Now that back to school season is right around the corner, September is more the start of a new year than January for some. With that comes school supplies, new clothes and resolutions for the upcoming school year. If organizing is one of your September resolutions, use this guide to tackle some of the clutter so everyone in your household can start the year off on the right foot.
Estelle Gee, owner of Orderly Lives says organization creates predictability and safety for a child. Too much clutter is over-stimulating, so having an organized workspace enhances a person's creative potential.
The perfect workspace
"Most children don't want to come home from school and sit at a desk again to do homework," says Gee "they want feedback from their parents while they work."
Instead of jumping on the back-to-school bandwagon and purchasing a desk for your child's room, consider using the kitchen table or the family room as a workspace. Gee recommends equipping the space with a drawer or rolling cart with school supplies so there's no need to wander the house looking for scissors or pencil crayons during homework time.
Clutter-free bedroom
Although your child may not be using their room to work they will still spend a significant amount of time there throughout the school year.
The first step to reducing clutter is to analyze the furniture in your child's room. Are they utilizing everything? Gee says many parents strongly encourage their children to read but she rarely sees enough bookshelves in a child's room.
Older kids prefer working at a desk, but a desk in a younger child's bedroom usually just becomes a laundry and clutter magnet. Consider substituting the desk for some shelves or a comfy reading area instead.
Getting dressed is usually what takes the most time in the morning (especially for girls), so take a good look at your child's closet to ensure they're utilizing as much of that space as possible. For instance, Gee says she normally sees one hanging rod in most closets, but young boys especially don't own many clothes that need to be hung. Consider replacing it with a set of drawers to get the most use out of the space.
Maintaining
Now that your home is de-cluttered for the fall, Gee points out that a magic fairy won't keep it that way for you.
She recommends creating a concrete organizing-system using containers for like-objects. Another bit of clutter that usually gets over-looked is old school work and art projects. This is the time of year to go through last year's school projects and purge. Consider laminating the artworks you wish to keep so they don't get damaged over time.
Gee suggests getting your children involved in this process. By assigning each child a memento box and dating everything that goes into it, you'll help them hold onto wonderful childhood memories.
One place that gets overlooked in the de-cluttering process is usually your child's locker. Although it isn't part of your house, it does act as a home away from home while your child is at school, so invest in removable locker shelves, magnetized clips and other organizing accoutrements for this space.
Maintaining an organized space doesn't need to be like pulling teeth. Dedicate a little time to it every day and you'll soon notice a huge difference later in the year.
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