kid clutter

When we were on holiday in Pringle Bay, I didn’t have to say once, “go make your beds” and so I
said to them one day, “what’s going on, guys?” and they said this….. wait for it….

It’s easy to make our beds and keep our rooms clean because we only have 1 teddy bear.

(Yes, I’m that mom. They’re allowed one small backpack for activity pads, colouring pencils and a teddy bear)

That was the one thing.

Then we went to visit our friends, the Se7en gang. They’re a family of 10 and so they keep their possessions to a minimum without being people who only have 30 possessions total….

That was the second thing.

And so I was reminded again about a few things which I’d forgotten. I thought I’d share them here with you:

1. When my kids have too many things, they don’t see or play with any of it.

It’s always true for us that when I go on a decluttering binge, the kids play more with what’s left.

I also do something quite intentionally around here. We have an ottoman/ coffee table in our sunroom. On both Friday and Saturday nights, I set out something on the table. One day it might be a puzzle I haven’t seen them build for awhile; another time it might be blocks or a game.

When we wake on a Saturday or Sunday morning, we’ll find the kids playing with the forgotten toy. But sometimes, having the toy/ puzzle out doesn’t even spark their interest which is a good thing because then I quietly pack it away and out it goes – donated!

2. It’s easy to make their beds when there’s less on it.

When the bed has almost nothing on it, it’s so easy to pull the duvet closed, arrange the pillows, fold the blanket (if necessary) and put the bear on it to wait for bedtime.

Connor came back from holidays, did a clean sweep of his bed and handed me EIGHT cuddly toys to donate. He even said those exact words, “here are some toys to donate”. I tossed them in the wash and will be giving them to a pre-school our company sponsors.

My kids get a star for making their bed and another star for tidying their room (I reward behaviour I want to encourage), and here’s the bonus – if I don’t have to nag, they get an extra star.

Connor has had his extra star all the time since we returned from our holidays except for one day.

3. Declutter the paper regularly

My wise friend told me she walks around the house once a week to collect any stray papers for the recycling and out it all goes. I love this idea; D is slightly horrified that the kids’ treasures will be tossed. I reminded them that the pleasure is in the creating and definitely not in the storing. And really, if they love something they created, they have a treasure box where these things can be stored.

Again, Connor decided he’d do his own decluttering rather than leave it to me and willingly tossed out paper. Kendra asked me to do hers when she wasn’t looking. Afterwards she said, “Mummy, thank you for making my desk so pretty again” because now she can CREATE again, and she was at it later that day.

4. Recognise the purpose of novelty toys

Some toys are made to last and some are not. There’s nothing good or bad about it, just know the difference. I bought Connor a set of wooden blocks when he was 18 months old. They still play with those blocks to make tunnels and parking lots for cars.

And then there are other toys where they built something once and then they weren’t interested in it anymore. Instead of fretting about it, recognise that the purpose of that toy was to provide enjoyment for a few hours on Christmas Day and let it go.

This is a Konmari tip where you recognise the purpose of that thing in your life, and then release it. It’s not sparking joy for anyone when it sits there reminding you of an impulsive purchase.

5. Listen to what they say they like

When your children tell you they don’t like x-type of toy, listen and move on. These are their preferences.

I used to try and cajole Kendra to colour in and now I’m done. She hates colouring in and I hated nagging her to use her colouring books. I tested her and said, “shall I donate all these unused books?” and she said, “YES!”

K likes big, blank sketch pads because she wants to draw her own pictures and colour those in, not other people’s drawings. When she explained it to me, it made complete sense. Fair enough.

I kept one colouring book with white paper because she does like painting, but the rest will go to the same pre-school I mentioned above.

Connor likes colouring so we’ll keep his ones, but he doesn’t like painting.

They both like activity pads but I can safely say we have enough till they turn 10, so I think we need to go through those too.

That’s what’s happening here in the toys/ craft materials area.

Hope this helped someone.