Organize Your Children & Save Your Sanity

It may be difficult to relate saving money with organization but the two terms really go hand in hand. If you are able to organize right down to the smallest detail, then not only will you save yourself countless panic headaches, but you will have more time on your hands allowing yourself to be more productive and get more accomplished.

Organizing your own personal belongings can be a daunting task in itself, however if you're also trying to take care of all your children's things, it can be an overwhelming, impossible task .

When children are old enough and capable, they have a responsibility to take care of their own belongings. This includes (but not limited to) toys, clothes, bathroom items, sports equipment, and of course school books and supplies. It should not be the parents' responsibility to clean their child's room, or pick up their wet towels off the bathroom floor. How is this teaching children to be responsible for their own belongings?

If we teach our children HOW to be organized, this will lead to a more productive and hopefully a more responsible child in school and at home. However take note, if you expect your children to be well organized, you must also do the same to provide a good example, or "model", for them. As the saying goes "practice what you preach" :-)

For the time being, we will focus on ideas to help organize your children's plethora of gadgets, toys, clothes, games, and whatever else may be piled up on the closet floor or under the bed.

Color Coordinate Everything
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The most important idea to incorporate in your family lifestyle is to color coordinate everything. Regardless of how many children you have, assign each one a specific color ie: green, red, yellow, orange, etc...

The color you assign each of your children will go on every item that belongs to them. You will need to get a permanent marker in each of your kid's colors so you can mark/dot each and every item they own.

Here's a list of the most common items you'll want to start out with. Use this list as a starting point to help harvest ideas that are relevant in your family's lifestyle.

- clothes
- toys
- towels
- bathroom utensils
- closet
- shoes
- games
- puzzles
- sports equipment

With their items, simply put a small colored dot/mark in an inconspicuous area. For example, socks-dot the toe or heel; shirts-dot the collar tag; puzzles-dot the back of each piece; toothbrushes and towels- purchase these in each of your children's assigned color.

Once everything is color coded, you can then quickly scan rooms and bathrooms and see which one of your little angels has left things out of place.

To quickly reinforce this new organization method, simply make the rule that if you find items haphazardly strewn about, you'll deduct 25 or 50 cents from their allowance. If that isn't relative, they can always earn additional work like washing a dish per item that is left out or "doggie clean-up duty". After a few times, your children will start picking up after themselves since they hate to lose money and play time, right?

** Again, these are merely suggestions. Adapt and change these practices as you see fit.

Organizing Their Closet Space and Room
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Let's face it, children are learning by trial and error unless they have someone or something to model after. So naturally, they are going to make their choices and decisions on what they think is best.

If your child(ren) haven't had much success maintaining an organized closet, maybe it would be best to start from scratch. However, before you clear out their closet completely to start reorganizing, first observe what seems to be the problem area. Are their clothes scattered on the ground? Are toys out of place, thrown here and there? What seems to be the messiest?

Each child will have different needs that have to be addressed in order to have a clean, organized closet/room. Just like you wouldn't ask a guitarist to play the guitar with only two strings, you can't expect a child to put his/her things away unless he or she has an actual "place" or container to put the stuff in.

Take the time to teach your children where their "stuff" goes. If they have trouble remembering, label the containers or areas as needed. You may need to buy some rubbermate containers from BigLots (PicNSave). Better yet, you can often find containers for a dollar at the 99cent store or the Dollar Tree (if you haven't been to one of these stores yet, you are missing out on a ton of deals!)

Weekly Review
~~~~~~~~~~~~

Once you have organized, color coded, and explained the new procedures/laws that will now be enforced, have a "weekly review" time where you can sit down with your child(ren) for 5-10 minutes. This would be the time when you go over what you liked throughout the week, and areas they may still need to work a little bit on.

Keep in mind that children will need to be reminded about the procedures you expect them to follow, so don't get frustrated if they do not do a perfect job the first week or two. This is a process that may take some time to internalize, but once it's learned, your life, and your children's lives, will be much more fluid and organized.

Gregory Thomas, editor of http://www.SavingSecrets.com - has written hundreds of effective money-saving tips, strategies, and articles over the past 6 years. Visit their website and you'll find FREE money-saving articles, a monthly newsletter, and even a FREE Ebook download just for stopping by!

---

Google News Updated : Sun, 12 Oct 2008 17:51:10 GMT US-POLITICS Summary - Washington Post USA Today US-POLITICS Summary Washington Post - 2 hours ago WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrat Barack Obama has opened a 6-point lead over Republican rival John McCain in the US presidential race, according to a Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby poll released on Sunday. John McCain and Sarah Palin try new tactics Los Angeles Times Pittsburgh Paper Picks Obama, Pans on McCain/Palin Ticket FOXNews Dallas Morning News - Seattle Times - KXMC - San Francisco Chronicle all 1,680 news articles Publ.Date : Sun, 12 Oct 2008 15:22:18 GMT Stem cell promises, obstacles remain four years after bill's approval - San Jose Mercury News Stem cell promises, obstacles remain four years after bill's approval San Jose Mercury News - 1 hour ago EDITOR'S NOTE: This is first of a two-part series examining the progress and potential pitfalls in California's $3 billion stem cell research program. Researchers find easier way to make stem cells Reuters India New method generates stem cells safely from mice Reuters Chicago Tribune - Bloomberg - Houston Chronicle - The Daily Yomiuri all 68 news articles Publ.Date : Sun, 12 Oct 2008 16:34:39 GMT Obama Gains in States Such as Iowa, Florida Give National Boost - Bloomberg BBC News Obama Gains in States Such as Iowa, Florida Give National Boost Bloomberg - 1 hour ago By James Rowley and Kristin Jensen Oct. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is moving ahead in a series of new polls from Florida to Iowa, gains that are helping him maintain a national lead over Republican John McCain. Video: Kids Vote On Campaign '08 CBS Newsday poll: Obama has double-digit lead on Long Island Newsday Orlando Sentinel - New York Times - Reuters - Detroit Free Press all 2,708 news articles Publ.Date : Sun, 12 Oct 2008 15:51:54 GMT "Chihuahua" bites Crowe, DiCaprio at box office - Reuters "Chihuahua" bites Crowe, DiCaprio at box office Reuters - 1 hour ago LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The new terrorism thriller "Body of Lies" failed to take the top spot at the weekend box office in North America on Sunday, becoming the latest victim of moviegoer aversion to movies dealing with Middle East intrigue. 'Chihuahua' still has bite in second weekend at box office USA Today ‘Body’ Talk, Baby Talk Business Mirror Fort Wayne Journal Gazette all 21 news articles Publ.Date : Sun, 12 Oct 2008 16:19:10 GMT Texas new No. 1 in coaches poll after wild college football weekend - USA Today News 8 Austin Texas new No. 1 in coaches poll after wild college football weekend USA Today - 32 minutes ago By Eddie Timanus, USA TODAY The date won't quite live in infamy, but college football followers should remember Oct. 11, 2008, for a long time. Kansas fails to move up in polls KUsports Texas grabs top ranking in AP Poll Louisville Courier-Journal The Huntsville Times - al.com - Austin American-Statesman - The Birmingham News - al.com - Nittany Lines all 13 news articles Publ.Date : Sun, 12 Oct 2008 17:18:35 GMT Lisa Marie Presley delivers twins: report - Reuters Reuters Lisa Marie Presley delivers twins: report Reuters - Oct 11, 2008 LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Lisa Marie Presley, Elvis Presley's only child, gave birth to twin baby girls on October 7, celebrity news TV show "Entertainment Tonight" said on its website on Saturday. Twin girls for Lisa Marie Presley BBC News Lisa Marie Presley Welcomes Twin Girls E! Online eFluxMedia - People Magazine - Associated Content - USA Today all 652 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 17:17:01 GMT Spotlight on Apple notebooks: 1989 to 2008 - CNNMoney.com Washington Post Spotlight on Apple notebooks: 1989 to 2008 CNNMoney.com - 2 hours ago On Tuesday, Oct. 14, Apple will unveil the latest addition to a long line of portable computers that dates back nearly 20 years - to the ungainly, 15.8-pound “Macintosh Portable” that PC World named the 17th worst technology product of all time. This week in Apple: New notebooks, new writers, and more Woz Ars Technica Don't Buy A Mac Laptop* Washington Post New York Times - eFluxMedia - CRN - Wall Street Journal all 185 news articles Publ.Date : Sun, 12 Oct 2008 15:23:15 GMT Rss Feed Reader Increase Web Traffic

PARLOT::Ebooks, Scripts, Websites, and more...

Adsense websites

10 Easy Tips for Digging Out Your Desk Today

Has your polished mahogany (or modular plastic) desk been buried... Read More

Until We Go Paperless

From time to time I hear this question from an... Read More

How To Organize Your Paperwork

Many people have a huge challenge coping with the incoming... Read More

Organizing Tips to Help You Conquer the Laundry Monster

Laundry. You sort, you wash, you fold, you blink ?... Read More

Clutter Campaign - Commit Your Time

Decide When And Where To StartDecide when and where to... Read More

Making Space - Letting Go of Clutter

To make room for new things to come into you... Read More

10 Tips for a More Organized Morning

1. Teach your children to use an alarm clock or... Read More

Getting Organized - Getting Fit

In a speech entitled "Organized Living in a Disorganized World"... Read More

Organisation - Getting Back To Basics

If you look at any major organisation, there is this... Read More

3 Simple Filing Guidelines

One of the most basic ways to find papers when... Read More

Feeling Overwhelmed and Unorganized? - How to Use Index Cards to Organize Your Life

Feeling Overwhelmed and Unorganized? - How to Use Index Cards... Read More

10 Common Roadblocks to Getting Organized

1. All or nothing thinking/taking on too much." I'm going... Read More

Feng Shui Guidlines for Storage Spaces

Professional organizers and helpful-hint sources often recommend storage solutions such... Read More

Organize Your Children & Save Your Sanity

It may be difficult to relate saving money with organization... Read More

Files vs Piles

I recently read an article that had some interesting but... Read More

Spring Makeovers: Organizing Tips for the Home and a Virtual Makeover for You

Winter is starting to retreat, and hints of Spring are... Read More

Organization Tips - How to Organise Your Computer Files

Everytime Mary had to find a file on her computer,... Read More

After the Clutter: 5 Steps to a New Daily Routine

I've noticed that in the two years since the major... Read More

Organized Living in a Disorganized World

We are bombarded with so many factors that perpetuate disorganization.... Read More

Clutter-Clearing and Your Authentic Self

Have you ever felt so discouraged, your life so out-of-control,... Read More

Basic Organizing Principles

So you've decided to get organized, but you just don't... Read More

9 Simple Strategies for Home Organization

Home organization means being able to find your stuff when... Read More

Declutter Your Home in 11 Easy Steps

Feeling overwhelmed at the thought of organizing your home? Start... Read More

The Clutter Factor: From Packrativity to Productivity

? Are you embarrassed when you walk into your home... Read More

Calendars and Personality Type

I recently conducted a survey to look at the relationship... Read More