How To De-Clutter Your Child's Room

Author: Alyice Edrich

A few years ago I was asked by a very frustrated mom how to organize her child's room. The mom was a packrat and it had become dangerously clear that she was passing that trait along to her child and she wanted it stopped.

Having come from a long line of packrats, I could relate.

My grandmother was such a packrat that walking into her home was like stepping into a warehouse. There were boxes and boxes of stuff everywhere. She spent more time on the home shopping networks and maneuvering through her stuff than she did with any of her children, grandchildren, or friends. The sad thing is that nobody was ever able to enjoy what was in those boxes and when she died none of it was passed down to her grandchildren or her great-grandchildren.

My mother also followed in her footsteps. Only my mother didn't have wall-to-wall boxes, she had wall-to-wall stuff. Everything was out for display and what wasn't out for display was stored away in two jam-packed garages which later became two storage containers. Sadly, my mother spent more time organizing and reorganizing her "stuff" than she did with family or friends. When she died a few years ago, I really resented her decision to put her "stuff" over time with us.

Growing up wasn't easy. I had a natural tendency to save things and I had to force myself to pick and choose what I saved carefully. Otherwise, I knew I'd end up just like them and I surely didn't want my future kids or spouse to think I valued "stuff" over them.

So would I help my friend? Yes!

But first, I had to commend her on recognizing the fact that she was passing on a bad habit to her kids and then dealing with it. Then we had to get her mind in the right place.

Having been a dedicated Christian woman, I asked her to pray for God to help her—to open her mind. I told her to let Him know that she had a very difficult time letting go of things and that she knew clutter was keeping her from enjoying time with her children and preventing them from living in a stress-free zone. I told her to ask Him to show her what to keep and what to get rid of.

Then I told her to go out and get four large boxes and label them: trash, keep, donate, and save.

The big test came when I told her to dump all of her children’s toys and belongings in the middle of the room. This was going to show her just how much "stuff" her children were beginning to hoard and help her visualize how much that "stuff" would grow in the next ten years and ten years after that.

If you feel your home is too cluttered, or that you, too, have begun to teach your children how to become a bona fide packrat, I encourage you to follow in my friend's footsteps.

Not only will your children thank you for it later in life, you'll discover a freedom that is so empowering you'll never want to fill your home with "stuff" again.

That's not to say that you won't buy new things, but you'll have a
healthier perspective on what to buy and what to keep.

Step One: Label your boxes.

Label four large boxes: trash, keep, donate, and save.

As one box gets filled, start another box. (If you don’t have boxes, large 50 gallon trash bags will do fine.)

Step Two: Create a selection pile.

Dump everything in the middle of the room, leaving no drawer or closet unturned.

Making a mess seems drastic but it really does help concrete the decision and ultimately make it easier to sort through everything.

Step Three: Sort as you go.

Once you’ve made a “mess” in the middle of the room it’s time to start sorting. Because it's your child's room, invite your child to help in the process. Something you may think is insignificant could hold very strong emotional feelings for your child.

Pick up each item up one at a time and really think about that item. Ask the following questions:

"Is this a keeper? Can my child still use it now?",
"Is this too damaged to repair and should be tossed in the trash?",
"Is this something that another child could benefit from, thus it making its way to the local thrift store?",
"Is this something that should be put in storage because it holds too many precious memories?"

When sorting through your child's belongings, it's important to make
an informed decision before tossing. When my children were too
little to voice their opinions, I thought long and hard before
tossing, donating, or storing.

Here are a few things to take into account as you go through your child's room:

Don’t consider the cost of the toy. If you think about how much the toy cost, you won’t want to get rid of anything.
Don’t consider whether or not you think the toy is cute or has certain features that make you want to keep the toy. You aren’t the one playing with it, your child is. If you really can’t part with a toy because of your own personal memories, take a picture of your child with the toy. Keep the picture and get rid of the toy.
Don’t consider whether or not you will hurt someone’s feelings. Toys are given with the knowledge that they will get broken, lost, and eventually given away. (Besides, you don’t have to tell the person who bought the toy that you decided to donate it or that it was so mangled it had to be trashed.)
Consider it's collectability status. Is it a collectable? If you believe the toy is a collectible, put it in storage. (i.e. comic books, Barbie)
Consider the last time you saw your child actually play with the toy or use the object. If it was yesterday, than it’s probably a keeper.
Consider your child's emotions. If your child has not touched an object in over six months, but every time you think of getting rid of it, your child starts to cry, it probably holds too many good memories. Put it in storage.
Consider who gave your child the toy or object. If it was from a relative that passed away, consider storing it. They'll thank you for it later. (Not all the toys, mind you. Just one or two special ones.)

Step Four: Move those boxes.

As soon as a box gets full, start a new box. Seal and label storage boxes and take them to your basement, closet, or storage container. Take the trash to the curb. Put donations in the back of your car. Then the next time you leave to run an errand, you can easily drop that box off at your local thrift store.

In no time at all, your child’s room will be clutter-free and he or she will find new interests in the toys and belongings you’ve decided to keep.

Happy De-cluttering!