Are you a parent who’s a stickler for organisation? Or, are you the parent who struggles to stay on top of things and can think of nothing worse than spending time colour-coding clothing or sorting bills? Whatever side of the fence you’re on, you would love to instil a lifelong habit of organisation into your child. Time management and organisation skills often lay at the heart of both academic and personal success, and bringing a sense of order to a child’s life can bring about remarkable changes in their behaviour, attitude, school performance and relationships. Help your child become, and stay, organized in 2014 by implementing these five simple tips.

Incorporate Aids

There is a variety of useful aids you can purchase to help your child stay organised. For school-aged children, a daily planner is essential, and often tends to be issued by many schools to help children keep track of their classes and homework. Teach your child to enter all of their scheduled classes and field trips, plus assignments and after-school activities on a daily basis. Remind them to keep their planner with them every day. It’s also a good idea to have a family calendar set up at home. Create listings for each of your children and mark any school or extracurricular events such as parties, plays and fairs. If you have more than one child, it can help to colour-code listings on the calendar so each one can see at a glance what they have on that day, as well as what is coming up. To get your children more involved in helping around the house, you can also set up a chore wheel to create a weekly schedule for everyone in the family.

Use Personalised Labels

You can teach your child to take ownership of their belongings by attaching customised labels to their clothing, toys and backpacks. When children feel a sense of pride about their belongings, they are more likely to take care of them. Also, having your child’s name printed on their backpack, pencil case and lunchbox will help them to identify which item is theirs in a busy classroom or playground. If you have more than one child, labelled items can make home life easier too – teach your children to find their belongings in the clean clothes pile or study area and make them responsible for packing away each item. For some other personalised product ideas, visit https://www.stuckonyou.com.au/ourblog

Stick to a Schedule

Schedules are fantastic for children and are the perfect way to bring organisation and discipline to your household. Instil a daily routine in your kids, and they will quickly pick up good habits. For example, you may like to teach them to put their dirty clothes in the laundry basket of a morning and make their bed, work on homework over a set period in the afternoon and then pack their backpack for the next day each night before bed.

Organise Everyday Items

Another way to help your family beat the clutter is to organise everyday items. You should have a place for everything and keep everything in its place. For all those things used regularly, such as clothing, backpacks, toys and study materials, assign a spot where each item can be kept when not being used. Teach your child to return everything to its proper place after use (this can become part of the daily routine, as referenced above). This way, you won’t find yourself tripping on wooden toys in the dark or running around the house in the morning looking for that elusive backpack.

Set a Good Example as a Parent

One of the most effective ways to help your child learn to be organised is to set a good example yourself. Children tend to mimic the actions and behaviours of the most important people in their life, meaning that if they see you staying organised, they’re more likely to follow suit. Make a habit of keeping your belongings neat and organised, and show your child you follow a routine, and they’re going to start seeing this as the norm rather than the exception. From here, creating positive habits will be that much easier.

About the Author: Anita Duggan is a professional organiser, a blogger and a mum who delights in creating order from pure chaos.