I’m big on labeling. When things aren’t labeled, I end up being the only one that can put things away. Consequently, it also means I’m the one everyone runs to when they can’t find something. Labels, especially for my kid’s stuff, make everyone responsible for their own stuff.

My two youngest can’t read yet, so I needed a method of labeling that would be easy for them too. I used my digital camera to take some pictures of their toys. I printed them out in wallet size and then laminated them. I then stuck them to the containers with Velcro so that I could swap them out as the contents change over the years.

They’re so easy to make and even easier for my kids to use. I’ve got these all over my kids rooms, the toy room, the job chart and the craft boxes.  Just thought I’d pass it on.

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I’m not a big fan of dressers. They take up a lot of room in our tiny bedrooms and they’re tough for my little kids to use. The drawers are always heavy and most of them are out reach for my little ones. I bought 5 of these plastic drawers for each of my kids and stacked them in their closets. They’re easy to open and see through so my kids know just where to find what they need.

My kids have a tendency to dump everything out when they’re digging for socks, undershirts, tights or other little items. I created these easy dividers for their underwear drawer to help them keep things organized. I bought a sheet of foam-core posterboard and trimmed it to the size of my drawer. I then used clear packing tape to affix them to the front and back of the drawer. I also covered the cut edges (on the top and bottom of the divider) with packing tape to keep them from getting worn.

I’ve used these drawers for years and think they were worth every penny. My kids are 3, 4 & 6. Thanks to these simple drawers, they’re all able put away their own laundry and pull out the clothes they need. Just thought I’d pass it on.  You can find the free file downloads for the various colors of drawer labels below.

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How many times have you told your kids to go clean their room only to find them pulling out more toys 20 mintues later? I felt like I had to sit in my kids rooms and direct them from one thing to the next in order to keep them on task. Then I came up with this simple cleaning chart to help my kids do it without me.

It breaks down the normal clean up into the most common tasks (make your bed, pick up toys, pick up books, etc.) The chart has two columns, To Do and Done. When we go in to the room, I have them pull off all the jobs (they’re velcroed on to a piece of laminated cardstock). Then we look at the room and figure out which of the jobs need to go in the To Do column and which can go in the Done column. They place the To Do jobs in the order that they think will be the easiest. Then they get to work. When they finish the first job, they move it to the done column and then move on to the next To Do. When their To Do list is empty, they come and get me for a final check.

It’s also really handy to use throughout the week. If I notice a big mess in their room, I’ll shift a couple of the jobs over to the To Do column. Whenever they want to do something special like earn TV time or computer time, I ask them if they’re To Do column is clear. If it’s not, they know just what to do to take care of it…without my interaction.

The best advantage of this chart is that my kids can now do this mostly on their own. They’ve figured out that if they can break a job down into tiny pieces, they can do a lot more without help. This chart just provides the tools they need to do just that…no nagging required. Just thought I’d pass it on.  You can find the free file downloads for this chart below.  Both the boy chart and the girl chart are included in the file.

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