Time To Get Organized

The crocuses are blooming and it’s finally (or so we hope!) time to put away snow pants, mittens, skis and sleds. This is an important time to not only get yourself and your home organized but for your kids as well. 

Toys, Toys Everywhere: After a winter of inside activities and holidays it’s likely that some new toys have joined your family so spring is a natural time to decide what to keep and what to donate or toss. Help your child assess what old games are too babyish or have missing pieces and clear them out. This goes for puzzles and stuffed animals too. Many children have what might be considered “hoarding tendencies” so teaching them how to let go of things from time to time is a healthy and important skill they will need as they grow to adulthood. 

The Dreaded Winter/ Summer Clothing Switch: How do you store your child’s out of season clothes? We do not have a lot of closets in our home so we have found plastic under bed storage boxes to be crucial. We keep our twin’s summer t-shirts in one large under bed box next to another full of shorts. Since both boys wear almost the same sizes this makes summer dressing a breeze. They take a t-shirt from one box and a pair of shorts from the other and they’re good to go. Instead of taking all of their winter clothes out of their dressers and switching them with summer stuff, we just keep them stored there year round to save us that harrowing project. Socks and undies remain in the same drawer year round and pajamas go into another communal under bed box. This method works for us and may work for you as well.   

Fall Pants Are Now Clam Diggers: Spring is another excellent time to see if your child has grown out of any clothes. My kids do not like trying on clothing for more than a few minutes so I find an outfit that fits each boy well, then I hold up other clothes to that outfit to determine what is too small and needs to be donated or handed down to another family. There may be some items they have to try on to size their waists in particular but this method works in general.

Reassess The Bedroom: We recently rearranged our boys’ bedrooms to mix it up a bit. During this process we assessed, along with them, how the furniture was arranged and did it make sense for them? Two of my sons share a room so being in agreement is key.  Are there things in the room that might not belong and would be better utilized in a play room or other space? Do they have a tremendous amount of visual clutter with loud colors and stimulating items that might interfere with a good night’s rest?

These are areas to consider when helping your family get organized.

Laura Richards  is a Framingham-based freelance writer but she also works as lead organizer for a professional organizing company based in Waltham.