Organizing your own personal belongings can be a daunting task in itself, however if you're also trying to take care of all your children's things, it can be an overwhelming, impossible task .

When children are old enough and capable, they have a responsibility to take care of their own belongings. This includes (but not limited to) toys, clothes, bathroom items, sports equipment, and of course school books and supplies. It should not be parents' responsibility to clean their child's room, or pick up their wet towels off bathroom floor. How is this teaching children to be responsible for their own belongings?

If we teach our children HOW to be organized, this will lead to a more productive and hopefully a more responsible child in school and at home. However take note, if you expect your children to be well organized, you must also do same to provide a good example, or "model", for them. As saying goes "practice what you preach" :-)

For time being, we will focus on ideas to help organize your children's plethora of gadgets, toys, clothes, games, and whatever else may be piled up on closet floor or under bed.

Color Coordinate Everything

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The most important idea to incorporate in your family lifestyle is to color coordinate everything. Regardless of how many children you have, assign each one a specific color ie: green, red, yellow, orange, etc...

The color you assign each of your children will go on every item that belongs to them. You will need to get a permanent marker in each of your kid's colors so you can mark/dot each and every item they own.

Here's a list of most common items you'll want to start out with. Use this list as a starting point to help harvest ideas that are relevant in your family's lifestyle.

- clothes

- toys

- towels

- bathroom utensils

- closet

- shoes

- games

- puzzles

- sports equipment

With their items, simply put a small colored dot/mark in an inconspicuous area. For example, socks-dot toe or heel; shirts-dot collar tag; puzzles-dot back of each piece; toothbrushes and towels- purchase these in each of your children's assigned color.

Once everything is color coded, you can then quickly scan rooms and bathrooms and see which one of your little angels has left things out of place.

Now I'm not referring to value of stocks and bonds, compounding interest, or current market value of a U.S. dollar.

What every child should be taught at some time, is: purpose of jobs (how we earn money), saving for goals (how to save money), limit needless spending (how to budget).

It's up to you to decide when and at what age it is appropriate to discuss following topics. But keep in mind that if you don't teach them skills to make educated, responsible decisions with their money, you will be holding back a valuable lesson that should be taught. Learning how to successfully manage money is a skill they will have for life.

Where To Start

Don't assume your children know meaning or purpose of a job, bills, banks, etc...

Let them see you pay your bills. Explain to them how you have 'X' amount of dollars per month to pay for everything. Point out dangers of getting into debt (credit cards). Explain that ATM machines are not magic money dispensers that give you as much money as you need, for free.

Learning comes from experience. Just talking about money will not get job done. Learning how to earn, save and spend money appropriately comes from real life experiences.

If your children do not have an allowance already, think about starting one. Only when they have their OWN money to manage, can they put your lessons into practice.

When you are discussing allowance with your children, relate it to your own life. Explain to them that when you want to buy something, you must first work to earn money, then save enough money in order to purchase it ie: car, house, clothes. Tell them that if you don't go to work and earn money, there's no way you can afford to buy what you want.

You can then explain to your children that if they want to buy a new toy, they must earn money in order to buy it.

It's Up To You

You can design your childs' allowance and chores however you see fit: weekly, bi- weekly, monthly, pay-per-chore.

One method that's effective is designating 'X' number of chores, for 'X' number of dollars per week.

For example: "Johnny. You will earn $5 a week if you do these jobs/chores: water lawn (twice), take out garbage, vacuum house (twice), and feed cat everyday."