you handling the paper you bring home from school? Is it just thrown in a corner or is there a system to handle it?

Are you keeping track of project due dates and events, etc.?

Do you feel overwhelmed in any area of your life?

Here are 4 areas to tackle this summer:

Organize their bedroom. Can you remember the last time you emptied your kid’s clothes closets and bureaus? It’s time to go through every article of clothing. How about all of the baby books on their shelves? If they are 15 and still have those baby books on their shelves, it’s time to take inventory. It’s time to take inventory of their entire bedroom. Break the process down. Maybe one day you can focus on clothes and the next day you can focus on accessories and then bookshelves. Once you have decluttered, create a process and system for everything they touch in their room. Everything should have a home.

Create a homework space. I find that many kids like doing their homework at the dining room table or on the couch in the family room. Do they want a space of their own? Can they concentrate with all of the distractions in the dining room or family room? Wherever they would like to do their homework, carve out a small nook and set them up with everything they need to complete their homework. What types of supplies and filing systems do they need? There are so many great organizing supplies out there today. Once you figure out what they need to stay organized, take them on a shopping trip.

Organize their bathroom. Kids should have an organized space in the bathroom. Some kids have their own bathroom and that’s great, but make sure it’s organized. Empty the contents of the entire bathroom, declutter, categorize, itemize and organize to how they function. Having an organized bathroom will help your kids to become more efficient and productive in the morning.

Organize their toy room. If they are at the age where toys are taking over the home, it’s time to get them organized. Are there toys all over the home or are they corralled to one location in the home. Carve out a space for them and contain and organize the toys. There are great organizing products out there. Teach your kids to put toys back when they are finished playing with them. Start these routines when they are young and watch how the habits form and transfer to other areas of their lives.

Do you find your kids are asking you about getting organized? Are they craving structure? If you know you don’t have the organizational skill set, but you really want your kids to get organized, it may be time to call in a professional organizer who will work one-on-one with your kids. When your kids enter into college and into the workforce they will appreciate that you gave them the gift of getting them organized when they were young.

Kristin Carcieri-MacRae, the founder and owner of Organizing in RI, has always enjoyed finding creative ways to streamline the environment around her. She has appeared on air on Patricia Raskin's Positive Business Radio and her articles have been published in the Rhode Island Small Business Journal and New England Home Life. Kristin's CD, Organizing Basics, is a 1-hour guide for the person who wants to get organized but doesn't know where to start. She is also available for organizing workshops. Tune into her weekly radio show, Organize, Energize! on talkstreamradio.com.

Related Slideshow: 10 Minute Organizing Projects

Declutter and Organize

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Spices

As you take all of the spices out of the cabinet, check for expiration dates and smell for potency. Categorize and itemize your spices to how you utilize them. Contain them in a spice rack that fits the space where they are kept. Don’t purchase a spice rack until you are finished organizing. You want to measure the space and make sure the rack fits and holds all of your spices. There are a variety of spice racks out there. Choose the one that best suits what you need it to hold.

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Makeup

How many items do you touch in the morning to find what you need? You want to be as efficient as possible in the morning and having your makeup organized will be a big time saver. Do you have difficulty deciding what to keep or toss? When is it time to throw away makeup? Aline Sarkis, a Providence, RI-based makeup artist, states lipstick can be used for 2 years or until it starts to smell like a crayon. Mascara is good for 2-3 months. Eye shadow is good for 2 years and foundation is good for 1-2 years. Aline also states that some makeup and skincare will be marked with an expiration date of 6-12 months. Begin counting once you start using the product

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Women: Purse

Depending on the size of your purse, and what you keep in your purse, this may take you a little longer than 10 minutes. Empty the entire contents of the purse on a table. Declutter, categorize, and itemize the contents. Break this process down and take it one category at a time. Develop a system going forward so the inside of your purse doesn’t look like a cyclone hit it. Contain receipts, gift cards, money, and makeup.

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Men: Wallet

It’s time to empty all of the receipts out of your wallet. Do you also store receipts and random items in your car? While you are tackling this project, head over to your vehicle and declutter the center console and glove compartment.

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Underwear drawer

If you aren’t using drawer organizers, you should start now. They are very inexpensive and will maximize the space in the drawer. How many of you wear the same item over and over again? With drawer organizers in place, you will be able to see everything you own and can categorize and itemize. Nothing will ever get pushed to the bottom of the drawer again.

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Under the bathroom sink

If you haven’t taken everything out of this area in awhile, you may find some scary items under the sink. Empty the contents, itemize, and categorize. Throw away anything that you can’t recognize. Contain items in containers that fit the space like a puzzle. Once again, utilizing containers will maximize the space and allow you to store more items. Develop a simple system where you can locate items and locate them quickly.

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Pets

Ninety percent of my clients have a pet. It’s time to organize their belongings. Medicine, leashes, bandanas, clothes, dishes, food, etc. Take this time to also organize any paper work related to your pet. Set up a filing system for your pet. Keep their medical records, rabies and vaccination information categorized in these files.

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Junk drawer

Nobody says you can’t have a junk drawer. Junk drawers can be organized. You just have to think about if you need everything in this drawer and if there is a better place to store the items. Remember, store like items together. If you have tools in the junk drawer, maybe you should keep them with the tools in the basement.

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Office supply drawer

So many people have office supply drawers that are out of control. Money is wasted on purchasing duplicate office supplies. It’s very difficult to figure out what you need to purchase if items are scattered all over the office and are disorganized.

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Top of your office desk

If you can’t see the top of your desk, take this time to focus on this area and categorize and itemize what is there. Do you have a working filing system in place? If so, once your desk is cleared, make a habit of filing once a day or a couple of times a week. If your system isn’t working for you, it may be time for you to re-evaluate your system and make it work for the way you function.