Get Organized Week: Small Steps Toward Calmer Days

A missing shoe. A backpack that needs unpacking. A pile of toys that seems to grow overnight. For families with young children, staying organized can feel like a task that is never quite finished.

Get Organized Week offers an opportunity to look at our spaces and routines through a Montessori lens: How can we make everyday life easier for children to navigate and participate in?

You don’t need to reorganize your entire home. A few thoughtful changes can give children more opportunities to practice independence, contribute to family life, and take care of their belongings.

Think about a moment when your child regularly asks for help. Perhaps they cannot reach their jacket, find their crayons, or put away their shoes.

Choose one of those moments as your starting point. A reachable hook, an easy-to-open container, or a designated spot near the door may allow your child to complete more of the task independently.

Look at the setup from your child’s perspective—literally. Crouch down and notice what they can see and reach. Is the basket too heavy? Is the drawer difficult to open? Sometimes a small adjustment makes a familiar task much more manageable.

In Montessori, caring for materials is part of using them. At home, you can help children practice that same complete sequence: choose an activity, enjoy it, and prepare it for the next time.

For example, an art activity might include getting out paper and crayons, drawing a picture, returning the crayons to their container, and placing the finished artwork in a designated tray.

Show your child each step, then work alongside them as they practice. Specific directions such as “Let’s put the crayons in their cup” are often easier to follow than a broad instruction like “Clean up.”

Over time, these small sequences become familiar habits.

A system is more useful when the person using it understands how it works. Invite your child to help decide where everyday items belong.

You might ask:

• “Where could we keep your library books so we remember to return them?”
• “Would this basket work for your shoes?”
• “How can we tell which bin holds the blocks?

A photograph of the contents can help a younger child identify a bin. An older child might enjoy making labels or choosing categories. Try the arrangement together and adjust it if needed. If something is consistently difficult to put away, that may be a sign the setup needs changing.

Getting ready involves many steps, and adults can easily forget how much children are still learning.

A simple picture checklist can make a morning or bedtime routine easier to follow. For mornings, you might include getting dressed, eating breakfast, brushing teeth, and picking up the backpack.

Introduce the checklist together rather than expecting your child to use it immediately. Ask, “What comes next?” and give them time to check.

Preparing a few things the evening before can also create more room for independence in the morning. Choosing clothes or gathering school items gives children a meaningful role in getting ready without the pressure of rushing out the door.

Children can participate in household organization through small, useful jobs. Matching socks, placing napkins on the table, or returning books to a shelf gives them a chance to help care for a shared space.

Choose a task that fits your child’s abilities and demonstrate it slowly. Break it into manageable steps, and allow time for practice.

A toddler might place one item in a basket with your support. A preschooler might sort utensils into a drawer. An older child might use a checklist to prepare their school bag.

Notice their contribution with specific language: “You put the napkins at each place. Now the table is ready for dinner.”

An organized space can make a task more accessible, but children still need patience and support as they learn to use it.

There will be spilled supplies, forgotten steps, and days when everyone needs extra help. When possible, allow a little more time so your child can try before you step in.

You can also model how to recover when something goes wrong: “We forgot to put the shoes by the door yesterday. Let’s do that after we take them off today.”

Organization becomes a skill children practice with you, rather than another expectation they must get right immediately.

At Apple Montessori Schools, independence grows through everyday opportunities to make choices, use materials, and care for the classroom community. Families can build on those experiences at home by making daily tasks accessible and inviting children to take part.

For Get Organized Week, choose one manageable change: a place for school belongings, a picture routine, or a household task your child can help complete.

Watch how it works for your family, make adjustments, and build from there. Each small opportunity gives your child another chance to say, “I can do it!”