As we wrap up our posts on systems that work for each of our families, we couldn’t end without including some of our favorite systems for organizing. We use these systems in our own homes and in the homes of so many families we serve.
We Get Being Parents…
I remember my early years of being an OT, and I would give these elaborate plans for organizing to parents and then feel confused about why they were not following through. It took about 1 month of being a mom for me to realize some of those plans were not practical at all.
I knew when I first became a mom that my occupational therapy skills would come in handy with my own kids. What I didn’t realize is how much being a mom would help me grow as an occupational therapist.
As most people that work in healthcare know, we love reading any and all things evidence based that support or educate us on topics we teach every day. My days of reading mystery books or getting lost in a story disappeared years ago. Sadly, I have only read one book for “fun” in the last decade. However, I am a total nerd and love reading about topics that help me grow as a healthcare professional. I laugh when my sister calls with a question about her kiddos, and I ask if she wants me to send her some research on a topic. Her reply is usually, “ no, that is why I am calling you because you already did the reading and I just need the 411 of what to do.”
Why we’re writing about organizing systems…
I am sure some reading this are wondering why two OT’s are writing a blog on organizational systems. It is because we are OTs we are writing a blog on this very topic. OT’s have years of training to look at the person as a whole and find root causes that are impacting areas of daily living. We use task breakdown, routine analysis, interview, standardized testing, and other forms of evaluation to see the whole picture and formulate a plan to help.
The environment we spend most of our time in plays a big part of our success. Think about your home and how much better it feels after you have picked up, cleaned, started a new method to stay on top of life vs just surviving in the chaos for days, months, or even years. It is heartbreaking to enter a home where families have been drowning in the chaos for years feeling like there was no way out. These systems help people’s physical and emotional wellbeing on so many levels.
We want to support your child and your whole family
Jamie and I work with so many families that have unique needs to support their child and family as a whole. Some families need help making there home accessible for a child that uses a medical stroller or wheelchair, some need to make their environment safe for their child with autism, some need ideas to support their child with ADHD in learning independence in everyday tasks, some need ideas to support their child that has sensory processing difficulties, and the list goes on and on.
Environments are can make such an impact!
I find that doing a deep dive of the child’s environment helps tremendously in giving environment adaptations to help the child succeed. This is one of the main reasons I love seeing children in their natural setting. I can see so much more and get to a solution much faster to ultimately help the child succeed. In my years of doing this, I have quickly realized that so many things I recommend are practical to use for most people. I have used many of the recommendations you are about to read in my own home. I read all the data and suggestions for intervention and try so many things in my own home. Some I quickly throw out because they truly are not practical for most families, and I will never recommend something that I can’t even carry out. However, I have found many tried and true methods that WORK!
It does take discipline and commitment to change old habits, but I love when families tell me this has changed our lives for the better in so many ways!
Motivate organizing by explaining the “why”
Kids often times struggle to find systems that work to keep their spaces and lives organized, and it is our job as parents to work with them to find systems that work. I always tell my kids why we are doing this. For example I say…
- it helps you know exactly where to find your toys;
- it helps you have a clean space to sleep the best you can;
- it helps keep your room less dusty so your allergies stay in check;
- it helps you know your assignments each week;
- it helps you know your activities each week;
- it helps to work as a family to get chores done so we have time for more fun activities.
Often we are so busy we forget to give an explanation of why we are doing what we do. Kids are more motivated when they know the why and feel a part of what is going on vs just told what to do.
We are real people too- we are not perfect at organizing
Jamie and I initially struggled to share any personal pieces. We feared how these pieces would be perceived. We are far from perfect individuals and make daily mistakes that we learn from and grow. On paper it likely appears that we have it together, but we are just like most and there are weeks that it looks like a tornado hit our house. I have finally gotten to a point to know that is alright. The systems to get the house and life back to baseline work, and we can pull it back together quickly when we have small gaps of time.
It took years for me to develop a system of organization that works for us. It has changed and grown with the ages of our kids to ultimately work towards them becoming more self-sufficient. If we help even one person develop one new system in their home, then all this time spent sharing is worth every second!
When I start home programming with families, I always start with making sure the environment supports the plan and help the families have the tools at hand to carry it out. It makes follow through so much easier when you are not scrambling for what you need and you can just grab and go.
Some of our Go-To Systems for Organizing
Organizing All Things Crafts:
This is where we keep all the things for projects and creative fun. My kids know where to return items after using them, and it makes it easy for me to just grab a bin. A few of my bins include: playdoh bin, kinetic sand bin, paint and supplies, activity books, stamp art bin, holiday projects bin, and I stock up on activities/STEM type projects for days they are bored. I also always have a surplus of paper and my organizer for frequently used supplies for things like glue, pencils, markers, crayons, colored pencils, scissors, and tape. I usually do a full clean out and restock once a year to keep it fun and accessible!
Sensory Bin Ideas
I do not have sensory bins in my house anymore as my kids have gotten older and less interested. However, when you have little ones, a good system for organizing sensory bins is so important! Here is what I recommend…
- Get large ziploc bags to hold a variety of bases: kinetic sand, aquarium rocks, pea gravel, dry noodles, water beads, pom balls, Easter grass, etc. This allows you to pull out a base and keep a variety.
- Have a bin that holds all the fun things they can play with in the bin. I separate into ziploc bags so you can pull by a theme. Create a bag of things like scoops, bowls, tongs, shovels, sifters, etc that you can use in all the bins. Then have items like: dinosaurs, trucks, farm animals, underwater animals, jungle animals, unicorns, and the list goes on and on. Pinterest has sensory bin ideas galore!
- Large bin or sand and water table to use for your creations to come to life!
Organizing Games and puzzles:
If you have a closet in your home that you are under utilizing, turn it into a puzzle and game closet. It makes it much more appealing to have everything in one location and your kids know exactly where to go to locate these for play. They also know exactly where to return them when done.
Organizing Go-To Papers
A space to keep all important papers for school and homework keeps your counter from overflowing and papers do not go missing. This is where we keep all the things they need for every night homework or quick reference for school. Not the prettiest but definitely functional.
Bookbag dump- organizing all those school papers:
My kids want to keep EVERYTHING they do from school but I would be swimming in papers if we did that. So we have a system. They come home on Friday from school and empty their graded papers. We go through each one to learn from any mistakes and celebrate the successes. Then the papers go in these file bins for the quarter. Once the quarter is done, I go through and decide what will be kept and what will be recycled.
Memory Keep bins:
This is where we keep their/ our most favorite school work each year. Each year gets a hanging file and an interview.
Toy rotation:
Implement a cleanup time 1x/day so the clutter stays minimal. A busy mind and body operate much better in an environment that is organized. This organization also sets the path for expectations in life. The child will be expected to clean up after oneself across all stages of the lifespan. Hide 50% of toys you own and set a reminder in your phone for every 3 months to rotate the toys out. This toy rotation prevents your home from being taken over by toys. Toy rotation also helps your kids stay interested in toys for longer periods of time.
Organizing Bedrooms:
If your child struggles to keep the bedroom space organized, take a couple hours to go through the space. Give them 3 different totes…
- keep tote (special items),
- a give/donate tote,
- toy rotation tote.
This will greatly improve the organization process and decrease the number of items in the space.
Couple other bedroom ideas…
- Floating shelves are a great way for your child to showcase special items or décor they want to keep. If the shelf is full, items must go before more can be added. This eliminates the dresser, floor, and desk to become an overflow area for clutter.
- A drop basket right when you walk into the bedroom. If your child does not know where something goes or is in a hurry, the items go in the basket. The basket must be emptied and put away each week. This helps keep things from spreading all over the room that do not yet have a home.
We would love to help you with your systems!
Ok, we shared a lot in this post and have so many more tips and tricks up our sleeves that we use in our homes and with clients. If you feel like your environment is impacting your physical health, emotional well being, ability to focus, or has you feeling overwhelmed please reach out. We love doing home assessments to give recommendations for children and families of all abilities. We can take a space and make recommendations that support play, studying, mobility, independence in routines and life skills like dressing, grooming, meal prep, etc. These are underappreciated skills that kids need and should learn throughout childhood.