As some of you know, I have the youngest three girls in the same room. We put bunk beds in there and Delta and Emma share a bed. The sleep situation has been great. I'm hoping this will continue until Katia is old enough to move down stairs.
We have shelves in there to keep the toys and books on. I put the smaller toys in bins with labels to help with organizing these.
They have a walk in closet, so I keep the laundry hamper in there. We have shelves in the closet also to keep the shoes on so it isn't a big pile to dig through.
We will work together to clean it up sometimes, but lately it is me cleaning and them destroying. Here is what it looks like today, even though Saturday we had it spotless.
What can I do about them destroying in 5 minutes, what I cleaned in 30? I think 3 and 1/2 and almost 22 months is old enough to keep some semblance of organization. They dump out the bins and throw everything off the shelf. They will climb on the top bunk and throw the coats down. (I have bought over the door hangers to put on the end of each bed for us to use for coat racks. It works great!)
So here is what I need your help with: How can I get them to , first of all help, but then not make too big of a mess that we can't even walk to their beds? Thanks ahead of time for all your ideas. Pin It
8 comments:
Well, I am no child guru. I only have a 13 mo old :)I'll make a shot in the dark and share my dumb ideas.
Start small and make it fun. Like create a "cute" storage bin for the girls to put their toys in. Decorate the bin with their fav color, beads, pictures of things they like, etc. Then when it comes to clean up time, see how fast they can fill the "cute" bin. Make a game out of it and have a reward. Also, be sure to praise the girls as they clean. Single them out individually with compliments. Personalizing the storage bins may help as well. Because then you can say during clean up time, "Look, Delta's bin is fuller than yours, Emma." My thoughts are if you can at least get them to pick up a few items and they enjoy it, you can build from there.
Like I said, I don't know what I'm saying!! I hope you at least get a good laugh from me :) I don't mind. I'm sure more experienced mommies out there will have better advice for you than me.
best wishes,
Linda
I know what you mean! I used to have the same problem. I used to think, when my son was around 1 1/2, that he just didn't know how to clean up yet. Silly me. Until, I told him that if he wanted to (insert whatever here) he need to clean up his toys. And he did! On his 2nd birthday, we moved him into his finished room and I had everything organized. Sometimes SUPER organized and seperated. Like, his "Cars" cars seperated from his regular hotwheels. But, he gets it. He knows that everything has its place and it needs to go back before he gets something else out. Not that it never happens anymore. But, even if he takes every toy he owns out (which since Christmas is way too many for a child to own) its never more than 5 minutes to clean. EVERYTHING has it own box so it's just a matter of seperating and tossing in. So, how to keep you kid's room clean... Short of taking away all their toys... A lot of it is training, but kids will be kids. All you can do is make it easier for you because that's who it comes down to sometimes. I put toys with a lot of parts like my sons toolbox with TONS of screws up highest on his shelf, so he has to come to me to get it for him. Then I can say, well when the rest of your blocks are picked up I'll get it down for you. Gosh this is a novel! Anyway put the things that are the most time consuming to clean up out of reach. When they really want to play with it, they will have to clean up for it.
I wish that I could say that I had an answer for this! If you find one will you please let me know!
I hope this can help. I only know what I have experienced.
I am the oldest of 3 girls at home. When we were younger we had a huge game room with a ridiculous amount of toys. We could play, messup everything and have fun. My mom would come upstairs ahead of time and tell us it's time to clean up. I'm sure when we were little she made it a game. NOBODY could/would do anything else until it was all cleaned up. After awhile, we just KNEW it had to be cleaned. I remember one time I wanted to do something and my mom said "Sure, after you clean your room." That also helped-knowing she was going to make you do it at some point. I would say, sure, let them play but when it's time to clean up, it's time to clean up. Everybody has to help clean up the mess. THey'll learn not to make such a big mess. OH...my middle sister HATED when my mom would say, "I bet you can't pick THAT toy up!" She would have her whole room cleaned before my mom had the chance to do it. Good luck!
I like the idea of making a game of it. Set a timer, play some music, and see who can clean up most.
A sticker chart, maybe???
My girls do the same thing with their toys! :)
We have a toddler and what we do with her to keep the toy mess under control is that we split her toys into two bins (will be three soon because of Christmas - Grandparents don't care that you say "no new toys for Christmas"!). We rotate them out every couple of months. It helps cut down on boredom AND fewer toys = smaller mess. I hope this helps!
I have 4 little ones. We have started to do a 10 minute tidy at the end of the day and keep a chart. At the end of 7 days of check marks we have a treat. It could be me just making cookies or maybe going out for ice cream cones. But we all work together and usually it all gets clean in the ten minutes. We also don't have any screen time until rooms are clean. But the 10 minute tidy has been really great.
I think for a child that age it can be overwhelming to keep track of so many things and to organize, sort and clean up. It takes a lot more maturity than we think it does sometimes. I think rotating toys in and out of their room (maybe once a week or once a month) and limited the stuffed animals and things is a great first step towards helping them learn more responsibility. If they only have one bin of ponies and one of dolls, plus their clothes to clean up, it is easier to think about where things go. The more they have in there, the harder it is, in my opinion.
We've done the same thing in our family room with our regular toys. I have see-through bins for everything and we keep only a few bins out at a time. Messes are smaller and clean-up time is so much shorter.
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