When you have children, clutter can often seem to accumulate overnight. One moment you’ve got beautiful, clean and tidy spaces, and the next you are navigating piles of drawings, shoes, toys, and half-finished craft projects. If this sounds familiar, it’s probably time to take action.
Although keeping your home tidy with young ones around can feel like an ongoing challenge, the good news is that the act of decluttering can become an enjoyable family activity – but only if you sell it to your children right!
Having a clear out and tidy up is an excellent opportunity to teach children about organisation, responsibility, and even generosity. And, of course, it is always extremely rewarding to see your home looking a little more orderly (even if it is only temporarily!).
If you are ready to get started on purging the mess in your home, here are eight creative ways you can get your children to help you do so in a way they will think is fun and engaging.
Need assistance?
If you’ve got little ones who you can’t leave alone while you tidy or you find yourself facing a Herculean task, enlisting the help of professionals may be worthwhile.
Companies like 1300 Rubbish and other house clearance and rubbish removal businesses can help make the task significantly more manageable.
Creative ways to declutter with kids
If your home is in need of a declutter, here are some ways you can incentivise your children to help you.
1. Turn decluttering into a treasure hunt
Children love games, so why not transform tidying into an exciting adventure? You can create a “treasure hunt” where they need to find specific items, for example, all the red toys, outgrown books, or clothing that no longer fits.
Giving them small rewards for completing a task can provide them with additional motivation.
2. Introduce a “maybe” box
It can be difficult for children (and adults) to part with belongings, because, well, “just in case.” For this reason, introducing a “maybe” box can provide a workable solution to helping keep your home in a tidy state. The great thing about this box is that it can temporarily store items out of sight. Moreover, if they are not missed after a few months, it will become easier to donate or discard them.
3. Set a timer
If the process of decluttering goes on too long, kids can get easily bored. Therefore, it is a good idea to set a timer for between 10 and 30 minutes, depending on the ages of your children, to prevent their minds from wandering off-task. Short, timed sessions will go a long way towards maintaining their focus and enthusiasm, which may result in the decluttering process being completed more quickly.
4. Label storage solutions together
It is always a good idea to label baskets, boxes, and shelves because this not only helps to keep clutter under control, but it can also encourage children to return items to their correct place.
Most children also love art activities, so if you get them to create or decorate the labels, they may well feel more invested in maintaining their ultimate purpose.
5. Donate to a cause they care about
If your child is hesitant to part with their belongings, they may be open to donating them to a charitable cause they care about. Explaining that their old toys, books, and clothes can bring happiness to others may strike a chord with them. So, let them choose a charity, hospital, or shelter to support, which could be anything from terminally sick children in hospitals, those in families or those in foreign countries that are not as fortunate as they are.
You can find a list of charities to donate to here.
6. Implement the “0ne in, one out” rule
Once you have completed a major declutter, it is in your interests to keep your spaces as clear and tidy as possible. One way to do that is to create a toddler’s toy box. But another is to invoke the “One In, One Out” rule. Essentially, this means that every time a new item comes into the home, an old one must be donated or discarded. This teaches children about balance and prevents clutter from building up quickly again.
7. Establish a “clutter-free” zone
If you find that multiple rooms in your home are in a constant state of clutter, then it is worth designating one area of your home as a “clutter-free zone”. Whether that is the lounge room, kitchen, or movie room is entirely up to you. However, everyone in the family should be made responsible for keeping this area tidy, and if it is not, then don’t be afraid to issue some consequences. Sometimes, you need to take a tough stance, and if doing so results in a room being kept tidy, there is a good chance that it might spread to others.
8. Create a memory box
Children, like adults, are often sentimental, which is why they can sometimes find it hard to let go of things. However, instead of keeping every drawing or school project they have ever completed, try to encourage them to select the most special items to store in a “memory box”. Doing this allows them to preserve their most cherished memories without taking up too much in the way of open space within a room. Again, asking them to decorate the box can make them a lot more invested in its purpose.
This article was written by Lucy Mitchell, Content Manager for Current.com.au | The Home of Australian Product Reviews, with editing by Kidspot NZ.
The appearance of external hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement by Kidspot NZ of the website, information, products or services contained therein. All views are those of the author.
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