Organise, Declutter - Go Tidy Your Room!

How hard can it be"...to declutter or tidy a room, I hear you ask. Not everyone has the necessary organisations skills.

The truth is, not every child has this ability to declutter. Nor every adult either.

• dyslexia,
• dyspraxia,
• has co-ordination difficulties,
• ADHD
• Asperger Syndrome - they actually prefer order but will benefit from using a visual schedule to accomplish tasks. The condidion is characteristed by inflexibility, preference for routine and resistance to change.

They learn to sort, categorise, organise their belongings. They gain confidence and independence and all important life skills.

Later they will come to know what they value and why, and how to make room in their closets and their life for new things.

Help Your Child to Tidy Their Room

Of my two daughters, one was extremely tidy and organised and the other found it impossible. When sent to her room to tidy she spent hours up there. Was she tidying? No.

She went with good intentions, made a start and became distracted by something she came across.

Like many people, she was overwhelmed by the task and had no strategies in place to solve the problem.

Perhaps its genetic - she certainly takes after her father - a most committed hoarder, incapable of even tidying a pile of papers it would seem. Now there's another one for the nature/nurture debate!

1. where to start
2. how to break down the task
3. what the finished product should/will look like

How to Use a Visual Schedule

For the small amount of effort it takes, it resolves a whole lot of frustration on everyone's part.

BEFORE your child can tidy their room YOU must check that there is sufficient storage for everything.

You need to be able to answer these sorts of questions yourself?

1. Where do the toys belong?
2. Where does dirty washing go?
3. Can your child distinguish between clean and dirty clothes?
4. Does your child know how to fold clothes or put them on hangers?
5. Are there sufficient shelves for things to stack neatly?

You get the idea. I really do not wish to sound condescending. I have worked with so many parents who tell me, quite rightly that their children cannot follow instructions. You are going to create a VISUAL SCHEDULE' or visual checklist for your child to follow. This will: reduce your frustration earn them praise or reward give them the steps to follow to create a tidy room enable them to do it for themselves free you up from constantly having to tell them teach them the routine for the future increase their self-esteem

NOTE: They will not need this schedule forever. It is a step towards independence.

Zara knew what to do and where to put things when broken down like this and supported by an adult, but left to her own devices her brain went into overload.

You can use Visual Schedules with pictures, words or symbols to support children and adults in many situations.

Break Down the Task of Decluttering

If your child wants to help declutter a space, be that a cupboard, drawer, or a room then talk it through with them. Break the process down into simple stages.

For example this table shows how to sort toys and clothes.

1. Classify...	broken	worn out	outgrown
2. Action...	bin	bin	charity shop
3. Place...	rubbish sack	rubbish sack	blue box

Create a schedule together if it fits with the process.

More Visual Support

Take some photos of areas of the Tidy Room and post them around the room as appropriate. Your child then has a visual image and an agreed perception of TIDY.

Then he/she knows what the finished area should look like.

We used a visual timetable to encourage our grandson to eat a varied diet too.

Benefits for you: less frustration, less barking orders, more time, pride in their acheivements.

Benefits for them: praise, independence, self resposnsibility and increased self-esteem

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