How To Get Family To Help Keep Things Organized
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Not sure how to get family to help with chores? Tired of doing it all by yourself? Learn how to get your family to pitch in with these helpful tips and tricks!
The best way to get your family to help out is to start at the bottom – with daily habits! This guide will look at that (and more) but first, make sure to check out the Change Your Habits Guided Workbook! It takes you step-by-step through forming (and sticking to) healthy habits.
“My family does nothing to help around the house!”
If that’s how you’re feeling, you definitely aren’t alone.
You spend time and effort trying to organize your home – and it feels like you’re doing it all by yourself.
Getting your spouse or kids to pitch in? That’s easier said than done. In fact, it can seem like your family is working against you, undermining your hard work.
But I’ve got some good news.
Getting your family to help keep things organized is, in fact, possible. With a little effort and a few clever ways to make the whole process more fun, you might be surprised to see how much help you can actually get around the house.
Here are some helpful steps you can take to make it happen:
Wondering where to begin? Get our FREE guide, The 30-Minute Organizing Secret, and discover easy ways to overcome the chaos of clutter – even with kids at home!
Make sure you have enough storage
If you’re struggling to understand how to get family to help keep things organized, the first thing you should do is step back and ask yourself – why is it so hard?
Why can’t they keep things organized?
In many cases, there are some basic barriers to organization. A big one? Not having enough storage space for everything that needs to be put away.
If you’re expecting your kids to hang up their coats in the closet but don’t have enough hangers, that’s a problem. If you want them to put their books back on the shelf but there’s no room for them, that’s a problem. If there aren’t enough hampers to hold all of the laundry, or your kids have more toys than they could possibly fit into their toy box – yep, you guessed it. That’s a problem.
By ensuring you have sufficient storage for all of the stuff you’re asking them to put away, you make it much easier to stay organized.
Use labels to make it clear where things belong
Another big barrier to getting your family to help you stay organized?
They don’t know where things go.
In some cases, this might just be an excuse they use to get out of chores. In others, it might be honest confusion or uncertainty.
Either way, it’s a problem that’s easily fixed.
Grab a label maker – or take advantage of some free printable labels – and get to work. You can use labels to clarify things like:
- What belongs in each of your kitchen cabinets
- What belongs in those plastic storage bins – which are often the perfect stackable solution for storing everything from your kid’s LEGO collection to your craft supplies
- Which shelf in the linen closet the spare bedding belongs on
By eliminating any ambiguity around where stuff goes, you get rid of one potential excuse and make it easy for everyone to know what goes where.
Set aside time to get organized as a family
If you’re expecting everyone to independently carve out time from their day to organize the house, you might be setting yourself up for disappointment.
That requires a level of motivation and accountability that, let’s face it, most kids or teens don’t develop without quite a bit of practice.
That’s why it’s helpful to set aside a specific time where everyone helps out. Whether it’s 10 minutes each day after dinner, an hour on Saturday mornings, or something else that works with your family’s schedule, consistency is key. Stop what you’re doing, roll up your sleeves, and assign tasks – then get to work!
You might just be surprised to see how much progress you can make when everyone pitches in.
Try a chore chart
A chore chart is a classic way to encourage your family to help out around the house – and there’s a reason it’s such a popular tool.
By identifying who is responsible for what chores and how often you expect them to be done, you set clear expectations for your family. For little ones who might have a hard time remembering what to do, it’s an easy visual reminder.
By checking those chores off once they’ve been completed, you’re holding them accountable and creating a sense of accomplishment.
And by coming up with a reward to celebrate their completion, you can add an extra element of motivation into the mix. Rewards can be all kinds of things:
- Money
- Screen time
- A new toy
- A trip to the park or your kid’s favorite ice cream shop
- The chance to pick out the next movie you’ll watch together, or the next game you’ll play
You can find printable chore charts online that you can customize to meet your family’s needs. Alternatively, you can pull out your craft supplies and create something on your own, or use a dry erase board for a more flexible approach.
Make organizing fun!
Last, but certainly not least, you can get family to help keep things organized by making the process a fun one. With a little creativity, you can come up with all kinds of games you can play as you tackle those chores and to-do’s.
A few ideas:
- Turn it into a race! Assign a task, set a timer, and see who can make the most progress in under one minute.
- Get dressed up! If you’ve got little ones at home, your kids will have a blast putting on their favorite costumes and channeling their favorite characters as they do their chores.
- Make it a dance party! Put on a well-loved playlist and boogie down while you tidy up!
What Else?
Still feeling a little overwhelmed by the thought of getting everything organized – and keeping it that way? Check out the Clutter Keeper 5 Day Kickstart Decluttering Program! You’ll learn how to:
- Stop feeling overwhelmed by your clutter and take actionable steps to get organized
- Implement healthy habits and routines to keep your space tidy and clean for the long run
- Find the motivation to tackle even bigger home organization projects
… and more!
More Family Organization tips
If you enjoyed learning about how to get family to help keep things organized, then here are some more tips that you’ll enjoy next:
