I have a toddler…a three-year old little girl. And with all toddlers come a seemingly endless array of toys, dolls and games…with LOTS and LOTS of pieces. And of course, those pieces somehow end up between seat cushions, under and inside refrigerators, inside random drawers, in clothing (which usually don’t get discovered until after they’ve been washed and dried) or under my feet when I’m walking barefoot. Ouch!!! It comes with the territory of parenting I suppose but I’ll be darned if I’m going to let those bits and pieces of toys control my somewhat organized life.
So as I was helping my daughter clean up her room one day, I realized that we miraculously had almost every part to every toy…and most of these toys were a year and a half to three years old! Wow…that’s pretty impressive (as I pat myself and my daughter on our backs). Of course that got me thinking…if a three year old can keep track of her stuff and stay organized, so can we as adults, right? Right!
Nearly 350 pieces and only missing one magnetic letter...that's good!
So, let’s put our pride aside and learn a few lessons from a three year old on being organized:
1. Limit the number of toys (or projects) that you are playing with or working on. My daughter can only play with 2-3 toys at a time. I ask her to clean up before she’s allowed to play with something else. The same goes for adults. Try not to work on too many projects at once. I’m no longer a fan of multi-tasking because things get too jumbled on my desk and in my head! Stay focused on one project at a time and try cleaning up as you go…which leads us to lesson #2.
2. Clean up after yourself. We sing a song: “Clean up. Clean up. Everybody everywhere. Clean up. Clean up. Everybody does their share.” Ok, so you don’t have to sing this silly Barney song, but at least keep this idea in mind. If you’re moving from one project to the next (baking cookies in the kitchen…moving outside to repot plants…pulling out a load of laundry without folding it…pulling out tools to fix something in the house) all the while leaving a messy trail well, when it does come time to clean up, you’ll be so discouraged because now it’s going to take you an hour or so to clean….and no one likes to spend a lot of time cleaning. Believe me, if I let my daughter play with too many toys and then ask her to clean it all up, guess what…it ain’t happening. She gets bored after about the third or fourth toy and I’m stuck putting it away for her. That’s the potential danger of your messes…not cleaning them up as you go or worse yet, never getting around to cleaning up at all and then your mess gets bigger and bigger. Let’s not go there ok?
3. Designate a spot for everything. My daughter knows exactly where her toys go and boy will she let you know if it’s out of place. No, I haven’t created an organizing mini-me monster, it’s just that kids love organization. It makes them feel more empowered when they know what goes where…and they are proud as can be when you ask them to find something and they can! I think the ultimate goal of being organized is being able to find anything you own within a minute. There are few things more gratifying than being able to find anything you want without wasting time, effort and energy.
4. Make cleanup easy. Using open containers to store things is a key ingredient to having kids clean up after themselves. It’s much easier to toss an item into a basket or bin than having to lift a lid. Although this is a helpful tip for getting kids organized it works equally as well for adults. In the bathroom, the kitchen, a workshop, an office or garage, try using open bins to store your items and supplies. You can also make cleanup easy by using hooks, to hang up purses, belts, backpacks, coats, mops and brooms.
Clear Open Containers with Labels
5. Create rules and routines. If you’ve kept up with my posts you’ll know that I harp on this a lot…morning routines, nightly routines, homework routines, cleaning up after eating routines, etc. My daughter knows to scrape her plate, put the dishes in the sink and pick up any trash after she eats…without being told now! She even puts her dirty clothes in the hamper and knows to wash her hands after going potty! And it’s all thanks to routines. Creating rules and routines helps establish expectations so that you and other family members know who, what, when and why certain tasks need to be done and how. Knowing what is expected prevents you from wasting time, duplicating effort and trying to figure out who does what…which cuts down on bickering as well.
6. Limit the amount of stuff you own. I purge my daughter’s toys and clothes at least every six months and do the same for my own stuff as well. It makes it so much easier to clean up, put things away and keep track of all the stuff we own. Seriously consider purging your dressers, closets, toiletries, kitchen supplies, gargage tools, etc on a regular basis. It gives you an understanding of what you own, what you need or what you don’t need. Don’t allow your stuff to build up to the point of being burdensome (like not being able to use your garage or office because it’s piled high with stuff). If so, give me a call…I can help!!!
7. Reward yourself. If my daughter wants a snack or to go outside and play I make a deal with her. She’ll get the treat if she cleans up first. This works so well! Being diplomatic with your children is much easier than telling them no or bossing them around. Of course diplomacy can only go so far before someone has to take charge (but no politics here). My point is that you can reward yourself too. I use this tool daily to help keep me on track of important tasks. Sure I’d like to go read a really cool book or go for a 6 mile run (yes…that’s a reward), but I make myself tackle my to-do items first (which by the way I try to have only 3-5 important tasks to do per day…a great productivity tip). So do the same for yourself. Motivate yourself to get things done by rewarding yourself once you’ve completed your tasks.
Okay, so how was that? Not a bad lesson from a three year old right? It’s alright to learn a thing or two from a kid. I’ve already succumbed to the fact that my daughter is actually teaching me much more than I’m teaching her about life…patience, time-management, the importance of laughter, prioritizing, selflessness and much, much more.
