When it comes to organizing your child’s room, I can not stress the importance of having the child on board. If you are going to organize their room, they need to know about it and they need to be there! Many times I have had parents tell me that the child’s room was such a disaster that they just went in, cleaned it up, and totally organized it. Then within a week the room looks like it was never done…..

The reason your child needs to be on board is that if they feel that their space has been invaded, they are not going to keep it organized – it’s a rebellious gesture. Your child needs to be present because it is their belongings after all. Your child will most likely not be your clone so their personality and uniqueness has to be taken into consideration .You will need their input as to where things should be located or organized. The organization of their room must be convenient for them, not you. Several factors come into play here. Items that are frequently used must be easily accessible, favorite collections need to be displayed according to the child’s preference, and storage containers used must be appealing to the child or none of this works.

Plan a day with you child where you both go in and sort items in the room into like piles and while doing so, talk about how the child envisions their room being set up. Think of the room in terms of “centers”, or areas of activity: the dressing/laundry area, the study area, the storage area, the hang out area or play area (depending on your child’s age). After listening, offer helpful suggestions. Give the child two or three choices in how things could be set up. Let them make the decision as to which solution they like the best. Although it is your ideas, they feel like they have some control. After the sorting and discussion has taken place, talk about getting rid of things and how donations can help others in need. Plan to regularly recycle things that don’t get used or that don’t fit any longer.

When putting the room back together, reuse containers that work and then go shopping, as a team, to get anything else needed to organize the room. There are a ton of storage options out there but here are three things to remember: 1) the containers must be easily stored and accessed; 2) the containers should be large enough that once the intended items are placed inside, there is still approximately 25% empty space for later additions; and 3) label the containers.

Involving your child in their room reorganization will greatly improve the chances of it remaining organized. Another tip for maintaining the room is to check the child’s room weekly for a few months, reminding the child where they decided things should be kept and having them put things away. Keeping up on their room weekly should become a habit you enforce and a valuable life lesson that will follow them into adulthood.