Organizing Families
Keeping an organized home can help alleviate some struggles families face daily. You may not realize it, but you probably spend 55 minutes A DAY looking for lost items, according to Newsweek.
So keeping an organized home can actually SAVE you time!
As a professional organizer, I’ve worked with many families to help streamline and organize their homes. And, as a former special education teacher, I enjoy teaching families how to maintain an orderly home.
With April being National Autism Awareness Month, I thought I would share some of my tips for how any family can create an organized home, with a focus on families with an individual with autism.
Create Systems
When I talk about systems, I mean a dedicated location for specific items to go and how you put them in their designated location.
So thinking about individuals with autism, keep the systems as simple as possible. I would always keep the markers, crayons, and paper out on the counter. When it was time to move onto the next activity, clean-up was easy. Crayons went in a dedicated bin (that I would move to the table). It was as easy as that.
Creating simple systems will help you stay organized and ultimately save you precious time. Take some time to think about where a specific item should go and how you will put it there.
Functional Storage And Labels
When organizing toys, keep similar toy items together. Label using a picture or picture and word labels. This helps to create functional storage that all kids will be able to use. When creating picture labels, it’s best to keep it simple. Only use one or two items in the picture. Depending on the child, you can use either real or abstract pictures.
Keep “General” Routines
When I was teaching kids with autism, we kept our days pretty routine. We did, however, throw in some “surprises” throughout the day. These “surprises” were both a motivator for the child, and a change in routine.
This process helped my students learn coping strategies for when things change a bit. But we always made sure to get back on schedule immediately following the “surprise.”
It’s best to keep general routines for the organizing process, i.e. cleaning up routine, putting toys away in specific bins, etc. But, it is also helpful to change things up slightly. Maybe swap the location of the bins with your child’s help, but keep the clean-up routine the same.
When it comes to organizing your home, start by creating systems for where items go and how you will put them there. Create functional storage with labels; either picture or picture and words. Finally, keep a “general” routine for cleaning up.
About Jessica Litman: Jessica loves all things organizing, crafting, and decorating. She is the founder of, The Organized Mama, a professional organizing company and blog that focuses on organizing a handmade home.