Getting Organized with Children

By Cathy Haynie
Jackson Christian Family

I often hear Moms say that children are one of the hardest parts about getting organized and staying organized. Here are some ideas to make life easier with children around your house.

Dot to Dot
If you have a large family and tend to pass down clothes from one child to the next, instead of writing names in the tags, try dots. Draw one dot in the tags of your oldest child, two in the next, then three, and so forth. When you pass down an article of clothing, simply add another dot.

Set the Table Place Mats
To teach young children to set the table, try this simple project. First, purchase an inexpensive vinyl placemat for each member of your family. Using paper goods, trace a place setting on each placemat. Place all of the dishes in a pile on your table along with the placemats, and children can set the table like a matching game. The fork goes on the drawing of the fork; the plate goes on the drawing of the plate. A child as young as two years old can set the table with a simple tool like this and have fun doing it!

Shoe Bags
You can sort more than shoes in an inexpensive shoe bag sorter (clear is especially helpful). Hang a shoe bag on the back of a bathroom door for sorting hairbrushes, hair bows, and other bathroom products. Use these bags for small stuffed animals, dolls, or action figures. They even work in other parts of your home for gardening supplies, paintbrushes, or other hobby supplies. Use them in your closets for scarves, belts, or, of course, shoes!

Dishwasher Doors
Let even your two-year old help unload the dishwasher. Remove the knives first. Then, place your silverware caddy from your drawer directly on the door of your open dishwasher. Pull out the bottom rack just so that he can reach the silverware. This makes the unloading job manageable for even the youngest of helpers.

Block Building Blanket
If you have a block builder in your home, you might want to try this for quick cleanup. Spread out a large blanket for your child to sit on while playing with any size connecting blocks. When it is time for cleanup, make sure all of the blocks are on the blanket and bring the four corners to the center. Tie the blanket in a knot and put it away. Pull it out the next time your child is ready to build again.

The Help-Wanted Board
Try covering a bulletin board with “want ads” and adding the words, “HELP WANTED” across the top for a fun way to offer your children ways to earn extra money. Then, on index cards write out descriptions for age appropriate jobs and what you will pay for each job. Anytime a child wants extra money or just seems “bored”, have them pick a job from the job board. Washing the car, weeding the flowerbed, cooking dinner, washing windows, raking leaves, or any special project can find its way to your job board and put a little spending money in their pocket.

Chore Albums
Try taking photos of your child doing the jobs you want her to do each Saturday and assemble them in an inexpensive album. Make sure your staged photos catch a smile; then on Saturday, pass out your chore books for an easy to do list. The child does the jobs in the picture, smile and all. This is an easy approach to delegating and prevents forgetful excuses.

Trip Tour Guide
This is a job your computer savvy teen might not even mind. Before a vacation ask your child to research your destination. He can find all of the restaurants, sight seeing spots, and local attractions easily via the Internet. If you divide parts of your trip between multiple children in your family, you will have instant tour guides when you reach your destination.

Double Layer the Bed
Double layer your potty-training child’s bed by covering the mattress with a plastic, waterproof fitted sheet. Then, cover with a regular fitted sheet. Repeat the layer by adding a second waterproof fitted sheet and then a second regular fitted sheet. Once you have the double layers in place, continue making the bed as usual. If your child has an accident, take off the first layer and put your child back to bed without having to remake the bed in the middle of the night.

Crayons to the Doctor
The next time you head to the doctor’s office with children, bring along some crayons. When you are waiting for your doctor in a patient treatment room, let your child color all over the white paper with crayons (not ink pens!) We like to trace the outline of a child, letting them decorate the picture with all kinds of funny clothes and facial expressions.

Ideas for Keeping Art Work
Try storing a child’s artwork in a poster pocket by taping two pieces of poster board together on three sides. Label the pocket with the current year and store a year’s favorites in the pocket. This fit nicely behind the door or under the bed. Another idea is to purchase inexpensive acrylic box frames that artwork can be popped in and out of easily to showcase in the child’s room. A thin bulletin board strip can be mounted to the garage wall to post artwork for you to admire as you come and go in the car. Finally, one Mom suggests a bulletin board to display art for the month. Take a picture of the bulletin board at the end of the month and then discard. 12 monthly photos are placed in a scrapbook, while only a few special pieces of artwork are actually kept. The best tip for storing artwork or other items of this nature is to designate a place to keep it, when it is full, don’t keep anymore or throw one out in favor of another selection.

Collections
If your child of any age has a collection of some sort, consider adding a shelf at the top of the room (just above doorways) the length of the wall. This will display most any sort of collection: trophies, dolls, collectible toys, etc. If his collection happens to be athletic jerseys or T-shirts, maybe you will make throw pillows for a sports theme bedroom, or try making a special quilt.

Bunk Bed Linens
Bunk beds are hard to make, so here is an easy approach to covers for your child’s bed. Cut an old comforter down to a more narrow size for the bed. Make a duvet cover out of two sheets that match a decorative fitted sheet. The child simply folds the sheet duvet down in the morning for a neat looking bed.
Cathy Haynie and her husband, Jack, have three children and live in Madison. Cathy is the Headmaster of Christ Covenant School in Ridgeland. She occasionally speaks to women’s groups on Honoring God in the Home and Balancing Work and Home. Contact her at chaynie@christcovenantschool.net.

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March 1, 2006
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