It may seem impossible to keep your home organized when you have messy kids. You pick up after them only to find their toys on the floor again an hour later. You put a chore wheel on the fridge, and it gets covered by artwork and report cards. It might seem like no matter what you do, your house will never be clean. True, part of having kids is dealing with a mess and accepting that your home will rarely be pristine. However, you can still implement a few changes that will at least help you keep things organized. Read the following tips if you need to add a little order to the chaos around your home, and finally get organized.

Keep Toys Visible and Accessible

Did you ever wonder why your kids drag their toys out of the box after you put them away? That is because kids are visual. If they can’t see it, it doesn’t exist. The best way to keep kids from rummaging for toys and dumping out giant bins is to keep them visible and accessible. Place toys in clear bins without lids. Placing the bins in an open area where the kids can reach them will also make clean up time so much easier. Also, don’t fill the bin with so many toys that your child can’t glance in it and see what’s there—get more bins if you need them. Finally, keep favorite toys out. Place them on an open shelf, or on display.

Prune Back Clutter

Kids accumulate objects very fast. They outgrow everything from clothes to furniture to toys. Even books become age inappropriate quickly, especially as your child’s reading improves. Once a month, help your child go through clutter and get rid of things. Identify clothes that don’t fit and toys they don’t play with. Donate or toss items. You’ll be surprised at all the extra clutter that is sitting around the house that is taking up space and sabotaging your organization efforts. While older children can be in charge of getting rid of old homework and unfitting clothes, you will need to help younger kids decide what stays and goes, so they can eventually de-clutter on their own.

Assign Clutter Baskets

While it can be tough to get kids to put things exactly where they go, you can establish a system that will keep extra clutter off the floors and counters. Get baskets and assign a basket for each child by labeling them with colors, or writing their names on the baskets. When you’re going about your day and you find a toy, book, or article of clothing, put it in the coordinating basket. At the end of the day, give your kids their baskets and have them put away the contents. This keeps your home clutter free while teaching your children to put things away. With older children, you can have them put their own items in the basket so you aren’t doing the cleaning for them.  You might even reward your kids for having an empty basket to encourage them to put away toys throughout the day.

No More Monsters under the Bed

As a parent, you’ve likely had the unfortunate experience of asking your kids to clean their rooms, only to find that they shoved everything under the bed to make it look clean. And let’s be honest, plenty of us did that as kids too. While creating piles under the bed isn’t what you want, you can create an under-the-bed storage system that will free up space around the room, in the closet, and to help keep the floor clean. Put clear bins on wheels under your child’s bed as a place to store shoes, stuffed animals, or toys. You can even try using single shelves with backs to provide a little extra storage space. Providing bins or shelves will help keep things organized so that you don’t end up with a huge pile under the bed. 

Make Chores Fun and Rewarding

As children grow they want to feel independent and important. The best way to do this is to get them involved in chores. However kids also need chores that are fun and rewarding. Why not challenge them to pick up as many clothes as they can in two minutes? Whomever picks up the most clothes can pick a movie or television show. Although you may have tried reward systems, games, or even punishment, different children respond to different methods. Get creative with your approach to chores, and you might find it easier to get the kids involved.

Yes, keeping your house organized while kids are around might seem like Mission Impossible, but with a little creativity, it can be done. By making storage and organization more simple and accessible to your children, they can do a lot of the work and you won’t have to constantly clean up after them. It won’t be perfect, but any improvement will lighten your load. Plus, it’s always a good day when you don’t step on a Lego in your bare feet—isn’t it? The information for this article was provided by the professionals of Yellowhead Self Storage who offer storage units in Edmonton.

 How do you keep your house organized? Share your tips!