My two sons have always had very different views on organization. When my oldest was young, we couldn’t leave the house until he had properly picked up and organized ALL of his toys. He was obsessed with Matchbox cars and insisted that they all had to be put back in the slotted car holder. They all had to be sorted by type of car. One row was for Ferraris, one for Lamborghinis, one for Mustangs, etc. Leaving the house took sooooo long, but his room was always tidy.
a “Super Big Car Carrier!”
When his brother came along, I assumed he would have the same personality. Boy, was I wrong! Same gene pool does not equal same behavior traits! His nicknames were The Tazmanian Devil and The Tornado. He dumped toys everywhere and never wanted to pick up anything. It was a battle to get him to throw toys back into bins or his toybox. The idea of him actually organizing them before putting them away was a pipe dream. I told their pediatrician that having my first son did not prepare me for this little guy!
My youngest son has always been a “collector.” He always had rock collections, coin collections, seashell collections, bouncy ball collections, and so on. When he was young and we would clean his room together, he would get so upset that I would take down his prized collections that I viewed as dust collectors. In a parenting epiphany, I suggested that we get a box for each of his collections and only keep one collection at a time on display. We could rotate his treasures once a month, on a shelf, like museums that have special displays. I got to pack up a lot of stuff, and he got to keep his special things. Win-Win!
As the boys have gotten older, thankfully the oldest has gotten less rigid, and the youngest boy has gotten a little more organized. He still doesn’t like putting things away or making his bed, and he uses the argument that he’s just going to use the things again soon or sleep in his bed later. I’ve learned a lot as a parent about picking and choosing my battles, and since his room is his domain, I let certain things go. Of course, he knows not to leave food and dishes in his room. His dirty laundry has to be sorted and clean laundry put away. The rest of it, I try to tolerate. Some days I feel like a parenting champion, and other days I feel like a Seinfeld character yelling “Serenity Now!”
I can only tolerate so much until my Type A personality kicks into high gear, and I hit my limit with how messy his bathroom had gotten. We had a heart to heart about all of the products on his counter. I couldn’t comprehend why he couldn’t put them in his medicine cabinet, drawers, or cabinets. He simply replied that if he’s using the items every day, why should they be out of sight? Of course, I don’t agree, but I can understand his logic. He’s a teen who is stretched thinly between an advanced course load at school, homework, football, basketball, training, volunteering, and trying to have a social life. Time is very valuable to this sleep-deprived kid. Maybe shaving a minute or two off of his morning and bedtime routines helps him more than I can comprehend.
Parenting teens requires a lot of finesse, and many things can (and should) be negotiated. Obviously there are non-negotiables, but teaching kids how to state their viewpoints and the reasons behind them while being able to listen to another’s opinions is an important life skill they will take with them into adulthood. So much of our lives involve negotiating and compromising. He agreed that the bathroom was a hot mess, and I pointed out that he probably was wasting time looking for things due to the lack of organization. We talked about solutions and came up with a plan.
He agreed that some of the less-frequently used items could be put away in the medicine cabinet. We found two vanity organizers to corral the rest of his products and stored them grouped by how they are used with allergy medicines together, shaving supplies together, hair products together, etc.
He was very surprised how a little planning and compromise transformed his bathroom counter from a mess into one with accessible organization. He can see everything, and because items are grouped for the purpose they serve (hair, face, teeth), he spends less time looking for things. Now I don’t have to nag him to clean up. He has even kept it neat and tidy for several weeks!
If you are looking for ways to get the bathroom counters organized, get creative! Trays, clear acrylic organizers, small shelves, and tiered stands make great organizers. Shop thrift shops, discount stores, and two of my favorite spots for organization, our affiliates, Organize-It and Dollar Tree. *If you shop through our links, we earn a small amount that helps us continue to do what we love, help you save time and money through organization!
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