Saturday, July 17, 2010

The Boys Room - Part 1

How do you train your boys to be organized? I heard one lady say, "Its like trying to shovel water with a fork!" That gave me a good laugh! I believe its just as important for a young man to learn to keep house as it is a young lady. Our boys have learned to do laundry, empty the dishwasher, clean the bathroom, cook and may other household chores. They don't just do them once, the do them until its comfortable for them. When I was pregnant with them, I was very ill, my husband stepped in and helped me with the things I could not do. He knew just what to do and how to do it and we decided then that we wanted to train our boys to do the same thing. To be a helper to their wives especially during time of need.
We live in a small 1000 sq ft home so the boys have to share a room and its a small space. When we would tell them to clean their room it would be frustrating for them and I had to realize it was frustrating because they did not have the proper tools to get it organized. We decided to help them create a space that would be functional as well as organized. We were on a very limited budget so each purchase was
calculated carefully and the small space has turned into a place of
enjoyment rather then a place of frustration.
The boys have been wanting to paint their room so we decided to tackle the project together! Yes, it would have been much easier for me to send them fishing with Dad and tackle the job in a few hours but teaching them how to get organized was just as important as getting them organized.
Before getting started they had to remove everything from their walls, wash them down and fill the holes with plaster. When trying to get organized you often make a mess in the process, but that is part of getting organized.

Since we were organizing they decided to get rid of stuff they have out grown. Now, for one of our boys getting rid of things is harder then the other so we made a game of it. They had a large bin of stuffed animals. I told them they could each pick three (they never play with them and they just sit on the shelf). Our one son said; "I don't want any." The other one had a hard time choosing so I gave them a big trash bag and said I'm going to count to 25 and you have to choose three. He threw all the ones he did not care about to the side and chose three. It made it fast and fun and after doing this process twice he said; "Now its so easy to get rid of stuff!" If we don't have a space for it, it can't stay in the room. Now when they get something new, something old has to go out. Everything must have a home.
They love football, so they wanted their room painted Indianapolis Blue! All I had to do was tell Lowe's Indianapolis Blue and they already had the color in the computer!

Because they are all boy they have boy toys! They really wanted their paintball supplies displayed so we painted a peg board the same color as their wall and they had so much fun arranging all the items getting the space organized and looking cool! When helping them organize let them have a voice. Having all the paintball stuff on the wall is something I would have never wanted but they did, they love it and its all organized!
The next thing they have are skateboards! I hate seeing them all over the floor and in a small space the less on the floor the better! We researched for a long time how to hang them without having a ton of hardware on the wall and keeping the cost down. I found these great garden hose hangers at Lowe's for just $6 each and they hold 2 ripsticks or 3 skateboards each!! The display case to the right holds their Tech Decks (mini skateboards) so they are on display too. We still have two garden hose hooks to purchase and one more Tech Deck case to hang. Its so nice to have them behind the door and not on the floor!
Next, we purchased this shelving rack which holds their TV, video game system, art supplies and all those odd and end items that never seem to have a home. Getting the boys organized and teaching them to keep a clean room is a character trait that will follow them through out their lives. We're still working in the room and have a few more details to finish up but they have a space for everything and when its time to clean the room it takes just a few minutes for them to get it organized.

So far we've spent...$105 on their room make-over
Paint.....$15 (Lowe's)
Shelving Unit.....$45 (Lowe's)
Peg Board......$5 (Lowe's)
Pegs........$10 (Lowe's)
Garden Hose Hooks........$18 (Lowe's)
10-Baskets........$20 (Ross & Thrift Shop)
Bulletin Board.....$2 (Thrift Shop)

Proverbs 22:6
Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
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1 comment:

  1. Organizing is one of my loves - love how you have your children help.

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