Organizing for Teenagers

While organizing an entire home for families, I often work with teenagers to get their space and time in order.  If a teenager learns organizational skills, it will help them to be better organized in college and throughout their adult life.  Most teenagers I work with need help organizing their study spaces, bedrooms, bathrooms and schedules.  Here are some tips for getting organized is these areas.

Teen Study Space Organization

Designate one area to be the study space.  Depending on your home layout and your teenager’s personal preferences this could be in the bedroom, in a home office, bonus room, kitchen or dining room. A study space should contain:

• A spacious work surface, such as a table or desk.
• A comfortable chair.
• Power outlets and charging cables for computers,  tablets or smart phones used for studying.
• Access to regularly used school supplies such as pens, pencils, pencil sharpeners, calculators & scissors.
• A place to put the teen’s backpack.
• An organized home drop zone near the most frequently used door can also help your teen’s school papers and mobile devices stay organized.

Teen Bedroom Organization

Getting out the door on time in the morning and the task of managing laundry can sometimes be a challenge for teenagers.  Add the following items to the bedroom to improve organization:

• An alarm clock (or two). I suggest a second alarm clock placed across the room to encourage the teen to get out of bed to turn it off.
• A dresser with drawers designated for each type of clothing.
• A closet with clothing organized into categories such as “school clothes,” “dress clothes,” “sports uniforms,” etc.
• Laundry baskets or hampers.
• A shelf, bin or basket for “clerty” clothes.  These are clothes that may have been worn for a short time, but are still clean enough to be worn again before washing.

Teen Bathroom Organization

Whether the bathroom is shared or is only used by the teen, here are some items that will help keep it organized:

• An organized area for personal hygiene supplies on a counter or shelf, in drawers or under the sink.  Drawer organizers and under-cabinet organizers can help in this area.
• Make-up organizers for easy access.
• A style station holder like this to contain hair dryers, curling irons, etc.
• A shower timer.

Teen Schedule Organization

Managing a busy schedule of school assignments, extra-curricular activities, social events and chores can be challenging.  Here are some planning tools that can help your teen keep an organized schedule:

• Mobile calendars on a smart phone or tablet.  Some options are Google Calendar, iCal or Outlook Calendar.
• Setting up a shared electronic calendar for the whole family can help keep everyone organized. An app such as Cozi is a great option.
• A paper school planner, if your teen prefers using paper.
• A large family wall calendar either on paper, or on a dry erase board or chalk board.  This is helpful in managing chores, after-school activities, and keeping track of vacations and school holidays.

I hope some of these tips will help your teenager become better organized.  Creating a place for everything and organizing common areas first is a wonderful way to encourage better organizational habits within your entire family.

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