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Last updated on October 27th, 2022 at 02:00 am
There’s a lot of advice out there about how to declutter with kids. It’s really hard to get kids to do it. Those tiny humans are so focused on themselves and don’t understand the concept of giving away items.
But kids accumulate so much stuff, that it has to be decluttered.
A few weeks ago, I heard a little sigh and the slap of books being tossed on top of one another. I peeked out of my office and saw my 5-year-old daughter going through her “art ottoman” all on her own, separating her coloring books, drawing pads, and magazines into keep and toss piles.
I’d mentioned that we needed to declutter her ottoman it but never took the initiative to do it with her.
Then she started doing it all by herself.
I’ve had her participate in the decluttering process since she was about 18 months old. And now, at 5-years-old, she can do it all on her own.
Today I want to share some of the work that I’ve done over the years to get to the point where my young daughter can declutter on her own.
01. Explain why you’re decluttering.
I still clearly remember corralling Juliana into the playroom and explaining to her that we were going to declutter her dress-up clothes. I explained that if there are things she doesn’t really play with, it’s ok to give them away to somebody who will enjoy them more.
To a small child, this sounds terrible. Give my toys to another kid? No way! But since I want to instill the virtue of charity in her, this was how I chose to phrase it.
02. Show them each item.
I pulled every item out of the dress-up bin to show to her. With each item, I asked her, “Do you like this?”
If she said no, I placed it in the discard pile.
I want to make decluttering a positive experience. Using positive language —“Do you like this?” versus “Do you want to get rid of this?” —reinforces that experience.
03. Edit once they’ve had their say.
Sometimes you’ll come across things that are past their expiration date. It’s ok to go through the items your kids have decluttered to remove anything that is broken or junky or is driving you crazy.
I explain to Juliana my reasons for removing a particular item.
If you’re worried they’ll look for it later, hang on to it for a little bit.
Decluttering did not go well the first time, which was as I expected. However, I didn’t stop having her participate just because she wanted to keep everything those first few times.
After a while, she began to notice how much easier it was to clean up her toys and how much better she felt without the extra clutter around.
Now, since I’ve guided her through how to declutter and since she’s felt the benefits of decluttering, she’s able to do it on her own.
When you declutter with kids, it empowers them with the ability live healthier and happier when they become adults.
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