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Step 1
Set a good example. Keep your own room organized, and make it a household rule that beds are made every morning and floors picked up every evening. Follow and enforce this rule.
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Step 2
Involve your children in setting up their own rooms. Make it easy for them to put away--and later find--their own stuff.
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Step 3
Don't worry that the kids' rooms aren't designer showplaces. That's not the goal. Instead, create spaces that encourage them to play, relax and study.
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Step 4
Teach children to group similar items together (art materials, cars, puzzles) and how this makes it easier to find things later.
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Step 5
Label liberally. See 57 Live Better Through Labeling.
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Step 1
Establish good habits at an early age. Toddlers love to have jobs to do and can learn to put their toys away.
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Step 2
Make the closet kid-friendly by lowering the rod and using kid-size hangers. Use open bins or baskets on the closet floor for socks, underwear and pajamas.
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Step 3
Put a wide-mouth laundry hamper near the closet or dresser to keep dirty clothes off the floor.
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Step 4
Install rounded (not sharp!) hooks in the closet or on a wall for hanging clothes, backpacks, hats and such. Hang buckets that hold small toys, socks or other little things.
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Step 5
Make bed-making easy by using a fitted bottom sheet with a covered comforter instead of the usual sheets and blankets. To make the bed, the child just needs to shake out the comforter and fluff the pillows.
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Step 6
Cover part of a wall with corkboard to display your kid's artwork, photographs, certificates and such. Or hang a rope (above head level) between windows and use clothespins to hang artwork. Put a coat of chalkboard paint on one wall and keep a bucket of chalk handy.
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Step 7
Rotate toys. Put a selection of infrequently used toys in seethrough plastic bins and store them in an out-of-the way place (perhaps the high shelves in the closet) for several months. Label and date the boxes, and switch out some of the toys every few months. Rotate toys between friends and relatives, too.
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Step 1
Talk to your teenagers. Show them how organizing their room will improve their lives. They'll have more free time and be less stressed when they know where to find everything. See 1 Get Organized.
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Step 2
Set up a desk for homework. Make sure it has a large work surface, proper lighting, storage for supplies, a filing system, a comfortable chair and computer space (see 281 Create a Schedule for Family Computer Use). Also set aside flop space for reading. Make sure both areas have sufficient electrical outlets for the computer, stereo, games and other plug-ins.
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Step 3
Get a two-drawer file cabinet that doubles as a side table. It's never too early to teach your children how to store and file their paperwork (see 185 Create a Flawless Filing System). Emphasize that they can design their systems anyway they want--not how you want them to.
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Step 4
Put up enough shelves--either bookcases or wall-mounted shelves--to hold all your kids' things: books, music equipment, CDs, videos, stuffed animals, electronics, trophies and lots and lots of odds and ends. Put up a photo wall of corkboard or foam-core panels that they can pin photos, posters and magazine covers to their heart's content.
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Step 5
Install a high shelf about a foot (30 cm) below the ceiling on one or more walls to store treasured but infrequently handled collectibles or memorabilia.
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Step 6
Put a wide-mouth laundry hamper near the closet or dresser to keep dirty clothes off the floor. Install a basketball net above the hamper to encourage accurate shooting from 3-point range.
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Step 7
Mount a full-length mirror on the back of the door. This will encourage the cherubs to keep the space behind the door clear and give them a place to check their appearance before entering the world.
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Step 8
Respect your teenagers' privacy within the bounds of your house rules. If you promise not to enter their rooms when they're not around, stick to your word.
