Is your home filled with clutter, but it’s mostly stuff for your children? Check out these tips below and see which ones you can adopt to keep the clutter under control!
1. Choose organizing systems that are easy to maintain – containers that are easy to open or have no lids, shelves and cubbies at appropriate heights etc. Like with adults, it is easier to keep a space tidy and organized if it’s easy and accessible to put things back where they belong!
2. Rotate your toys out. Put some out for them to play with, and some in the basement storage area to pull out in a couple months. This cuts down on the clutter of having everything out at once, and also prevents kids from getting bored with certain toys.
3. Create a routine to go through their items once a week or month to see if there’s anything they are willing to donate to kids in need! It will get easier with time, and you want to instill this habit in them at a young age so they don’t have strong attachments to “stuff” and keep EVERYTHING.
4. Children learn by mirroring what you do! If you are putting stuff away properly, and regularly donating items they will be more prone to keep their items tidy as well.
5. Try to appeal to your child’s interests to help them understand the importance – if they like puzzles, approach organizing like a puzzle where you need to fit stuff together in a space. If they like creating things like art/crafts, show them that when things are unorganized, their precious artwork may get lost or damaged.
6. Artwork and schoolwork can really pile up. Get your kids involved in making decisions about their papers. You can create folders for each year to file items in, and then at the end of the year pick out what the best ones were and put them in storage to keep. Set a limit of whatever will fit into a folder, or a specific number of pages. Getting rid of old artwork when your kids are not at home is effective for doing the initial purge, but you want them to learn the skills to make decisions about their stuff, and understand how much room “stuff” takes up.
7. Don’t approach tidying as a punishment, but rather as a regular part of their day like brushing their teeth or bathing. This will help them not feel resentment about it.
8. If you’re frustrated by your children’s toys and clothes scattered all over the house, have a new rule! All toys and clothes must be stored in their rooms. If any toys are left in common spaces, they will automatically be put in the donation bin. Rules such as these gives children more ownership over their stuff, and also sets boundaries to help reduce the clutter all over the house.
None of this will be easy, and there will likely be some push back when you start instilling new rules in the house. But like with everything, they will adapt once they see the positive benefits of have a clutter free home! If you’re looking for help to start your initial decluttering, please get in touch! I would love to help out.
