My kids quickly learned to tell friends that they had to
help pick up whatever they took out,
This really caught my attention as I had a problem with some of my ds friends. I would make him clean his room for company, and when his company came over, they would destroy his room. After the company left he complained about having to clean up someone else's mess.
My solution to this was to tell ds, who was then about 9 yrs old, that his room and his belongings were his responsibility. He had to maintain the cleanliness of the room.
This worked well because now he knows he will have to clean up any mess his friends may make. He now tells his friends (sometimes with a reminder from me) that they have to help him put away these toys, etc., before moving on to the next activity.
And, because his friends are able to understand this concept of responsibility, and they are his friends, they are willing to help.
My ds also has a shoe hanger which attaches to the back of his closet door. The few occasions that his closet door is closed, it is hidden inside the closet. Over the years this has held a multitude of army men, pokemon cards, cap guns, etc. And ds enjoys putting away these small items in the individual clear pockets. Sometimes he even has a certain format for categorizing the toys! <Which of course never makes any sense to me, but I am a girl after all!> LOL!
