In episode 11, we talked about how to teach kids to clean. But knowing how to clean is a very different skill from knowing how to keep a house tidy. My kids can scrub a toilet, but they have no idea where they put their shoes and socks.
In this episode, we’re going to talk about how to teach our kids to be tidy. In the first half we’ll unpack the concept of tidiness a bit. Tidiness, and its counterpart, messiness, is about more than stuff. It’s a surprisingly emotional topic. Teaching our kids to be tidy requires us to confront our own skills and habits. In the second half of the episode we’ll talk about all sorts of different techniques that moms use to teach their kids (and often themselves too) to be tidier.
Here is a list of links to books, podcasts, and blogs mentioned in this episode:
Blogs/Websites
How Emily Teaches Kids to Clean
How Lisa Teaches Kids to Clean
Learn Do Become: Command Central
Books
The House that Cleans Itself by Mary Starns Clark
How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind by Dana K. White
Messy: The Power of Disorder to Transform Our Lives by Tim Harford
Strengths-Based Parenting by Mary Reckmeyer
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo
Podcasts
3 in 30 Podcast, episode 22: Cleaning Strategies for the Naturally Messy Mom
3 in 30 Podcast, episode Getting Unmotivated Kids to Help
The Lazy Genius, episode 78: The Lazy Genius House Purge
The Lazy Genius, episode 103: The Lazy Genius Keeps the Car Clean
Just Add Sprinkles, episode 31: The Art of Decluttering with Tidy Moose