Four tips for dealing with kids and their clutter.

Kids have clutter.

Fact.

Deal with it and move on!

1. Store items according to the age of your children. Don’t leave games with lots of little pieces where a younger child could pull them out (and try to eat them!), keep craft items and games that need adult supervision high up or away from ‘everyday’ play things. Make the most of your existing storage BEFORE you rush out to buy new. Plastic boxes or tubs, wicker baskets and cardboard boxes are all perfectly suitable items.
2. Involve your children with keeping their toys in order.  Make ‘out with the old, in with the new’ a fun game for them to enjoy – especially around birthday & Christmas times. Help them to understand that getting rid of old, age-inappropriate toys can benefit other children and will leave room for new ones! Children like having ‘jobs’ to do, so finding every piece of a jigsaw or all the cards in a deck can be rewarded by you playing a game with them once done.
3. Rotate toys in and out of play to avoid the boredom factor. Children can feel overwhelmed with choice if absolutely every toy is in front of them and they’re likely to turn to an old favourite (not unlike looking in your wardrobe for something to wear..?) and ignore the rest.  If you’ve space, move a few toys into a loft/garage for a while and swap them over every few months. It will suddenly feel like they’ve a whole new range of toys and they’ll be engaged in play for longer!
4. Only keep what is manageable for you, your family and your space. You don’t have to keep every toy! Items surplus to requirements can be recycled by donating to charity or a local playgroup, sold on sites like Netmums or eBay, or if past their best and are broken, should be thrown away.

Decluttering can be a tough job, especially if doing alone. Work in short bursts and always keep focussed on your end goal. If you feel you need encouragement & a helping hand, please get in touch!