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3 tips to get the kids to actually clean their rooms!

If you’re a parent, you’re surely familiar with the endless excuses your children come up with when it’s time to clean their rooms. From “I’ll do it later!” to “I’m too tired,” we’ve heard them all! After all, we’re parents ourselves. But there are a few tricks we’ve picked up over the years that can help make the room-cleaning battle a bit easier. Here are 3 parent-tested tips for helping your kids actually want to clean their rooms!

1. Set clear, realistic expectations
One of the best ways to help your child be more enthusiastic about cleaning their room is to set clear and realistic expectations. In other words, set an age-appropriate end goal that helps them recognize when the room is “clean.”

For a three-year-old, for example, a clean room might mean books on the shelf, toys in their place and dirty clothes in the hamper. An eight-year-old, on the other hand, will probably have additional responsibilities, like making their bed or folding any clean clothes and putting them in their drawer.

Whatever your expectations are, share them with your child! It can sometimes be helpful to give them a list of what they need to do. If your child isn’t reading yet, you can use pictures as well as words.

2. Give your children some ownership of their space
As we all know, children love being able to make their own decisions, whether that’s choosing what to wear, what book to read or what game to play next.

The same idea extends to their rooms. Giving your child some choices about where things go and how they look can encourage them to want to keep their space clean and tidy.

One great way to give them a sense of ownership and pride is by giving them their own, personalized containers! Our Littles Carry-All Caddies, Mini Storage Bins and Your Way Cubes are the perfect size for storing toys, extra clothes and other odds and ends that can clutter up your child’s room. Plus, they all can be personalized with your child’s name, a favorite picture or animal (using our Icon-Its) or anything else you come up with.

Even better? Make personalizing the storage and organization products you choose a fun activity you do together using our handy visualizer tool!

3. Set a good example
It’s something we’ve all heard before: Our children learn from what we do, not from what we say. Everyone is crunched for time, so sometimes it’s a lot easier to say, “Clean your room!” and leave it at that than to actually go in and do the work with our child.

But sometimes, that’s just what it takes. If your child is really resisting, it can be helpful to get down on the floor and lend a hand. Doing the work together sets a wonderful example for how families help each other – and it can even turn into an opportunity to spend quality time talking and bonding with your little one.

Organizing various rooms in your home is a great first step toward setting an example for your family. If you need some inspiration to get your own spaces in order, check out our video how-tos to give your pantry, laundry room, home office and garage an organizational mini makeover!

How do you help your children keep their spaces neat and tidy? Show us your organized kids’ rooms by sharing your photos on social media – we love seeing how you put our fun and functional Thirty-One Gifts products to use. Tag us with #thirtyone!