We take de-cluttering seriously in our home. This is a weekly occurrence that goes hand in hand with cleaning duties. We do seasonal organizing in each room of our home. Which makes for a great time to share items we no longer need. Here are ten tips for de-cluttering and organizing.
1. Gather up all of the containers, boxes, tubs, trash bags, etc. you can find around your home. I immediately label what I know I am using for sure.
- Box Labeled Donate
- Tub Labeled my sons name and age
- Box labeled Maybe with today’s date and a future date
- Trash bag for anything not worthy of being donated
- all others will get labeled as needed
2. Do a total purge of the room. This means not skipping a spot, toy box or under the bed. Because as they get older the bed can become some sort of stowaway department.
3. Use the “one in two out” rule. If my son decides he needs to have that new toy he knows the rule is he must donate two of his old toys from his room. This keeps the clutter to a minimum and allows him to let go of something he wasn’t playing with in the first place.
4. Contain like items together. Use child safe containers, toy boxes, bins, etc. When sifting through items. Each item must have a home or it goes into a maybe pile. I use glass baby food jars {labeled} to store legos and other small pieces. Then keep them up high for supervised use. I have very small children in my home and this works perfect to keep from having any accidents.
Hot Wheels came out with an amazing new product to get all those hot wheels vehicles off the floor. It’s called Wall Tracks it’s a track that attaches to the wall and stores all those cars nicely. What a great focal point for a boys room. The track is easy to apply and stays put for never ending playtime. This is definitely going on a few boys in my families Christmas list.
5. Keep dressers and side tables clear. This helps to keep the clutter from piling. If the rule is nothing on the surface it tends to make for an easier way to give up what you don’t need.
6. Schedule weekly 15 minute de-cluttering of your child’s room. It’s amazing how random things can accumulate in one week. My son will bring home the most interesting pieces of junk from school.
7. Keep your child involved in the entire organizing and de-cluttering process. When they see how much effort and time that goes into this tedious task they will be more inclined to keep it organized.
8. Maybe piles are great. Children tend to hoard toys. Give a toy you know they aren’t gonna miss, but they think they need a chance to go in the maybe box. Tell your child that if they don’t truly need to play with these items by the future date {I give it a month} they will be donated to a child that would love to have them.
9. Locate a donation site close by that would love to have a donation of gently used toys. Take your child to drop off their donations and explain to them what a great cause they are helping.
10. De-cluttering can get difficult if the item is a high dollar item even if your child has outgrown it. I asked my son to part with his old DS and an old leap frog toy he hadn’t played with in a year. He neglected because he knew it was worth money. He agreed to sell it on ebay if I allowed him to use a portion of it to purchase a game for a system he still uses. This worked great for both of us and we were able to get something back.
“I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Hot Wheels® blogging program.
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