Do you find yourself in constant angst about your teen’s clutter?

Staying organized and avoiding clutter can be hard for people of all ages. Being able to get and stay organized is a life-long skill that you can begin to assist your child with right now.

You won’t always be around to tidy up after them, so instil some skills into their lives now and help them become their most organized self by following these tips.

5 Things To Do Immediately To Boost Your Teen’s Organization Skills

1. Create a Planner

Planners will help your teen focus on priorities and keep them on track.

If organization is a struggle for your teen, then start here. Create a planner for the whole household. Include the tasks that each member has to do including the days and the time that they have to accomplish those tasks. Keep it in the kitchen or any high traffic area in your house.

The idea is to show your teen that everyone has tasks to complete and is responsible for their actions and the outcome.

Once your teen is used to the family planner, create another planner specifically for your teen. Include a week-long plan of his or her activities. Include schedules for schoolwork and specific house chores. This planner can be hung up in their room, so they know what is expected and what needs to be done each day.

2. Use Checklists

We love, love, love checklists!

Ask your teen to sit down with you and list the next day’s work. Arrange them based on priority so that important matters come first.

You can download our free printable to-do lists to help them get started.

3. Get A Multi-Compartment Backpack

Avoid buying your teen backpacks that don’t have pockets or compartments. One large backpack can be a dumping ground for everything and anything.

A backpack with pockets and compartments will help teens organize their things. They will need to think about where to put their belongings until it becomes second nature and they automatically place items where they should be.

A backpack with compartments for books, lunch and personal items is ideal.

4. Help Teens Keep Track of Time

Time tracking is essential for teens who need to manage a school schedule.

Having a watch will help remind teens of their tasks for the current hour.

Smartphones can be useful as well. Stopwatch and reminder apps can help teens manage and budget their time independently.

Teach them to set reminders, alarms, and make notes to help them stay organized.

5. Make It Visual

Some of these tips will be boring for teens. Color coding can help with that.

For example, devise a color system with sticky notes. Colored sticky notes will help teens know which tasks to prioritize. They can also use this technique while studying and note making using highlighters.

6. Simplify Your Household Organization

You can lead by example by having a system around the home that helps you with household organization. You could:

• Place a laundry basket in each room to avoid messy clothes piling up
• Place recycle bins underneath study desks
• Use baskets or trays to organize personal/makeup products in the bathroom
• Utilize hooks near the front door to organize hangable things such as bags, coats or keys
• Install bookshelves to keep books organized.

Do you already have some of these tasks in place?