Children tend to be born with either a need for neatness and order or with a tolerance for messiness and clutter. As we grow up, the tendencies can become extreme, but most of the time the behaviors balance out as life gets more demanding and there is more autonomy. After twenty years of organizing, I’ve been able to work with kids who are now college graduates and it’s so fulfilling to see them grow into capable, organized adults.
The most effective method I’ve experienced when working with children and teenagers is to give them choices and the power of decision over their space. It is tempting to dismiss this as a permissive stance available only to those who can afford to indulge their children’s whims. However, I remember that even on a tight budget my parents allowed me to choose the curtains for my room, rip out the carpet to expose the hardwood floors and patiently helped me scour garage sales for an old iron bed frame which my dad sanded and painted to my specifications.
Controlling the aesthetic of my room gave me a lot of motivation to keep it clean and tidy. I used egg cartons to organize beading supplies and a bulletin board with push-pins to hang and organize jewelry. I’ve found that when I work with young people, they often get excited about transforming items we find in their room or in the family garage into organizing supplies. It is really gratifying to see how reusing and repurposing starts to spark their creativity.
When working with people in their teens and early 20s, I like to get them thinking about how to use space more efficiently. Often people who have moved back home to their childhood bedroom still operate with diminutive furniture and still do art, school and work projects on the floor. When a room’s furnishings are small and low, it can feel overly cluttered.
We naturally collect more (and larger) stuff as we get older, so the tiny bookcase and nightstand we had at age eight doesn’t work at age 22. Also, with more stuff, any horizontal surface becomes a landing pad for clutter. We need to literally grow our space up with vertical shelving and larger, taller furniture. Getting as much as possible up off the floor will psychologically shift the occupant of the room toward a feeling of maturity and control. The energy of the space is lifted.
On a super tight budget, this could mean repurposing the child’s bookcase by putting square baskets on the shelves for small items like overflow makeup, art supplies, socks, underwear or swimsuits, then “building” a larger bookcase for textbooks and things with good ol’ cinder blocks and pressboards. This worked well for me in my studio apartment all through college.
Clothes and accessories are usually a big organizing category in our teens and 20s. I try to hang as much as possible, including belts and scarves. For a client who had about 40 pair of sunglasses we bought an over-the-door canvas shoe organizer and put a pair in each pocket. There are also great jewelry organizers on hangers with clear plastic pockets to see things easily. “When in doubt, hang it up,” is a good way to approach closet organizing in my experience.
I have a tough time convincing young people to part with souvenir t-shirts and other sentimental clothing, so we usually compromise and put this category into a bin and onto a high closet shelf. That way we leave valuable hanging and drawer space for the clothes they actually wear.
You don’t need to hire a professional to educate your children about organizing. Think about reusing, repurposing, going vertical and growing storage (within reason). Let them think about choices (Folded or hung? Baskets or clear bins? On display or tucked away?) and the process can be creative, fulfilling and is much more likely to be maintained