Food for thought: tidy your room!
How often do we parents say this to our children? Even in our own childhood, it was a constant topic...
Millions of adults are currently reading the bestsellers by tidying guru Marie Kondo and other tidying guides because they don't know exactly how to do it. Keeping things tidy is not that easy. Especially not in today's hectic times, when most people have far too many things...
But we expect our children to get it right?!?
As a certified tidying coach, I advise them to tidy up together with their children, and preferably on a daily basis. Tidying up children's rooms is a real challenge, because nowhere else in the house is so much new stuff constantly appearing. And often there are many small, very different things for which you have to find a "home". So that brings us to my first absolutely most important tip -
Every thing gets a home. After playing or using it, it is always returned to the same place. In this way, we keep track of things and know where they are and what we have.
And this is how it's done, so that the children's room is finally tidy:
- Remove broken toys or toys that your child never plays with or are no longer age-appropriate.
- Go through all the books and get rid of those that are either no longer beautiful, no longer age-appropriate or will never be looked at.
- Go through puzzles, games and craft stuff. Throw away what is not complete. What never gets played with also gets disposed of. (By dispose of, I don't necessarily mean throw away. It can also be taken to Broki, given away or sold).
- Clean out the children's drawings and create a folder with the favourites. Put the best drawings here. If there is no more room in it, a few older works of art have to go.
- Sort: everything that belongs together goes in one place (Lego, dolls, train tracks etc). Think about whether they need more storage space (boxes, shelves, etc.). The child should be able to reach the things easily. The floor should be as free as possible. Picks may also help. Create small boxes for small items. Shoe boxes or similar can also be used.
- Finally, go through the new order with your child. Explain and show the child where things are. Things should be labelled (symbols help with pre-school children) so that everyone knows where things belong.
- Tip for the end: think about whether you want to rotate the toys? For example, you can store a few things in the cellar. After a few months, your child will think they are a brand new toy.
