Summer Organizing

Having summer fun is great! I love that there is time now for summer field trips and activities. But, I also want my kids to know that there are other aspects to this summer break thing. This is when we can get in some work time. Part of a parent's job is to train their children how to become independent and contribute to the family. This will be a great start.

The first project we will take on this summer is having them organize their stuff. There's a really helpful article on Cozi with tips on how to teach organization to your kids. You can look that over for ideas too.

This is how organizing usually goes at our house:

Turn on some fun music to keep everyone moving and upbeat. Pull out everything in the closet, from under the bed, and from all of those other stashes of stuff. Put it all in a big pile.

Then set out three boxes labeled: Keep, Trash, and Give Away.

• Let your child sort through their things and decide where they belong. If they choose to keep it, then it needs a home. They can put it away right then, or if it belongs in another room, put it in the keep box.
• Explain that some things need to be thrown in the trash or given away. A lot of school worksheets and little trinkets are no longer interesting to keep around. As they pick up an item, ask them to think about the last time they used it. Do they really need it or would it be better to give it to someone who really would use it?
• If they just don't want to part with school projects, you can find a special box or folder to store them in. But, tell them that they can only keep what fits, so they need to decide which papers are the most important. As an alternative, you can also have a photo shoot of the child holding each piece of artwork. It's a better way to store the memories if you're short on space.
• The next thing to do is put away the things in your keep box.
• When everything has been sorted, take out the trash and close up the give away box. If you leave it open, chances are the kids will start rummaging through it and change their minds on things. Now put the box in the garage, or better yet, in the trunk of the car to deliver to your local thrift store. All done!