Ok...seriously! What works for keeping a 5 yo's room straightened?

[profmom]

I've tried many things but we're still having problems. Is the only way for me to become the item-on-the-floor police, stopping by her room several times a day to make sure everything is still in place?

 

We're at the point (again) that it needs a few hours' work -- MY work. What has really worked for you?

[Chris in VA]

Letting it be a bedroom, not a playroom. IOW, get rid of most of the toys and books. Put in a hamper and teach your child to use it.

I don't decorate with toys like some folks do. You can still have a homey room without tons of stuffies and knick knack stuff.

 

And lower your standards. :)

[regentrude]

Not letting the child enter the room.

Seriously, my kids' rooms were always messy - but they were able to find any given item quickly.

 

So, we have solved the problem by letting them have messy rooms (that's what doors are for), but prohibiting any food items and outdoor shows in the kids' rooms (cuts down on actual dirt). THis goes a long way towards family peace.

[LibraryLover]

Is it disgusting? Smelly? Lived- in? Is it ok for it to be lived- in? Does it have to be perfect? I like tidy, and I like decluttered, but I totally draw the line at a bedroom needing to look as if a person does not use it. It's really OK for a bedroom to be a cozy space where a child can play/be.

[gardening momma]

Letting it be a bedroom, not a playroom. IOW, get rid of most of the toys and books. Put in a hamper and teach your child to use it.

I don't decorate with toys like some folks do. You can still have a homey room without tons of stuffies and knick knack stuff.

:iagree: Although I usually just take out the toys and stuff when dd7 is in trouble, and has to be sent to her room. Have to take out the toys & stuff so it's not fun to be in the room. I scoop everything up, haul it out, and notice how nice the room looks! Now to work on keeping that stuff out...

[Quad Shot Academy]

When my younger kid's rooms get really messy, I go in with a laundry basket and take most of their messy stuff away. Each day, I let them pick three things out of the basket to put away nicely. I usually have to do this a few times a year and just look at it as a necessary part of life. It does not upset me or them at all. They are just learning how to sort, organize and keep things clean. Another strategy is to pack up the toys in bins and rotate the bins each day. I have actually had kids thank me for doing that!

[Mommyfaithe]

I've tried many things but we're still having problems. Is the only way for me to become the item-on-the-floor police, stopping by her room several times a day to make sure everything is still in place?

 

We're at the point (again) that it needs a few hours' work -- MY work. What has really worked for you?

 

honestly, I took away almost ALL of the toys. i packed them up and only left 1 bucket of Lego, their playmobil (one very large rubbermaid tub), a few of their favorite stuffed animals or beanie babies, and that is IT. I put all the other toys either into the sandbox outside, storage or I gave them away. I put all art supplies in the kitchen and all puzzles in the school closet which is off limits for little hands. I put the clothes dresser in the hallway outside the room and only I am allowed in it to put away or take out clothes.

 

This worked fabulously. I told my boys that i was sorry I let things get so out of hand, and they couldn't possibly clean up so much stuff, so I was going to put away everything they couldn't put away themselves, and if they could keep that clean and picked up, they could have some things back and see if they could keep it picked up then. So far they have not gotten anything back and it has been 2 years! They don't miss it and they really like to have their room clean. I am getting ready to donate all those toys that they haven't seen in 2 years. When they get something new, I remind them the rule that if they don't pick it up, I will help them put it in storage.

 

Now, when we clean up the lego, and playmobil....they all go into the bucket or tub.....make the beds, vacuum ...whoala...DONE.

 

Faithe

[Tap]

Limiting toys and giving them notice if you want them to pick up before xyz happens. ie You know that dinner is going on the table in 15 minutes....then give them a 5 minute play warning, and then a 'time to clean up' prompt as well. If you know they have been in their room for 30 minutes and then they are in the living room, ask them if they picked up.

 

 

Be pro-active.

[phathui5]

Is it sanitary?

 

Why do you want it cleaned?

 

Is it something she could do herself if you broke the job down into segments?

[UmMusa]

I like the idea to limit what's in there in the first place.

Make sure there are clearly known spots for things to be returned to.

Last week DH started a new 'program'. Mom will check your room at 10am every morning. If it's not in good shape (bed not made, clothes not in hamper, toys/books on the ground) then you lose 30 minutes of your one hour of electronics for later that day. I give them a little 10 minute warning, but they've been on top of the game since this new thing started!

[Sherry in OH]

Letting it be a bedroom, not a playroom. IOW, get rid of most of the toys and books. Put in a hamper and teach your child to use it.

I don't decorate with toys like some folks do. You can still have a homey room without tons of stuffies and knick knack stuff.

 

And lower your standards. :)

 

:iagree: If you have to police the room several times a day, there is too much stuff in the room.

 

We tidy bedrooms once a day and occasionally twice. In the morning, beds are made and toys, books, and CDs put away. We repeat at bedtime if necessary.

 

Our family room is our designated playroom and main library. Most playing occurs there. Each child has a few toys for snuggling or early morning play in his room. Each also has a few special books. When toys or books get out of hand, some are returned to the family room.

[Mom in High Heels]

This won't help during the day (I agree that if you have to police it several times a day, there's too much stuff), but at night, to get it cleaned before bed, you need to get on your secret mommy phone and call the House Fairy!

 

The House Fairy is our favorite fairy. The HF comes randomly, which is part of the beauty of the HF because you never know when she'll stop by. If she comes in the night and there are toys left out, she will take them and you may not ever get them back. If she comes and your room is clean, she'll leave a small gift (pack of gum, book, etc) OR a toy that she took away previously. Once we "called" the HF, I never had to tell Indy to clean his room before bed. The thought of losing a toy and never getting it back was sufficient enough to light a fire under him. He also gets very excited if he gets a small gift for having a clean room. He's a HUGE fan of gum and I don't buy it for him, so getting it from the HF is a huge deal. If the HF hasn't come in a while (she often forgets, especially when the room is clean for such a long time), he'll tell me I need to call her on my mommy phone and remind her to come by one night.

 

We started this when Indy was 5 and even at 8, he still loves the HF.

[Soror]

1)Less stuff- if we don't have a space to put it there is too much- if he cannot keep it cleaned himself there is too much

2)Sorting toys and such so there is a certain spot for them that he can easily figure out= he has one bin of small misc. toys

3) Frequent cleanings so it doesn't get too bad- he has toys w/ lots of little pieces like legos and knex - so can make a big mess-

- cleaning is done in the morning- bed made etc and in the evening- staying on top of it means it never takes more than a couple of minutes- I try to do the same with my own house!

 

btw love the HF that is too cute! We are boring here mommy just does inspection!

[MaMa2005]

Remember, less is more and everything has a place!

 

DS does not have toys in his bedroom, only books on his bookshelf. All toys are in a bin in the den (sunporch). Since we do most of our living in that room, DS knows toys are not allowed past a certain point. Also, we have always instituted the 'one toy at a time' rule. It doesn't mean that you cannot have out more than one toy at a time, it just means that when you are finished with your Hot Wheels, they must be put away before the Legos come out, etc. At any given point, DS is able to clean up his toys and have them put away in the correct place within 5 minutes.

[Tammyla]

Fewer things, either rotate them or get rid of the stuff.

[fairfarmhand]

you are going to be the stuff police for at least the next 10 years. Then you might be too tired to care anymore... :)

 

Really one of the things that helps us a bit is banning things with lots of parts or small pieces...meaning no barbies, no polly pockets, no kinex... I informed grandparents that I would be tossing anything given to us with lots of small parts. and that was that.

 

We are not super clean and organized, but it has helped.

 

(btw, we NEVER get kids' meals because of the cheap plastic junky toys that come with them)

[Teachin'Mine]

This won't help during the day (I agree that if you have to police it several times a day, there's too much stuff), but at night, to get it cleaned before bed, you need to get on your secret mommy phone and call the House Fairy!

 

The House Fairy is our favorite fairy. The HF comes randomly, which is part of the beauty of the HF because you never know when she'll stop by. If she comes in the night and there are toys left out, she will take them and you may not ever get them back. If she comes and your room is clean, she'll leave a small gift (pack of gum, book, etc) OR a toy that she took away previously. Once we "called" the HF, I never had to tell Indy to clean his room before bed. The thought of losing a toy and never getting it back was sufficient enough to light a fire under him. He also gets very excited if he gets a small gift for having a clean room. He's a HUGE fan of gum and I don't buy it for him, so getting it from the HF is a huge deal. If the HF hasn't come in a while (she often forgets, especially when the room is clean for such a long time), he'll tell me I need to call her on my mommy phone and remind her to come by one night.

 

We started this when Indy was 5 and even at 8, he still loves the HF.

 

Brilliant!!!! I wish I had been on this forum and you had posted this 10 years ago! :D

[EKS]

Storing all toys (unsorted) in bins (or baskets). Cleaning up means putting toys in the bins.

 

Also, I only had/have my children clean their rooms once each day, as a scheduled time after dinner.

 

Even with these things in place, every few months I need to go in and do a thorough cleaning.

[Guest]

Everything has it's place - great advice. Also, everything gets put into it's place daily.

 

We also keep most of our toys in the family room. (Ugh!) But, it helps. It wasn't so much MY kids that bothered me, (I've trained them, lol) but when other kids come to visit. I just couldn't handle all the kids going into one room and taking everything out. With it in the family room, when we have guests over, everyone is in one room and I can police that only one or two toys come out at a time.

[myfunnybunch]

I've tried many things but we're still having problems. Is the only way for me to become the item-on-the-floor police, stopping by her room several times a day to make sure everything is still in place?

 

We're at the point (again) that it needs a few hours' work -- MY work. What has really worked for you?

 

This is pretty normal for five.

 

Don't "police." Create routines. Routines are a great way to teach independence in children. If teaching your dd to have a neat bedroom is important to you, make a habit of picking up 2-3 times a day....say after lunch, before dinner, before bed. The rest of the day, let it go (unless she's dumping every toy she owns on the floor and walking away). That way the routine and reminder become the prompts for pick-up time and replace the time you stop by to check for toys on the floor.

 

Expecting a 5 y.o. to independently keep everything neat and sorted to the point that you don't have to help at all is not realistic or developmentally appropriate. She will still need your help and some of your work to keep things manageable. Deep-cleaning and sorting with a 5 y.o. can be a lot of fun and a great way to teach organization. If you enlist her help in this area as a fun activity to do together, she will see this task as a necessary part of room cleaning and be able to take it over when she's older.

 

A place for everything, a cleanup routine and a deep-clean and sort every 2-3 months with Mom are great ways to help establish good habits as she develops and matures. :)

 

Cat

[SilverMoon]

My 5yo has been taught to straighten the room somewhat before she climbs into bed at night. We made it part of the bedtime routine and it stuck. I don't expect it to be perfect before she goes to bed, but that keeps it from getting out of hand.