How to Clean a Child'S Room

Teaching your child to keep his room clean can be a true challenge. Sometimes it's best to surprise him with a clean room, and teach him to keep in clean from there. Here's how you can clean your child's room in little time.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 2 Large Cardboard Boxes
• Stackable Storage Containers (various shapes and sizes)
• Camera
• Tape

1. Clean out. Children outgrow their clothes so quickly. Sift through your child's closet and dresser drawers to remove outgrown clothing. Children's clothing always sells great at yard sales or on online auctions. Some cities and towns have children's resale shops, which are excellent outlets to sell outgrown items. Place outgrown clothing in a cardboard box to be able to keep separate.

2. Donate. Just as you have sorted through outgrown clothes, do the same with outgrown toys. Explain to your child that some children are less fortunate than they are, and those children would love to have new toys to play with. Make sure that the toys are in good condition. Find a good charity organization that will accept the toy donations, such as the battered women and children's home or homeless shelter. Allow your child to collect unused toys into a cardboard box.

3. Organize. Now that the room's excess has been cleared, develop simple organizational methods for your child to follow each day. Put like toys in plastic storage containers, and take a picture of the contents of each container. Adhere the picture to the box so that your child will know where all of their toys are stored. Under bed storage boxes are great as well, where things are "out of sight and out of mind". Under the bed is a great place to store blankets and out of season clothes and toys.

4. Use all extra space. If your child has a shelf extending across their closet, make use of it. Place toys that are not played with frequently into large stackable containers, and store in closet.

5. Save artwork and papers. If your child has a collection of artwork and papers completed at daycare or school, store them in stackable containers as well. Sort by age, grade or year. Keep the important, high achieving papers, but toss the rest. Teach your child the importance of sorting and tossing by going through unnecessary piles of papers.

6. Maintain organization. Teach your child the importance of being tidy. Explain to him that it is easier to find things to play with if he knows exactly where the toys are located.

Tips & Warnings

• Set up a reward system for your child when they have kept their room tidy for a certain period of time.
• Don't make cleaning seem like a miserably chore. Make it into a fun adventure.